Yes, I am a crazed Francophile, meaning I love everything French, especially the language. I wasn’t always this way. It happened on a trip to France while strolling the streets of Paris; my heart was stolen – never to be the same.
Here’s my story of the ways I tried to learn French before I discovered the Pimsleur audio courses:
Language schools – since I live in a semi-rural area, there were no adult education classes in French nearby. There were some community colleges courses, but the high fees and daytime schedule did not work for me. So I enrolled in the Berlitz language school and drove 3 hours round-trip weekly to attend classes. I rate this course, a D; the teachers were not well trained. Perhaps they know the French language well, but they did not know how to teach effectively. The class was boring and de-motivating. Thus $300 and many hours of driving and class time wasted.
Books – After spending lots of time and money, I decide to go back to the old-fashioned method and get a paper printed book. The only problem was that were so many to choose. I didn’t know where to begin. I picked up a few textbooks from Amazon that were highly rated and learned a few things but not very much. Then I stumbled upon a book called the Berlitz Self-Teacher French. Eureka finally, a book that instead of using the unreadable phonetic language, they used English-based words to explain pronunciation. Now, this I could I understand. This book was fun and made a dramatic improvement in my understanding and pronunciation.
Library – Now I was finally making some progress, and I wanted to add audio into my learning curriculum. So off to library went and I took out the Pimsleur French, and it was love at first listen.
Audio learning is the way experts recommend to learn a foreign language. Also, it’s a lot more fun. It’s like spending time with a native speaker friend. No duller school classrooms, nor textbooks and tests for me! This is a 100% audio learning program. Dr. Pimsleur developed this theory of self-education which resulted from his years of study and teaching linguistics and language psychology. He was interested in how memory could be used to teach new languages with a particular sequence of “spaced repetition”. Instead of the previously standard method of learning a word and then repeating it immediately. He would circle back and ask you to repeat that word a minute later and then maybe 5 minutes later and then the next day. This method helps your mind remember the new word for a longer period until it becomes ingrained in your memory.
I love how super convenient it is. It is like having an entire language school in my pocket when I have the courses downloaded on my phone or the easy to use iPhone and ipad app. My drive time is one of my favorite ways to practice French. No, I’m not stuck in traffic I’m really in a Parisian cafe. Why not take the dog for a walk and practice your new language or while doing housework, or relaxing at home. Your French class is on your schedule. I found that the convenience factor accelerated my learning because it was so easy to use. I discovered that I practiced more often and thus my progress was substantial. Can’t wait to my next trip to France to practice my fluency and enjoy all France has to offer. Au revoir (Good Bye in French)