Compact Croatian, a stand-alone 10-lesson (5 hours) program, teaches beginning language strategies for essential communication and traveling needs, plus an introduction to reading.
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Dr. Pimsleur devoted his life to language teaching and was one of the world's leading experts in applied linguistics. After obtaining his Ph.D. in French from Columbia University, he taught French Phonetics and Phonemics, and supervised the language laboratory at UCLA. He went on to become Professor of Romance Languages and Language Education, and Director of The Listening Center at Ohio State University; Professor of Education and Romance Languages at the State University of New York at Albany; and a Fulbright lecturer at the University of Heidelberg. Dr. Pimsleur was a member of the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF), American Educational Research Association (AERA), Modern Language Association (MLA), and a founding member of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). His many books and articles revolutionized theories of language learning and teaching. After years of experience and research, Dr. Pimsleur developed a new method that is based on two key principles: the Principle of Anticipation and a scientific principle of memory that he called Graduated Interval Recall. This program incorporates both of these principles to provide you with the most simple and effective learning method possible.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good but no cure all,
By
This review is from: Croatian Compact (Compact) [CD] (Audio CD)
A word of note on the Pimsleur technique. Essentially it comprises three speakers; a narrator, a male speaker, and a female speaker. The course is split into 10 half-hour lessons. And, if the recommended timeframe, of one class per day, is adhered to, should take you 10 days to complete. You will no doubt review the lessons at least once, and therefore the commitment each day will generally be a solid hour of listening.
In a sense it is not all too different from a basic phrase type course in which words and sentences are spoken for you to repeat. Similarly, you will learn words and sentences, not grammar. The difference is in the structure of the course, which uses review and continuous repetition, along with the posing of questions to the student. It also places a greater emphasis upon pronunciation, with a syllable breakdown whenever new words are introduced. The syllable breakdown technique is very good in nailing the pronunciation, something your typical listen and repeat course does not do. However it adds up to a more time consuming method and therefore less material is covered. It is therefore, in ten lessons, a case of greater depth than breadth. Such that, in essence you will learn, albeit with astoundingly good pronunciation (your native speaking friends will note this), only about thirty phrases (See D. Woei (Netherlands) "Vietnamese for dummies: Easy to learn, but waaaaay to little", review of Pimsleur's Quick and Easy Vietnamese for an identical word/sentence list, December 11, 2002) Another note that perplexes me about this course is the inclusion of the reading exercises. Eight of the ten units are accompanied by a reading lesson, which is basically a reading of 15 or so words at the end of the lesson, these words are printed on a reading book/pamphlet. The object is no doubt to develop in the learner an understanding of reading Croatian words. However, the words appear random, with no relevance to the course unit. In fact there are no translations to English, and not all words are covered in the course of the lesson. I do not know why it doesn't provide a list of the phrases and words that have been discussed and taught. The real question is: Is this worth your money? The Pimsleur technique seems widely lauded, and in terms of Croatian quite effective. This course in itself is good and is recommended as a suitable introduction to the Croatian language. Without many competitors, it is nevertheless, very good. This then should be enough to buy it. It's good for starters, and there's not much else that is offered for Croatian. Unlike, for instance French or Spanish, Croatian is not a language that has the same wide market appeal, hence the relative lack of language products available for it. I am convinced that this introductory course, if indeed Simon and Schuster do not produce a comprehensive course, is intended to test market demand. For whom those most likely to undertake it are business people or foreign service types. Thus it is good in allowing for the speaking of several phrases to break the ice, but in teaching the necessary language skills to communicate with one's potential mother-in-law it is lacking.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally a course slow enough to repeat and learn,
By Globetrotter (Summerdale, AL USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Croatian Compact (Compact) [CD] (Audio CD)
I had purchased a croatian language course from "Langenscheidt" before. It came with 2 big work books and 2 cassette tapes. I tried to work with it but the tapes were spoken so fast in the native language that I couldn't even make out the first sentence.
This language course is awsome. I am german and have learned english in school (Now living in the U.S.A.). Then I learned basic spanish from "Berlitz" language course which also speaks very slowly and makes you repeat time and time again. This course does the same. It is so easy to learn. I just pop the cd's in the player in my car and learn on the way to and from work every day. My daughter is 17 and learns it alongside with me just for fun. And fun it is. We have a great time with it. The only thing I wish they would have done better is to include a work/text book - kind of "the old fashioned way" so you could learn the spelling part also. Other than that, it is great for a "pure" beginner. It won't teach you enough to hold an ongoing conversation, but for a start it is great. I hope they will bring out more "advanced editions" after this one.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extended version coming soon...,
By
This review is from: Croatian Compact (Compact) [CD] (Audio CD)
As others have mentioned, this version of Pimsleur Croatian offers an excellent introduction but is not nearly as in-depth as some of the other Pimsleur language programs. If you are looking for an introduction to pronunciation and basic phrases, this basic version will make for a great purchase.
If, however, you are interested in a more comprehensive program, then you may wish to wait for Croatian: Learn to Speak and Understand Croatian with Pimsleur Language Programs. Instead of 10 lessons, the new one will have 30 lessons. I just looked on the publisher's website and it appears the new version will be released on October 21, 2008. Edit: Looks like the release date has been pushed back to January, 2009.
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