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

Pimsleur (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 5, 2005 | Series: Pimsleur Instant Conversation (Book 1)

Persian is the official language of Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. Persian has three major dialects: Farsi (spoken in Iran), Dari (spoken in Afghanistan), and Tajik (spoken in Tajikistan). Pimsleur's Farsi teaches Persian as spoken in Iran.

Farsi Persian, Conversational

• Sixteen 30-minute lessons of spoken Farsi Persian 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 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743551184
• ISBN-13: 978-0743551182
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 8 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #236,941 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

63 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Filled me with confidence for my trip to Iran, September 6, 2006

By 

Liz (New York) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

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

This pack comes with 8 CDs, which is 16 half-hour lessons. There is no book - the theory is that your accent will be better if you learn from speech only and without writing things down. For a grammar-nerd like me, it was a difficult proposition, but I really think it works. From the very first half-hour session, you feel you are making impressive progress. Each session starts with a short conversation, which is pretty incomprehensible when you first hear it, and then the lesson goes on to introduce you to the words and phrases, so that by the end, you can understand the conversation. The recording is beautifully clear, with a man and woman taking turns to speak the Farsi, and an American man walking you through, pointing out the alien sounds you need to pay extra attention to, and prompting you with bits of English so that you can supply the Farsi in the gaps. You will often work with a phrase for a minute or two, and then move on to something else, only to be prompted for the original phrase again ten minutes later - it is hugely satisfying when you manage to recall it correctly, and hear the Persian voice come in and say exactly what you just said. This publisher knows how to make you feel good; the other clever move is that they never explain grammar, but through their choice of examples they allow you to infer grammar over time (hmm, seems like every time we say "you" do something, it ends with that sound, and every time we say "I" do something, it ends with this other sound...). This sense of self-discovery motivates you to keep listening, although you are discouraged from tackling more than one lesson in a day. In fact you will probably want to listen to most of the lessons twice before moving on, but that still allows you to obtain a decent level of basic Farsi in just one month, during your morning commute.

You can't beat this package for value either. If you're interested in learning Farsi, get this *first*. It's a great way to start out.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars what a method!, January 9, 2007

By 

Midge St. Louis (new york, NY) - See all my reviews

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

this is the best language learning method i have used. i have a degree in french and linguistics and i can tell you that from a technical standpoint these cds are excellent. you learn things you don't even realize you're learning, you repeat A LOT but somehow you're not bored by it (the way they set it up is so that you repeat things but in a different "conversation"), and you don't just learn travel-type information -- it's stuff you would use if you had farsi-speakers in your life or as acquaintances. it also gives cultural information so that you don't make any faux pas when speaking and so you can better understand the context for the language. so worth the money. you can actually come out speaking fairly competently.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great introduction to language, January 6, 2007

By 

S. Sadeghi (California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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

it has been a great introduction to the persian language. i am learning a lot of great phrases and i especially enjoy hearing pronunciation from an iranian man and woman.