Norwegian (Compact) [CD]

Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable.
Review: I can't recommend these recordings enough. This method is amazing. Here's how it works:
You listen and repeat. That's it!
I know, it sounds a bit off the mark if you've never learned a language before and are looking to start, but this method is highly effective. It takes after the very way you learned to speak English--just by listening and repeating. It's not boring; you wont say the same sentence 20 times then move on to the next. It's a dialogue between two individuals (male and female) and there is a narrator between telling you what is said in English, then asking you to repeat the Norwegian version that is said by the two actors. He'll also ask you specific questions about what they said and then ask you to answer. What's great is that you are never left in the dark about the correct answer because it is always given after the question (with time in-between for you to give your answer).

The only downside to this version is that there is a book that comes with it and it is VERY thin, but for a reason. It's only used to familiarize you with the letters not used in English and a few various word formations that are different to that of English. This poses a problem in that when you actually do hear someone reading and you follow along as with other methods, it's a bit of a shock because of how Norwegian is spelled vs. its pronunciation. This method does not prepare you for that. They make no mistake in letting you know this method really is to learn the SPOKEN portion of the language. However, I think if you get just a cheap phrasebook with a cassette on the side, it'll alleviate that problem.

This truly is a remarkable lesson that will get you started on your new life as a Norwegian speaker.

Rating:
Summary: Handy!
Review: There are a lot of problems that someone living in suburban America encounters when trying to learn a relatively obscure language such as Norwegian. No one around me speaks Norwegian!

Pimsleur was recommended to me by a friend who had heard of the program (presumably from another language) and I must say it's helped me with my pronunciation quite a bit.

I really want to give this product 3.5 stars: There are a lot of different "flavours" of Norwegian: Bokmål, Riksmål, and Nynorsk and a ton of dialects. I'm not sure the Pimsleur Norwegian set does justice to these other aspects of the language. I also wish the Norwegian alphabet was spoken aloud in lesson 1 along with common sounds.

Rating:
Summary: Good for pronunciation, not much else.
Review: This is actually a good way to learn (any) spoken language. You can easily listen anywhere you have a CD palyer and learn something.

But pronunciation is where it stops, at least for me. I bought this course, as well as the "Teach Yourself Norwegian" book/CD combo. Pimsleur only has 10 lessons, and only in the 10th leasson do you hear anything beyond the present tense (simple future). Truthfully, there's not much vocabulary there either, although the vocabulary that is presented is a good representation of the full pronunciation of the language.

The other course I purchased, on the other hand, immediately give s you a decent vocabulary set, and quickly.

In short, it's a good pronunciation guide, but I wouldn't purchase Pimsleur on its own. It definitely needs to be supplemented with something more comrehensive.