Rating: 
Summary: Génial
Review: Pimsleur is a surprisingly easy language program. I've tried others that inevitably bog down in alphabets and ice cream flavors or waste time on dialog that sensible people rightly avoid. Pimsleur doesn't distract with verb conjugations and tedious grammar, but instead gets right into the phrases and sentences that make up normal conversations, i.e. "Yes, I'd like to drink some wine with you mademoiselle." Going through these exercises, the student intuits the grammar on his own.
Along the way one also picks up important cultural information. In this case, I've learned that French women will only have dinner with you if you promise to buy them a lot of wine. I've also learned that a French woman won't have dinner with you if she has something planned with her husband, but she will have drinks with you before she has to meet him.
Rating:
Summary: Pimsleur tapes are terrific!
Review: The Pimsleur French tapes are expensive but well worth it.This is the best method I have ever seen for learning to speak another language. They teach you a limited set of vocabulary and concepts, but in a way that you can really use everything that you learn, and you can use it flexibly, spontaneously, comfortably and accurately. The method is very intuitive and doesn't rely on grammatical explanations. They use a lot of English at the beginning and gradually switch over into using more and more French. They lead you gradually into speaking and into saying things that you didn't realize you had learned how to say. Highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: Yeah, it's great but watch out for a few things
Review: There is little doubt that The Pimsleur CDs for French I will get you off the ground and learning French painlessly (if not exactly rapidly). If the thought of learning French while being stuck in rush hour traffic, or driving across country, is appealing to you, then Pimsleur is the good stuff. Having said that, I think it pays to be aware of a few things before making the Big Purchase. Because the price tag for these CDs is high, you might find it helpful, as I did, to try Pimsleur's "Quick and Simple" set of CDs for French first. Those CDs duplicate (with minor differences) the first 8 lessons of the French I collection. So if you wish to be cautious, that is probably the best way to get started with Pimsleur products, rather than buying the more expensive, more comprehensive products right away. You'll get a sense of whether this is the route you want to go if you want to learn more French. Whether you start with the French I package, or the Quick and Easy CDs, you will be exposed you to the heart of what makes the Pimsleur method unique and painless. The approach is based on (1) The Principle of Anticipation (a mastery technique that is different than rote recall), (2) Graduated Interval Recall (an approach that provides new stuff to memorize at optimal intervals), (3) Core Vocabulary (an efficient, optimal selection of a small number of key words that you need to know, as opposed to an extensive vocabulary), (4) and "Organic Learning" (learn speech, eg sound, rhythm, intonations, as opposed to a bunch of textbook gramatical rules). I should add that there's something subtly humorous about the content of the CDs, so if you have a sarcastic or wicked sense of humor, you won't be totally bored. As in, "Yes, I'd like to drink some wine with you mademoiselle." Like many, I found the approach efficient and useful, and I had lots of fun with the CDs as I drove around town blathering away in French. But it is worth emphasizing that Pimsler is not the only game in town. There are other very high-quality competing approaches that are generally less expensive. A good supplementary book is "The Ultimate French Review and Practice." I think it pays to be aware that with Pimsleur you are learning a very general form of French that does not always play well in all French-speaking countries. A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing! The culture-specific meaning of some words is a big issue. We may think we understand the implications of familiar words in, say, Quebec, Canada, especially after learning a little French, but newcomers are unlikely to understand their deep and subtle meanings within the context of (for example) Quebec culture. So, I think it pays to learn phrases and code words from a specific culture or country that most strongly interests you (something you'll never get from plodding through the simple and general Pimsleur approach). To this end, there are books that often discuss a specific country's idiomatic expressions or slang. For instance, I've been interested in learning more about Quebec's version of French, as well as its culture. I benefitted greatly from a number of books: "Canadian French for Better Travel" by Garayt & Corbeil; "French Fun: The Real Spoken Language of Quebec" by Timmins, "Sacre Blues: An Unsentimental Journey Through Quebec by Grescoe." In the case of French in France, "Contemporary French Cultural Studies" edited by Kidd & Reynolds can provide a deeper sense of the French and their language. I might add that travel guides for specific countries, such as the Insight Guides, often provide a few words of slang that are unique to specific regions. It pays to have a fluent French speaker as a co-worker, friend and/or lover while you are learning from the CDs, as they might, on a good day, rescue you from whatever linguistic cliff Pimsleur sends you over. If you don't yet have a French speaking lover, you may need to purchase some additional resources, e.g. "Wicked French", "The Lover's Dictionary," or "Hot International Phrases" to help you get into/out of trouble. And don't forget to stock up on Vanessa Paradis CDs (OK, a bit dated...) or more modern music CDs! Don't be fooled by the $$ coupon that comes with the Pimsleur CDs. In my experience, a much better price can be found using Amazon.com. I might add that you can save considerable $$ by buying the discs used, and considerable space by moving them to MP3.
Rating:
Summary: A must-have for anyone looking to learn French.
Review: This is a fantastic series. Although it is expensive, the investment is well worth it. The audio quality is crystal clear, without any background noise. The instructional voices are easy to understand and have a pleasant tone to them. French I is well thought out and relatively easy to follow. I listen to it on my way to work everyday. Although, I must point out that I have a friend from Quebec whose main language is French. I let him listen to the tapes, and he said that there were two distinctly different dialects. He said that the female's voice was Parisian (i.e., from Paris) and that the male's voice was a commercial dialect (i.e., like you would hear on a television news show). It would have been nice if these tapes would have pointed this out. Please feel free to send me an email if you have any questions.
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Summary: Excellent program!
Review: Well there's no easy way to learn a second language, but there are approaches that make it more easier and more useful. The Pimsleur method allows the beginner to learn a little bit at a time with the emphasis on speaking the language CORRECTLY. From my experience, other programs tend to pack a lot more materials into their lessons which OVERWHELMS the student very quickly (after a few lessons, you would get bog down by the sheer information overload). Secondly, they don't emphasize the SPEAKING aspect of a foreign language. The result of this is that you may be able to read french but unable to carry a conversation with others. (What's the use of that?)The pimsleur method is like a personal trainer who guides you through slowly but accurately. I've got to be honest with you though. It does TAKE TIME learning a new language. There is no magic bullet. So don't expect to carry a very long conversation after doing the basic program (8 lessons). I have just finished pimsleur I comphrehensive program (30 lessons which took me about 2 months - i've spent 2 days on each lesson). I have only learned how to use some basic grammar but there is still a lot to learn (i.e. no long conversation yet). i've just started pimsleur II comphrehensive program. However, I can tell you that with what i've learned i can pronunciate properly and feel very confident speaking with others at the same time surprising/impressing them by speaking so correctly. So I know it is only a matter of time before i will get to the stage where i can carry a more decent conversaton. I know i can achieve this by completing the comphrehensive course (I,II, and III). I think the best way to learn basic to intermediate French is by the pimsleur program. Afterwards, if one wants to get even better, then one should get the living language program. This is like going through primary school first before getting to secondary school. This program only works if you could spare half an hour a day to do the program out loud. The key to the program is to practice speaking out loud. Finally I would say that if you are discipline and committed to the program, it should take you about a year to finish the three comphrehensive programs. I know it cost a lot but you WILL BE ABLE TO SPEAK FRENCH! Other learning programs are cheaper, but they are much more difficult to learn if not impossible on your own. In my opininon, the pimsleur program is absolutely the best FIRST STEP in learning a new language - again it only takes a half an hour a day and you must practice out loud. Well, i hope this helps. Write me if you still have any questions. Good Luck!
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