I have been using Pimsleur recently to become more confident in my Italian oral capacities. I have found the program to be quite limited in vocabulary and grammatical explanations, but very good at helping you to perfect and retain what it does teach. I am currently only halfway through level 2 of Italian, but will post a final review after having completed all 5 levels of the Pimsleur Italian course offered. I truly believe in this method and find it to be helpful especially to those who have no prior exposure to the target language.
Pimsleur Italian I Reading Lesson 01.ogg download. Pimsleur Italian I Reading Lesson 02.ogg download. Pimsleur Italian I Reading Lesson 03.ogg download. Pimsleur Italian I Reading Lesson 04.ogg download. Pimsleur Italian I Reading Lesson 05.ogg download. Simon&Schuster's Pimsleur Basic Italian Totally Audio 5 CDs Interactive lessons. Pimsleur ITALIAN, Short Course. Language Learning Pack / Course. I’ve completed Pimsleur Italian parts 1 to 4, and now working through Pimsleur French. I’ve found Pimsleur great for building vocabulary, ensuring good pronunciation, and drilling to construct sentences on the run. Even though I studied French at school many years ago and know many of the words, I am still learning a lot from Pimsleur. Italian is the second Pimsleur product I've tried, having successfully finished the first half-level of German before (!) I left on a grand odyssey. Pimsleur Italian was packed into the same trip, but was rarely touched due to dense itnerary and distractions that go along with traveling. Save up to 50% on Pimsleur Italian course. Visit the Official Store: to learn more about the Pimsleur Method.
Let me explain what I like and dislike about the Pimsleur program. First for those who are unfamiliar it is entirely audio based. There are some reading lessons that are included with the 30 audio lessons, but they are not as in-depth. Each level provides 30 lessons around 30 minutes long, which is roughly 15 hours per level. Not all languages offer beyond 3 levels, but the more popular ones (French, Spanish, Italian) offer 5 levels. The main course begins with a dialogue and uses a call and response style to introduce vocabulary and phrases in gradual increments and has you recall them using this method that Dr. Paul Pimsleur perfected. By the end of each lesson you can listen back to the beginning conversation and understand it entirely. He developed this technique of gradual interval recall which essentially means that they expose you to a new word and then have you recall it moments later and then they gradually increase the time between when you’ve been exposed to the word and when you are put on the spot to recall it. The technique is quite effective and it definitely works.
While the course does work, the website claims that just 30 lessons will get you to an intermediate level and that is just simply an unreasonable, unrealistic statement. At best, the first level of the program (30 lessons in total, 30 minutes each) will provide you with enough of a basis in the language to feel confident speaking with the little you know and put you somewhere in the middle of an A1 level in the CEFR. While experts disagree on how many hours are necessary to obtain an A1 level of proficiency, it is generally agreed that it takes around 60 hours. The Pimsleur program simply does not expose you to enough grammar, vocabulary or hours of study to reach a B1 level (Intermediate) within 30 lessons. Perhaps after completing all five levels of the program offered for Italian, one might reach a solid A2 level or equal to around 75 hours total of study.
Here is what I like about the program, it is very easy to use and extremely flexible. It forces the learner to listen actively and respond actively in their studies. They provide you with a very short amount of time to respond and it really puts you on the spot. It is a great and effective way to increase one’s ability to respond to certain questions in certain scenarios. It is also a great and effective way to increase one’s listening comprehension as well as one’s ability to form grammatically correct sentences. Since I have not yet finished the entire program this review is incomplete. However, thus far what the program lacks is in-depth explanations of grammar as well as exposure to reading and writing. The program does have reading lessons, however they are not as effective as the main program. In fact I have found them to be quite useless, at least in terms of the ones for level one which are simply there for pronunciation purposes. The ones in level two are more useful providing you with exposure to common signs and idiomatic expressions. The program’s content is also limited and does not cover a wide variety of scenarios or vocabulary. Once I have completed the full Pimsleur course I will be more enabled to give a more comprehensive review on all of the levels and materials provided in the course. At this point in time however I have found the program to be very useful overall even though it is lacking. I would definitely recommend it for exposing yourself to this sounds of a new language and learning basics. I definitely plan to use Pimsleur for the other languages that I plan to study in the future. Just using Pimsleur I believe will allow one to obtain on an A2 level of a language. It will definitely allow you to reach a solid A1 level beginning into the A2 level if not a solid A2 level, which is really all that is required to comfortably navigate a country while traveling. However if one’s objective is to become completely proficient in a language to the level in which they could work in that language (C1/C2), then while I would recommend the course initially you would need several other programs or lessons in order to reach such a level to be proficient enough for conducting business in your target language.
That said the course does give you a very strong foundational basis in speaking and exposes you to the sounds and phonetics of the language you are wishing to learn and I would recommend it to anyone to help give them the initial confidence required to navigate in a new language. You will surprise yourself with how much you learn. Keep in mind though, that the lessons can be considered boring for some. It is mentally exhausting. Try a free lesson on their website to determine if this is the style for you. They offer the first lesson for each level of any language free, so you lose nothing except 30 minutes of your time.
About Pimsleur Italian Lessons.
Are you looking for a quality audio course? Or you want to learn how to speak Italian with a good accent? Then Pimsleur might be one the best programs for these purposes. The company is reputable and quite old already. At this time it offers to learn more than 50 foreign languages and the number of available lessons is still increasing.
Pimsleur audios are interactive and they encourage listeners to speak Italian. In each lesson you will be presented with different conversation. Of course it will be translated into English. Later the instructor will ask you to say different commands from what you have already learned. For example you will be asked a question like Excuse me, do understand English? and etc. You will be given some time to recall it from your memory. Alternatively you can simply repeat the phrase after the answer is given by a speaker.
Throughout the lessons, conversations in Pimsleur are divided into smaller parts. Some more difficult Italian words are pronounced even by sounds. So it is not too difficult to follow these Italian lessons for most learners.
The Pimsleur teaching approach is based a lot on repetition. Words and phrases you learn in one Pimsleur session, will come back in other lessons too. This is helpful because you will not forget what you have learned previously. Also you will not need to re-listen the same lessons many times.
What is included in this Course?
There are two types of courses offered for Italian learners by Pimsleur.
The first type is Premium version. It includes material from standard course and additionally Speak Easy Conversations, quick match game and flashcards. Although one should know that Premium course is more expensive ($119.95 compared to $150 for each level).
The second one is standard course, which includes audio lessons, culture notes and reading. For learners who do not need these additional features and want to save money, audio lessons might be just enough.
Pimsleur offers 5 levels for Italian. Hence it is suitable Italian course for different level learners. The core component of this program are audio lessons. There are a total of 30 lessons included in each level. They are on average about half an hour long. So there are ~16 hours of recorded material in each level and ~80 hours in all 5 levels. Once the course progresses and material becomes more difficult, you might need to re-listen lessons a few times. Hence with 5 parts of Pimsleur, you will have plenty of material to study from.
At the end of each level there is 1 hour of culture notes. They will give you some insight into Italian culture too. Pimsleur also provides some lessons to learn how to read in Italian. With this studying content you will learn how to read words with correct Italian accent and pronunciation.
Italian vocabulary provided in the course is mostly essential. It includes topics like how to book a hotel, order food, ask for directions, bargain in the shops and etc. All these mentioned topics can come in handy while visiting Italy. Hence Pimsleur lessons can be ideal for travelers who need to learn survival words and phrases fast.
One quite common concern by new Italian learners is that they will not have sufficient time to study. Nevertheless, Pimsleur course is made so that it wouldn’t take much time from its users. Pimsleur app allows learners to access studying content whenever they are. There is even hands-free option allowing users to study Italian while doing other things (driving car, in the gym and etc.). Hence you can make each of your free minute count.
What Do Other People Reviews Say?
Pimsleur Italian lessons have mostly positive reviews from its users. When we compare people testimonials with Rosetta Stone course, it can be said that learners are happier about this Italian program. They are more likely to recommend Pimsleur to their friends as well.
What most users like about these lessons is that they teach how to pronounce Italian words correctly & with good accent. Also vocabulary that can learn from this course will come in handy while visiting Italy. Hence many learners consider Pimsleur lessons prior to traveling.
A few complains about Pimsleur Italian lessons are that they are a bit repetitive to follow, they teach very limited grammar and also they are expensive. Read a few actual user reviews of Pimsleur Italian course bellow.
Interested in reading more user reviews of Pimsleur Italian? Then visitAmazon page here.
Review of The Main Pros and Cons.
Main Pros:
- Do want to try Pimsleur Italian prior to buying this course? You can do so by registering at official Pimsleur website (you will get 1 free Italian lesson);
- Pimsleur Method is well-tested throughout the years. So you can be sure that it is an effective course for learning foreign languages. By doing a short research online you can find dozens of testimonials confirming that this course helped learners to learn Italian or other foreign language;
- When studying via Pimsleur learners don’t need to spend additional time near their computer. They can download & transfer lessons for studying offline. Also it is possible to access all studying content via different devices by using the app;
- This course teaches survival vocabulary. Hence learners who are planning a trip to Italy soon, will be able to learn words and phrases that are needed for getting around;
- For Italian language in particular, it is possible to choose from two Pimsleur versions – Premium and Standard Audio Lessons. So this course is suitable for different type of learners. Also there are 5 levels of Pimsleur available. Hence Italian learners can progress more with this foreign language;
- Pimsleur course is easy to follow. All dialogues are translated & repeated a couple of times and each Italian word is pronounced separately as well;
- By following these lessons you can learn how to speak with a good Italian accent. This is because speakers in the recordings are native;
- Pimsleur lessons are interactive. Hence learners are constantly encouraged to say different Italian phrases and sentences out load. This is a very beneficial feature for practicing Italian speaking skills and preparing learners for actual conversations;
Pimsleur Italian 3
Main Cons:
- Pimsleur is quite expensive program as being only an audio course ($119.95 for each level). Course like Rocket is priced lower, yet it offers audios lessons in addition to other studying features;
- There is no transcript of dialogues included. So you might need to listen a lessons a couple of times when you find something unclear;
- With Pimsleur you will be introduced to only the most important grammar concepts. So for learning all aspects of Italian language, you will definitely need additional books;
- Each Pimsleur lesson is structured almost the same way (question-answer). Hence after a while it might become a bit boring to listen to them. It can be said that other audio based courses (like Michel Thomas) are a bit more engaging and not so monotonic;
- Pimsleur includes some written studying material. Nevertheless most learners find this reading material is not very useful;
Summary of a Review and Pricing.
To conclude this review it could be said that Pimsleur is only good learning program for certain type of learners. Due to studying content limitations, it’s not a good option for people who want to learn all aspects of the language. Also only Premium edition has visual learning features so it is mostly suitable for audible Italian learners. The price of all Pimsleur Italian parts is quite high too. Hence not all learners will be able to spend that much on a course.
No one could argue that Pimsleur has a lot of benefits too. They make it an effective Italian studying tool for many learners. With these lessons it is possible to learn essential Italian phrases fast. Hence it is ideal learning program for travelers. Users of Pimsleur also has flexibility to study conveniently via different devices and on the move. Short lessons doesn’t require much time as well. Hence Italian learners with limited time can find Pimsleur lessons suitable for them. Pimsleur audios feature native speakers and they are interactive. Consequently learners able to learn good accent and pronunciation from them.
Still have doubts about this Italian learning program? You can register at official Pimsleur website and get free lessons. This way you will be able to test the course and make sure it’s the right choice for you. The registration is totally free and only requires your e-mail, name and ZIP code.
When it comes to price, Pimsleur offers a few different options for its users. There is a possibility to buy each level separately – $119.95 or $150 for Premium version. Alternatively all parts can be purchased at once ($450 only audios), which is a bit cheaper. For those who do not want to spend a lot of money at once, there is also an option to buy only 5 lessons of Pimsleur at a time ($21.95).
Pimsleur Italian Coupon Code.
You should know that it is possible to reduce a price of this course too. This is possible when purchasing these Italian lessons from the official website online. All you need to do is use a special discount code SAVENOW at checkout. This particular coupon code will allow you to save up to 25% from your order.