Posted on Nov 24, 2013 | 1 comment

Popular Mode of Transportation in Marseille, France

Bonjour! Inspired by my travels to Marseille, France, I’m in the process of learning French with the Pimsleur Course Manager App on my iPad using the Pimsleur Method. Sure, there are ways to communicate without knowing a language but other times it can be frustrating not understanding the native tongue. I selected French because it’s a Romance Language meaning it’s the core of other languages. I already knew the basics like how to say Hello and Thank you in French, but I really want to gain a better understanding of the language. I also hope to return to France and would find it useful in other parts of the world such as in Quebec.

Some of the Delicious Breakfast Served at La Residence du Vieux Port in Marseille-Provence, France

Pimsleur Celebrates 50 Years in the Language Industry
I’ve tried other language-learning programs including school instruction but they just haven’t stuck. I’m enjoying the convenience of having lessons easily accessible on my iPad and learning daily with 30-minute lessons. The Pimsleur Course Manager App is iOS compatible, works for PCs and MACs and is available through iTunes and on Google Play. The Pimsleur Course Manager App makes language learning more portable than ever and reminds users to complete their daily lessons.

And speaking of French, to celebrate its 50 years in the language industry Pimsleur Language Programs conducted its first survey called Americans and Language: Perceptions and Realities and released results earlier this month. According to survey results, nearly half (45 percent) of those polled agree French is the sexiest language on Earth. Oh là là!

“This anniversary is particularly special to us, as we’ve seen leaps and bounds with language learning since our inception in 1963. We’re thrilled to release the book and Pimsleur Course Manager App, which make learning a foreign language more convenient and achievable,” says Robert Riger, Vice President and Director of Pimsleur Language Programs. “The process of learning a language can be daunting to many people, but it doesn’t have to be. Pimsleur’s audio-based learning system is proven to work and is designed to truly take the learner directly to the heart of the language.”

Also in celebration of the 50th anniversary, the company has released a hardcover version of Dr. Paul Pimsleure’s classic “How to Learn a Foreign Language.” The book targets all language learners and explains why everyone is capable of speaking a foreign language, walking them through the process of choosing a course of study. There is hope for me that this will stick!

In celebration of the 50th anniversary, Pimsleur Language Programs released a hardcover version of Dr. Paul Pimsleure’s classic “How to Learn a Foreign Language.

Give the Gift of a Language
If you need to buy a gift for a person who has everything or maybe a student who is heading overseas next semester or someone traveling abroad for the first time, consider giving Pimsleur’s Holiday Gift Set.

“How to Learn a Foreign Language” introduces the audio based Pimsleur Method,™ a completely natural way to learn a language that recalls how we first learned to speak as children. In addition to being released as an e-book and hardcover, “How to Learn a Foreign Language” is also available as part of Pimsleur’s Holiday Gift Set, paired with a 30-lesson course in any of the 50 languages available from Pimsleur.

More Fun Language Survey Results

• Despite the uptick in usage of language learning programs, almost three-quarters (73 percent) of Americans are unable to hold a conversation in more than one language.
• Americans have concerns with learning a new language: the biggest challenges cited are difficulty (32 percent) and not having enough time (29 percent). Nearly one-fifth (18 percent) of Americans felt they were “too old” to learn a language; 16 percent were intimidated because they had failed at learning a new language in the past.
• Less than 10 percent of Americans are aware that Mandarin Chinese is the most commonly spoken language in the world, and nearly three-quarters (70 percent) of those polled incorrectly maintain that English is the most commonly spoken language, followed by Spanish (14 percent). Yet, the number of people speaking Mandarin more than doubles the number of English and Spanish speakers.

Try a language lesson for free and learn more about Pimsleur at www.pimsleur.com.

The Pimsleur Method™

Developed 50 years ago by Dr. Paul Pimsleur, the Pimsleur Method is a scientifically proven set of principles:

• The “Principle of Graduated Recall” In his research, Dr. Pimsleur discovered how long students remembered new information and at what intervals they needed to be reminded of it. If reminded too soon or too late, they failed to retain the information.
• The “Principle of Anticipation” requires you to anticipate a correct answer. Practically, what this means is that you must retrieve the answer from what you’ve learned earlier. It works by asking you to provide a sentence, using information you’ve learned previously, and putting it into a new combination.
• “Core Vocabulary” You only learn the phrases and words you’ll be most likely to need, so language comes alive faster, and the vocabulary, grammar, and native-like pronunciation are easier to recall in real conversation.

View the infographic below for additional fun survey results.

Disclosure: As a travel blogger I received Pimsleur’s Holiday Gift Set complimentary in order to review the product. This post is based on my experience and opinions are my own.

Infographic Source: Pimsleur Speaks