Rating: 
Summary: Ca vaut la peine! (It's worth it!)
Review: For the last few years I can't seem to get past beginner/introduction level of my French classes. Last April, I bought all three sets of the French comprehensive series. It's amazing how much you can learn from 30 minute lessons a day with Pimsleur. To start off, my Parisian colleague complimented me on my pronunciation. You know how snooty the French people are when it comes to their language. I'm almost done with French III and I'm all set to go on a 9-day vacation in France with Francophone Swiss kids in a month. You get more out of this set when you can actually converse with people as you go along. Native french speakers would be impressed at how you'd know "very french" turn of phrases. "Si nous allions prendre un café? I know the course does not recommend using other sources of language study, but I got a few french books anyway. Most outstanding of which is The Ultimate French Review and Practice. The book explains grammar in a clear and concise manner and then gives one lots of exercises for each grammatical point. These two sets complement each other quite well. You'd be talking well and writing correctly. Bon courage et bonne chance!
Rating:
Summary: What can I say, but the Pimsleur Program is by far the best!
Review: I have been a strong supporter of the Pimsleur Language Programs ever since I first started learning languages. I recently purchased French I, II, and III and have found them to meet my needs. I have, in the past, used other audio programs (e.g., Berlitz and other less expense ones); however, I have found that Pimsleur provides the best overall value.Many complaints about Pimsleur concern the inability to be able to speak well enough to hold a conversation or understand the radio or television after going through all three levels. It's important to realize that a year or two of studying French is needed to reach that level, and this level of proficiency cannot be reached through the use of cassettes or CDs alone. I've been studying Spanish for over three years (much of which was at intensive Spanish classes abroad) and am just reaching the point of understanding about 60-80 percent of what is said on the radio or television. I find that there are many strengths associated with the Pimsleur French language Program, as well as weaknesses; however, I feel that the strengths more than make up for any weaknesses the program may have. Several of the key strengths include: * Learning French in an interesting, interactive, and enjoyable environment. I hate to sit down and study, but by using Pimsleur, studying seems effortless and it's interesting. * Being placed into somewhat realistic conversations and situations rather than just repeating words. I have found that the phrases and sentences used during the audio sessions form a good foundation on which to build your own. * Practicing pronunciation with native speakers and in your car, so you can practice without worrying about sounding funny. French especially requires good pronunciation, and Pimsleur has really improved mine. * Being able to remember better, since the situations are realistic, and being able to speak more fluently. You may not learn as many words as other tapes, but what you learn you remember and you actually use the words into sentences. I am currently taking private lessons, and my teacher is amazed at my progress and ease in speaking. You will not, however, get the following with Pimsleur: * A huge vocabulary. I find, however, that when just learning words, I actually remember less than when learning words through the Pimsleur Language Program. * A course on grammar. I have supplemented Pimsleur with a private tutor to better understand grammar and sentence structure and to have live conversations. * The ability to carry on a political, religious, technical conversation with a native speaker. You will be able to talk about basic stuff, but what you do say will be understandable and will be spoken with good pronunciation. With Pimsleur you will be able to speak better than using other audio materials or books and will be able to finish all the Levels, since they are entertaining, easy to use, and can be listened to while riding in the car to/from work. I am about to finish Level III, and I wish there were a Level IV or above. If you are serious about learning French and speaking it fluently, you will, of course, have to supplement Pimsleur with one-on-one or classroom courses, which I am doing, plus an occasional trip to France.
Rating:
Summary: Expensive, but value for the money
Review: I have done the Pimsleur Spanish series before a trip to Spain. And, although not fluent, I was well able to say everything I needed to say, with a little help from a dictionary. In addtion, I could carry on pleasant, limited coversations with non-English speaking Spaniards. I could understand Spanish announcements at the airport, and even a bit of the news. Inspired by this, I bought the French series. I had 2 years of French many years ago in school, could read it, but never could speak a bit. That will change now. Pimsleur is absolutely the best program if you have problems learning how to hear and produce the language. If you naturally pick up how to speak with little input , you will probably not be happy here. But, if you think that you "can't learn languages," or that "it's hard to learn to speak" that's not true - YOU CAN - it will be expensive, and it will take work and dedication. (I listen to the half hour lesson twice 5 days a week.) You may have a limited vocabulary, but it will be a very useful vocabulary and you will know it!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent French audio course!
Review: I have used all three of the Pimsleur French courses and highly recommend them to anyone wanting a good, basic start in the French language. The speakers are very clear and easy to understand. There is never a question of pronounciation since the words and sentences are repeated over and over in many ways. They are also interactive...it's impossible to listen and not get involved. These are the only language tapes that have ever worked for me. Expensive? Yes, but you get what you pay for.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent introduction
Review: I took French in high school, but wanted to brush up on it. I just completed French I, and I was pleasantly surprised. To achieve spoken competence requires a hugh amount of repetition and drilling to internalize the patterns. But different people have different learning styles; some respond well to reading and practicing grammatical principles and paradigms, others are more ear-oriented. At first, the endless repetition was frustrating; I must have heard "Would you like to drink something with me?" about 40 times. And "Where is Saint Jacques street?" about 30 times. For someone who remembered some of his school French, it was a little much. The pace picks up in later lessons, and it began to get a little more interesting and challenging as new vocabulary and grammatical structures are added. All in all, it was an enjoyable experience, and I think a pure beginner would do very well with these tapes. If only they weren't so hideously expensive. Fortunately, my library system carries all 3 levels of the French series, so I'm all set. Before paying for the full set, you might want to pick up the smaller 4-cassette version to see if it suits your learning style.
Rating:
Summary: a few tips
Review: I'm currently using Pimsleur to learn Japanese and Cantonese, and I'm thrilled with my progress. Pimsleur has a truly effective system for learning language painlessly and effectively. I've noticed, though, that on many Pimsleur reviews here on Amazon, people say they needed to listen to each tape 4-5 times before they felt they knew the material. Fortunately, that's not necessary. Here's how to make equal progress on just one listening: Each time you're prompted to come up with an answer on your own, *stop the tape* and give yourself time to think before you get interrupted by the soundtrack. If the tape gives you the answer before you've come up with an answer yourself, you haven't learned anything. Also, as much as I love Pimsleur courses, they're still wildly expensive, even with Amazon's sometimes-substantial discounts. Try getting them (elsewhere). And then sell them after you're done. You won't need them anymore.
Rating:
Summary: Best learning method yet.
Review: I've used five other language tapes to learn French. This is the best method, but the most expensive. Most tapes give you the word once. This method builds upon words you have learned and hence the repitition. After you give the answer in French it is said by the speaker to reinforce your learning. Your are taught correct pronunciation and grammer. Also you learn about the silent last letters in French and the fine differences in how words are pronounced. Spometimes they go too fast, but you can replay that section.
Rating:
Summary: Buy it
Review: Ok. Pimsleur won't get you very far, is expensive as hell, and is somewhat cumbersome to work with. So the rest of this review will be about how in hell did I get to giving it five stars. There are several ways to go about when wanting to learn a language in an audio-only manner. You can get the "Learn in your car" from Penton Overseas. You can get the audio-only course from Living Language. Or you can take Pimsleur. From the lot, Pimsleur would be the ONLY decent answer for the utter beginner, with the other options, you will find yourself replaying the tapes a couple of times. Does any language course that is a self learning course worth this kind of money? No. That's why we have the next paragraph. Money. First of all, by all means get it used. It is an audio course that I recommend going through only once. So if you're lucky enough to find a CD version used, it will be exactly the same (of course - assuming that the seller is decent enough to sell unscratched CD-s). As for used audio cassettes, well, as much as we want to hear the correct pronounciation, we have to remember - this is not Mozart, it is only recorded speech. However even if you don't find it used, you can buy it, and after completing the course, sell it as used. As this is suitable for first time learning, and is too much for review purposes (perhaps the other audio-only courses will be better for review). One last thing. Usability. I'll talk technology, but it's essential here. When I bought the heavy package, the first thing I've done was to move it to MP3. So then I had the entire audio collection on a single CD. In such a way you take a single disc to your car, play it with a mobile MP3 player, and stock the valuable course in your closet for backup. In that way, when you finish with the course, the originals stay in a good enough state to be sold as used. However, if you won't convert to MP3, the need to each time take another cassette/CD to your car would be a serious drawback, since storing the entire course in your car doesn't sound as a sensible alternative to me. To wrap it up, buy it, MP3 it, learn it, sell it.
Rating:
Summary: The BEST
Review: Okay, if it's the best, why only 4 stars? Well, simply because Pimsleur is not complete in and of itself. It's only the best there is. I'm saving the fifth star for the language program that will make me fluent. I challenge anyone to produce it! All that said, the progress you can make with Pimsleur is nothing short of miraculous. I wanted to return to my High School & have a few terse words with my language teachers after seeing how effective language learning can really be! This program is fantastic for people at every level of language learning. I've gone through the French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, & Hebrew. I have no problem switching from language to language in a given situation. I just can't hold a normal conversation at normal speeds. This is because you don't gain enough vocabulary & verb conjugation skills from Pimsleur to reach the "Pot O' Gold" known as true FLUENCY! But hey, you'll learn more of your chosen language through Pimsleur than in any other method by far! Trust me, I know of what I speak. If you want to learn another language, start at Pimsleur, then decide if you feel the need to learn more.
Rating:
Summary: The BEST
Review: Okay, if it's the best, why only 4 stars? Well, simply because Pimsleur is not complete in and of itself. It's only the best there is. I'm saving the fifth star for the language program that will make me fluent. I challenge anyone to produce it! All that said, the progress you can make with Pimsleur is nothing short of miraculous. I wanted to return to my High School & have a few terse words with my language teachers after seeing how effective language learning can really be! This program is fantastic for people at every level of language learning. I've gone through the French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, & Hebrew. I have no problem switching from language to language in a given situation. I just can't hold a normal conversation at normal speeds. This is because you don't gain enough vocabulary & verb conjugation skills from Pimsleur to reach the "Pot O' Gold" known as true FLUENCY! But hey, you'll learn more of your chosen language through Pimsleur than in any other method by far! Trust me, I know of what I speak. If you want to learn another language, start at Pimsleur, then decide if you feel the need to learn more.
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