Learn Spanish Without Stress

So you’ve decided you need a good quality Spanish course to get started in the language or improve your skills - maybe Pimsleur Spanish is the best option available for you. But first, I have to lay out some important characteristics of this course before you shell out your hard earned cash.

Ok, so let’s start with the things that might put some people off this course: Price. At the time of writing, each volume costs $225, and there are 3 full volumes, coming to a total of $675. They also offer a 4th one called “Plus Spanish Course” at $97 , which is an advanced supplement to those who have already mastered the material on the previous volumes. I haven’t tried that particular one, but it is comprised of 10 lessons that build up onto the foundation of the first three volumes, so I don’t see it as a must-have.

The next point is that Pimsleur courses are 100% audio. You can get cds or cassettes to play in your car while driving or in your spare time. This is a big plus for busy people and commuters, you won’t really have to “make time” for studying and this is a great incentive for learning a new language. The other side of the coin is that you will not know how to read or write in your target language, which becomes a major put off by people who need these skills for work or leisure.

Pimsleur Courses have a method of their own. There is a strong emphasis on pronounciation, so you will be able to hear not only phrases in a slow enough speed, but also words and even fragments of words. This is great in a sense because you hear every part of the word, which is something that helps you pick up pronunciation and intonation much much quicker than normal day to day chat. The downside to that is it can be very repetitive, and if you’ve already picked up the pronunciation it can become boring.

The way the course is built makes you identify, understand and pronounce basic vocabulary for everyday use. Having said that, there will be gaps in your vocabulary that you will want to fill, mostly nouns, but a small dictionary might be sufficient for the beginner anyway.

Now for the really really good stuff: no boring grammar! YAAAAAAY! I’m sorry, but to me this alone is a game changer. Pimsleur courses do not teach grammar explicitly, because it is based on how we learn our mother tongues as children, by listening and repeating the phrase patterns and structure. Grammar is only explained to us when we master our language, at school. Why should it be any different with a foreign language? It makes sense.

So how does it work? Each lesson lasts 30 minutes, and you are encouraged to listen (and participate) to one lesson per day (great bite sized learning). At the start of each lesson, you will hear a conversation between native speakers, with an audio translation what was is being said. The conversation is then dissected for you to grasp the words, their meaning, pronunciation, etc. Thirdly, you take on the role of one of the natives, and with that, you are asked questions related to what has just been said. It’s a great evolution from repetition without any input or output by the listener.

The verdict: Very good course for people who want to learn how to speak, the course can be relatively fast. The methods used are valid and worth a try. Recommended!

Visit Pimsleur Language Website

Fabi Lara