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What customers say about the Pimsler audios:

The Pimsleur courses are a very, very good starting point for learning a new language. A common problem that most people have is going through rote exercises, getting to a certain point in the language, quitting, and never really learning anything. These courses are interesting, consistent, and engaging enough so that that very major hurtle shouldn't be a problem. Also, because it's an entirely oral/aural course, if you actually repeat everything as instructed, by the end of level 3 you are going to have a comfort level with speaking that most courses (and even college classes) won't give you. - C. P. Leroy

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I purchased this to learn some Chinese to help me when exchange students visited. I spent about 2 weeks with it. I haven't re-visted it since then. I progressed well using this during my commutes between home and work. I recommend this for folks that want to learn Chinese "passively" while working out (I-Pod) or durring a commute. Learning to read and write, etc., would require something with a workbook. -- G. Thommas

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The following comments come from a rank beginner. I have had no prior study of German at school or otherwise.

When you hear the quality of the recording, the professional speakers on this audio (4 different speakers, three native Germans and one American narrator), and realize the research that went into its design, you would expect it to cost much more. It is difficult to compare, but I would guess this course to be equivalent to about one semester of college German. The difference is in the focus. It is about getting as much useful language as quickly as possible, and the focus on travel vocabulary: How far to Berlin? How much does a beer cost (it's German, you have to have a beer!)? How do you get to Goethe Street, etc.

But where the course really shines, is how they've hidden the complex grammar of German in simple questions and answers. You learn the way a child learns his first language, by "feeling" what sounds right in a sentence. Each lesson is a strong challenge. Not hard enough to make you quit, and not easy enough to get boring, but keeps you reaching and concentrating. I believe many studies have found this delicate balance to be the most effective in language learning. I did most lessons two or more times with good results. They suggest moving on when you get about 80% of the lesson. -- Art Lover, Colorado, USA