Czech, Conversational: Learn to Speak and Understand Czech with Pimsleur Language Programs (Pimsleur Instant Conversation) [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Pimsleur (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0743551176 | ISBN-13: 978-0743551175 | Publication Date: December 26, 2005 | Edition: 16 Lessons

Czech is the official language of the Czech Republic. There are approximately 12 million native speakers. The two largest dialect groups in the Czech Republic are Bohemian (most widely spoken) and Hanak Moravian, spoken in the southeast. Pimsleur's Czech teaches the Bohemian dialect.

Czech, Conversational

• Sixteen 30-minute lessons of spoken Czech language instruction. These sixteen lessons are the same as the first sixteen lesson of Pimsleur's 30-Unit Comprehensive Program.
• Each lesson includes an introductory conversation, and new vocabulary and structures and includes practice for vocabulary introduced in previous lessons.
• Essential grammar and vocabulary. Topics include: greetings, numbers, meals, shopping, telling time, scheduling activities, and asking and giving directions.
• No mindless repetition! Converse with native speakers in natural (and useful!) conversations.
• Easy, fast, fun and effective language acquisition.
• Completely Audio - anytime, anywhere. No computer necessary! Unlike expensive software programs which tie learners to a computer, Pimsleur courses are available in CD or mp3 format to meet your needs.
• Receive an instant credit of $150 to trade up from the Conversational to the full Level 1 Comprehensive CD course.

Pimsleur® equals success. Just one 30-minute lesson a day gets you speaking and understanding like no other program.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Pimsleur programs provide plenty of positive reinforcement that will keep learners on track, and we found that Pimsleur gave us more proficiency and confidence in speaking the new language than any of the other language programs we reviewed." -- AudioFile Magazine

"EXTREMELY ACCESSIBLE...each section within the lessons is short enough to hold our attention, and there is enough repetition to teach even those who consider themselves slow learners...Pimsleur [programs] are extremely thorough and easy to use -- quite lively!" -- Boston Herald

"Learn French while commuting, German while jogging, Spanish (or Russian, Italian, and Japanese) while cooking all with NO WRITTEN MATERIALS!" -- New York Daily News

"Designed for the ear and not the eye...the lessons provide PERFECT 30-minute bites of work." -- St Louis Post-Dispatch

"Learn to habla español or parlez français before your next trip aboard. The interactive LESSONS CHALLENGE STUDENTS to use new words in conversation instead of memorize them." -- American Way (American Airlines inflight magazine)

"I tried other language programs with little success...This is the best by far!" -- Pamela A. Mitchell, Pilot, International Society of Women Airline Pilots

About the Author

Dr. Paul Pimsleur devoted his life to language teaching and testing and was one of the world’s leading experts in applied linguistics. After years of experience and research, Dr. Pimsleur developed The Pimsleur Method based on two key principles:  the Principle of Anticipation and a scientific principle of memory training that he called “Graduated Interval Recall.”  This Method has been applied to the many levels and languages of the Pimsleur Programs.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Pimsleur; 16 Lessons edition (December 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743551176
• ISBN-13: 978-0743551175
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.9 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #343,155 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #25 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Slavic Languages

More About the Author

Dr. Paul Pimsleur (b. 1926, d. 1976) devoted his life to language teaching and testing and was one of the world's leading experts in applied linguistics. He was fluent in French, good in German, and had a working knowledge of Italian, Russian, Modern Greek, and Mandarin Chinese. After obtaining his Ph.D. in French and a Masters in Psychology from Columbia University, he taught French Phonetics and Linguistics at UCLA. He later became Professor of Romance Languages and Language Education, and Director of The Listening Center (a state-wide language lab) 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. He did research on the psychology of language learning and in 1969 was Section Head of Psychology of Second Language Learning at the International Congress of Applied Linguistics.

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 (The Pimsleur Method) that is based on two key principles: the Principle of Anticipation and a scientific principle of memory training that he called "Graduated Interval Recall." This Method has been applied to the many levels and languages of the "Pimsleur Programs."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best way to quickly learn Czech, October 4, 2006

By 

jane (seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Czech, Conversational: Learn to Speak and Understand Czech with Pimsleur Language Programs (Pimsleur Instant Conversation) (Audio CD)

Prior to my trip to Prague I bought both the Pimsleur CDs and the Colloquial Czech CDs by James Naughton. I was a true beginner, and the Naughton series completely overwhelmed me - they talk way too fast! This series was fantastic, though. They speak slowly and clearly, start with the basics, and repeat words often as you go through the lessons so you don't forget what you have learned in previous chapters. The conversations focus on topics such as hotels, money, asking where things are, etc. so it is definitely most useful for tourists.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Falls a little short., March 18, 2006

By 

Mark Siggers - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Czech, Conversational: Learn to Speak and Understand Czech with Pimsleur Language Programs (Pimsleur Instant Conversation) (Audio CD)

The Pimsleur course are the best introduction I've seen to a foreign language; however, I was sorely disappointed with this course in particular.

I was so impressed with Pimsleur's 'Speak and Read' ten lesson course, that felt I had to get more. Not being able to wait for the 30 lesson Comprehensive course whose that has just recently been released, I bought the 16 lesson Conversational course. I was expecting the first 10 lessons to be those that I had already listened to. I was delighted to find that, though they overlapped in material, they were not the same. I also found the pronunciation much clearer than in the 10 lesson set.

My disappointment arose from the fact that, unlike the earlier ten lesson set, the 'Instant Conversation' course moves excruciatingly slowly. It seemed to spend five or six lessons going over variations of how to ask "would you like to...". I understand that we need repetition to learn a language, but isn't the point of buying the CD's that you can listen to them more than once? Some of the lessons introduced, literally, fewer than 6 words.

I feel that having such a course is essential when you start to learn Czech. If I hadn't already listened to the earlier 10 lesson set, I think I still would have found this course slow, but would have felt it a $48 well spent. As it is though, I found it disappointing, and looking at similar reviews for the Comprehensive Course, I feel fortunate that my impatience saved me from spending the extra $180 for it. Having some exposure to the language and pronunciation, I am now more comfortable learning from a book. I find the book 'Czech' by David Short, from the 'Teach yourself' series to be very useful.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for listening to CD while driving, January 4, 2007

By 

ACW (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Czech, Conversational: Learn to Speak and Understand Czech with Pimsleur Language Programs (Pimsleur Instant Conversation) (Audio CD)

The CD's provided give good basic words for greetings, asking simple questions, and teaching numbers. We went to the Czech Rep in Nov, 30 days after receiving the lessons and were able to do basic communication. In Prague most people have a basic or good understanding of English, but out in the countryside, the little Czech we learned was useful when ordering meals, buying something. The number system and pronunciation were very helpful.

The CD's at times tended to be overly redundant, but they were convenient to use since there were no written lesson plans to follow. I managed to listen to all the CD's at least twice. I recommend this program.