Customer Reviews

German III, Comprehensive: Learn to Speak and Understand German with Pimsleur Language Programs

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I will probably repeat a lot of what others have said, but here goes. I think the real strength of these courses is that they get you to converse. You practice conversation. You talk, you listen. Will you learn lots of vocabulary? No. Will you learn all the grammar rules? No. Can you learn a language with only these courses? Of course not. You will need other materials, courses, books, whatever. But they are another tool in your toolbox to help you achieve your goal. What they give you is practice at speaking real conversations. And you will pick up some vocabulary and grammar along the way, what you need to succeed in these lessons.

I've been through all 4 levels and found them all great. Including level 4 (German Plus). This one has a bad rap, I think mostly because it's shorter than the rest. And certainly some of the new vocabulary is quite focused on one topic. But I found it added a lot of new conversational situations, and a lot of new grammar. Do you learn words that the average tourist doesn't need? Sure, but if you were just the average tourist, would you be buying these? We are only talking about a dozen or so words, it's not like your being forced to learn hundreds of words you'll never use.

Are they perfect? No, there are inconsistencies, there are silly little things here and there that I would call "editing" mistakes. And I really wish they'd give up the pretension that you only need to do each lesson once. I had to do each one at least 3 times before I could move on. But they are great for what they are. If you want to practice conversations, this is for you.

I studied German as an undergrad quite a few years ago. I've spent quite a bit of money over the years on less expensive programs trying to work on my verbal communication skills and reclaim the skills I had all those years ago (without going to Germany :). This one is fantastic. My profession is teaching others to speak English, so I am aware of some of the techniques they use in this program. Repetition is key, as is 'scaffolding' - or using and then building on prior knowledge. They also use 'backwards buildup' - which has you repeat the end part of the sentence first. The end part is generally the hardest part of a phrase to remember. I have only been using this for one day and am absolutely thrilled with the progress thus far. Most language programs require either sitting at a computer or with a book - or with a finger poised on the rewind button. This is great for just having in the car. I was a little worried about using level 3 - but it's perfect for getting back into speaking German. I haven't used levels 1 or 2, so I can't give an opinion of them. A final note: it is expensive. Check your local library. Mine has a few copies of each level. Viel spass!

UPDATE May 2011: Recently, Simon and Schuster has updated their Pimsleur German III course, so much of my constructive criticism found below is no longer valid. I will leave that original review intact for those who may stumble upon the older edition of this course, which is what you may find if you obtain a used copy or check out Pimsleur German III from your local library.

As for the new edition, I am seriously impressed. This goes much further than the previous edition. Even after years of speaking German, I obtained this new edition and went through all the lessons, and the differences were astounding. The older edition was honestly not challenging enough, but this new one is quite challenging, and the language learned is extremely beneficial. About 75% of the content of the older course is present here, and the other 25% is brand new. Another nice "upgrade" to this course is its variation and nuance in its use of interval recall. You could almost sense the exact outline of the lessons in the older edition, whereas this edition keeps you on your proverbial toes.

I would like to suggest to anyone that wishes to learn German to use the Pimsleur method. If you know no German and use the Pimsleur courses exactly as suggested, i.e. master 80% of one lesson every single day, the amount of German you can learn in 100 short days is truly remarkable.

I am therefore changing my rating from 4 stars to 5 stars.

Below is my review of the older edition.
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I've raved for years about how much I love Pimsleur language courses. I truly believe they are the best way for a new learner of a foreign language to speak and understand the spoken word, traditionally the weakest abilities among American language students. The method used in Pimsleur allows a learner to be able to achieve a more "fluent" feeling when conversing, at least for the vocabulary covered in the courses, because one's recall is trained to work much faster than if one had to think out a translation. Those who sell Rosetta Stone like to point out that Pimsleur is an all-audio course and therefore does not teach you how to read and write. This is true, but in my humble opinion, the level of speaking and listening one can attain through Pimsleur makes it worth the money, even alongside whatever other resources a learner wishes to use.

As far as weaknesses go, Pimsleur German III is the weakest of the German offerings, and therefore I give it 4 stars instead of 5. The German I, II, and Plus courses were all produced during this decade with the intent of being distributed on CD or other digital means. Conversely, German III was recorded in the 1990s, and very obviously there was some sort of tape-to-digital transfer in order to make the CDs, and the audio quality is therefore quite medicore in comparison. Some of the speakers (specifically the female German speaker and the German-speaking "teacher") do not speak nearly as clearly as their counterparts on the other courses. And because these lessons are from an older edition than the other courses, there are some continuity issues with phrases that hadn't been learned yet in German II being presented as if they had, as well as phrases that were already taught in German II but are presented here as if they are new. I think German II and German Plus contain the largest amounts of vocabulary, and the use of interval recall isn't as nuanced and mature in German III.

Obviously, all of those problems would be resolved with the production of an updated edition of German III, and I truly hope one is currently in the works, if one isn't already available. However, even with this older edition, learning still happens rapidly and easily.

This is my third set of Pimsleur German audio program. Overall, this tool is very good for pronounciation practice and simple sentence building if you already have the basics of german grammar (2 years of high school classes in my opinion). The male conversationalist's articulation is not that good. Ane the subject matter is too narrow- it's geared towards people who do business/work in Germany. It's less useful for student life in the university.

In my opinion, Pimsleur is the fastest path to language success. It's easy and natural. Why not learn a foreign language in the same way you learned your first? Our 15-year-old daughter is beginning German III after only 7 months with Pimsleur. She's now so excited about languages that's she's planning to begin Greek this summer.

Pimslauer German courses are amazing! I've lived in Argentina and learned spanish while living there. These courses have taught me German in a very similar way to how I learned Spanish. I've tried other language CDs and even classroom learning, but this is the best way to go. After this, you will be able to practice what you've learned and add additional vocabulary!

Pimsleur's okay, but diddling around with the least demanding of vocabulary leaves the relic worth less than three hundred dollars (lots of cognates and overuse of "to be"). The sale price looks good. Similar content used to arrive on LP or cassette. The filler music sounds folksy and hokey. Three hundred dollars to learn tourist rant seems pricey. The total play-time adds up to a good deal, but much of it is repetitive--an artifact of the reel-to-reel and LP era. Yet people tenaciously cling to this familiar icon.

It gets four stars because it remains among the best of the lot--but it competes in a league of expensive mediocrity.

Amazon's customers have global accounts and can purchase CD's and DVD's from Germany, so today, Pimsleur pales in comparison to the likes of Bruce Willis, Will Smith, Vin Diesel or even Gregory Peck if that's who makes your socks go up and down (s. Das letzte Ufer). For vocabulary, Hollywood's entertaining translations complete with p-o-p-ular, musical soundtracks win hands down (s. Traumshiff Surprise). For anyone who has disposable income, the Pimsleur tapes add up to a worth-while investment. For regular folk, the three hundred dollars would buy a good, used comprehensive dictionary and a slew of DVD's and CD's (s. Jazzkantine, Ina Müller) that would be fun to play over and over. Subtitles fuer Hoergeschaedigte provide a nice touch too.

The Pimsleur disks gather dust. "Once Upon a Time in the West (Spiel Mir Das Lied Vom Tod)" and "Man unter Feuer" keep on entertaining and teaching.

Pimsleur could do well to take the lead from Destinos. Destinos delivers content through a four-semester long video drama interspersed with grammatical review.

viel Spass! Platt is ook nix uncool.