Rating: 
Summary: Waste of Money
Review: A terrible course with a useless tape and no book. If you are thinking about learning German. This course is not for you, it may serve as well as a blank tape, but that is all.Ronald Berger
Rating: 
Summary: Fun, Effective and Addictive
Review: First of all, I would like to thank Dr. Pimsleur for creating such a wonderful method for learning languages. His method really works! I received my copy of Quick and Simple German 2 days ago and I've already masterd lessons 1 and 2. I never thought that I would be able to speak German. I just decided to buy German along with Italian since I did so well with the French. I've been having so much fun that I study each lesson twice a day. Also I love to go to the Pimsleur website and practice languages there to get a feel of speaking a new language. Granted this may not be the comprehensive course but I'm sure it would've taken me at least 3 years of school to be able to accomplished what I've learned in two days. This method is simple unbelievable!
Rating: 
Summary: German for Dummies
Review: I don't mean my comment to criticize the tapes, but to emphasize the repetition in the tapes. I think many people would secretly tell you that the "____ for dummies" books were actually quite helpful. They used the KISS method, Keep it Simple, Stupid. Meanwhile, I found the repetition to be very helpful in helping me to remember what I had learned, and that the tapes did progressively teach me more about German. It did reach a point in lessons 3 & 4 that seemed redundant, but I didn't mind that too much. I found myself rewinding and listening to the later lessons because I couldn't get it all in that fast. The Germans have a unique language in that they really do speak all the syllables in a word, but there's a trick to it. The tapes helped with that. IN CONTRAST, I tried a set of tapes from Educational Services Corp. LANGUAGE/30 GERMAN tape set. The program is based on an accelerated learning approach developed for U. S. government and military personnel which included two cassette tapes and a 56 page study book of general expressions with pronunciation. Whoa! The speakers spoke really fast and I could not get anywhere without the book. The french lessons were horrible, and I remembered french from school but these people did not help you out with the word pronounciation at all. SO, I found these tapes to be very helpful. Breaking up the pronounciation was ultimately, very helpful. Yes, a book would have helped, but I wanted to learn to speak German - not read it. I am now able to present myself with some credulity because I am using the correct pronounciation. And, I am able to think out how to build on the phrases and sentences that I have learned.
Rating:
Summary: German for Dummies
Review: I don't mean my comment to criticize the tapes, but to emphasize the repetition in the tapes. I think many people would secretly tell you that the "____ for dummies" books were actually quite helpful. They used the KISS method, Keep it Simple, Stupid. Meanwhile, I found the repetition to be very helpful in helping me to remember what I had learned, and that the tapes did progressively teach me more about German. It did reach a point in lessons 3 & 4 that seemed redundant, but I didn't mind that too much. I found myself rewinding and listening to the later lessons because I couldn't get it all in that fast. The Germans have a unique language in that they really do speak all the syllables in a word, but there's a trick to it. The tapes helped with that. IN CONTRAST, I tried a set of tapes from Educational Services Corp. LANGUAGE/30 GERMAN tape set. The program is based on an accelerated learning approach developed for U. S. government and military personnel which included two cassette tapes and a 56 page study book of general expressions with pronunciation. Whoa! The speakers spoke really fast and I could not get anywhere without the book. The french lessons were horrible, and I remembered french from school but these people did not help you out with the word pronounciation at all. SO, I found these tapes to be very helpful. Breaking up the pronounciation was ultimately, very helpful. Yes, a book would have helped, but I wanted to learn to speak German - not read it. I am now able to present myself with some credulity because I am using the correct pronounciation. And, I am able to think out how to build on the phrases and sentences that I have learned.
Rating:
Summary: Don't listen to the negative reviews - I love it
Review: I got this same set of CDs in German, Japanese, and Russian. With Russian only, it was my first time speaking the language. It was still very easy to learn with, just about 25 minutes (per lesson) a night before I went to sleep. I bought Japanese and German to listen to every once in a while since these are languages I don't get to use that often and I don't want to lose my knowledge of them. I grew up speaking French and haven't used it in only a couple years, and it is possible to lose a language you know very well, without practicing. Therefore, these serve that purpose just perfectly. People complain in their reviews.... maybe they should spring for the pricier versions next time. These are not meant to be thorough courses in any language. They are "Quick and Simple", says their name. When people from foriegn countries come to America with the wrong pronunciations, you will usually understand them nonetheless. So, going to Germany with the information from these CDs should get you around okay.
Rating:
Summary: Don't listen to the negative reviews - I love it
Review: I got this same set of CDs in German, Japanese, and Russian. With Russian only, it was my first time speaking the language. It was still very easy to learn with, just about 25 minutes (per lesson) a night before I went to sleep. I bought Japanese and German to listen to every once in a while since these are languages I don't get to use that often and I don't want to lose my knowledge of them. I grew up speaking French and haven't used it in only a couple years, and it is possible to lose a language you know very well, without practicing. Therefore, these serve that purpose just perfectly. People complain in their reviews.... maybe they should spring for the pricier versions next time. These are not meant to be thorough courses in any language. They are "Quick and Simple", says their name. When people from foriegn countries come to America with the wrong pronunciations, you will usually understand them nonetheless. So, going to Germany with the information from these CDs should get you around okay.
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievably good
Review: I have always loved foreign languages but am not particularly talented or adept at them. I suppose it is my lack of discipline. And trying to learn to pronounce things by looking at a written "pronounciation guide" is pure misery for me. I loved this program. With my long commute to work, I listened at least an hour a day and finished the course in less than two weeks. Now I'm ready for the comprehensive course.
I even ordered the Mandarin Chinese program for my husband. He loves Chinese language, food, and culture, but struggled through his college Chinese class. I hope it works as well for him as it did for me.
Thank you, Professor Pimsleur!
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievably good
Review: I have always loved foreign languages but am not particularly talented or adept at them. I suppose it is my lack of discipline. And trying to learn to pronounce things by looking at a written "pronounciation guide" is pure misery for me. I loved this program. With my long commute to work, I listened at least an hour a day and finished the course in less than two weeks. Now I'm ready for the comprehensive course.
I even ordered the Mandarin Chinese program for my husband. He loves Chinese language, food, and culture, but struggled through his college Chinese class. I hope it works as well for him as it did for me.
Thank you, Professor Pimsleur!
Rating:
Summary: Great introduction!
Review: I learned more from this sub-$20 cd program than I did from an eight session/2.5 hour per session German class at a local college. It stresses the phonetics of the language and gives you confidence that you're learning the language in a legitimate way. I'm now moving on to the German I program to continue. I'd buy it again in a second!
Rating:
Summary: Great introduction!
Review: I learned more from this sub-$20 cd program than I did from an eight session/2.5 hour per session German class at a local college. It stresses the phonetics of the language and gives you confidence that you're learning the language in a legitimate way. I'm now moving on to the German I program to continue. I'd buy it again in a second!
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