Customer Reviews

German III

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Before I embarked on the 3 Pimsleur German levels, I was rather concerned as to whether I was making a wise investment (over $700) for a bunch of tapes sans accompanying textbooks. However, I realized very shortly into Level I that the interactive approach, which is the hallmark of the Pimsleur pedagogy, was well worth every penny of my hard-earned money. This is because going through the three levels was akin to my hiring a private German tutor to first teach me some basic grammar, word order, and vocabulary, and then tirelessly and effectively drill me on the newly learned material as well as reinforce previously acquired knowledge. I felt progressively more dejected as I was nearing the completion of Level III as I realized there wasn't a Level IV that I could advance to.

Completing all 3 levels gave me greater confidence and facility in my pronunciation, in addition to making it much easier for me to comprehend and retain German grammar and word order that I was studying on my own concurrent with the tapes. And, unlike quite a few other German audiotape programs I have purchased in the past, the Pimsleur tapes do not employ a Southern German accent with the tell-tale rolled "R" instead of the uvular "R." (Could you imagine spending so much money just to find out later that you speak fluent German but with a regional accent?) If anyone is ready to invest $700 or more in a self-study audiotape program, he or she should at least make sure that the program teaches a "proper" accent before making the investment, and the three levels of the Pimsleur program are definitely a wise investment. Viel Vergnuegen!

I've read several reviews from folks slightly annoyed with what the Pimsleur course is lacking. If you are studying a language academically, and plan to become a book editor, etc. then they have a good point. Otherwise, language is first and foremost spoken and auditory. How did you learn your first language? BY LISTENING AND REPEATING! That is how our brains are wired.

The Pimsleur courses are the only ones to embrace this certainty and gear themselves toward our natural abilities. When you put aside your preconceptions about proper grammatical structure in the past imperfect tense (yada yada yada...), you realize that you could speak and understand your first language fluently before you could read a single word. This is the order in which languages should be learned.

Pimsleur can be used one of two ways. A) To give you an amazingly strong ability to communicate conversationally in a very short period of time. If you are planning a trip to a foreign country, I can't recommend Pimsleur enough to further enrich your experience. B) To be the first step in thoroughly learning a new language. You won't be a gramatical expert, nor will you understand all the rules simply from Pimsleur. You will, however, know what sounds right. You will have developed an ear for proper grammar, pronunciation, and conjugation. Further studies will be far simpler because the rules will make sense the minute you learn them.

This said, I've done several programs (I have a considerable commute) and can comfortably converse in all languages. The proof is in the pudding, so to speak!

I enjoyed German I & II, however I am having problems with German III. The flow is great between the previous CDs but the presentation leaves much to be desired.

In German I & II the conversations were great with inflection in the speakers voices that could lead you to believe you were listening to a real conversation. In German III it is obvious the speakers are reading sentences on a page and have no idea how their sentences are to be put togather.

The guy who says, "Sagen Sie" and "Fragen Sie" sounds like he is about to fall asleep. My CDs seem to have been made in 1998 by recording the cassettes from 1994 onto CDs. (You can hear the poor quality of tape compared to CDs.)

I recommend waiting until 2004 when the new version is out for this product. German I & II have a copyright after 2000.

After working hard to finish Pimsleur German I and II, I was looking forward to tackling the next big hurdle, Pimsleur German III. And while I did progress quickly, I found that all of the unique and interesting ways Pimsleur was getting me to learn in Pimsleur German II were not as prevalent in III.

After looking carefully at all of the packaging, I discovered that the recordings are most likely from 1994 (compared to I and II, which were last recorded in 2002), and it sounds like they had been transferred from tape to CD. Because of that, the sound quality, which makes a world of difference when you're trying to learn to pronounce things correctly, was only fair. Also, it seems as though Pimsleur German III follows a pattern closer than Pimsleur German II, so it was almost too easy to guess what was coming next.

Finally, because this is an older course, there are some words and phrases introduced as new in Pimsleur German III that were already covered in Pimsleur German II. Conversely, there are words in III that were not in II (but perhaps were in an older edition of II) that Pimsleur assumes you know. This isn't a big deal because it doesn't happen very often, but it is an annoyance.

To sum up, this course is very good, and you will find nothing else like it. However, once you're at this level, you may not need the "Pimsleur crutch" to learn. Try to find it used, if possible.

I have now completed all 3 Levels of Pimsleur German, as well as their additional German Plus 10-lesson course. It's a total of 100 lessons, 50 hours and it's well worth the time. Taking you from the very basics, all the way through past, present and future tense, a large vocabulary and great listening and conversation skills. I wouldn't want to debate Helmut Kohl on the benefits of the EU, but if I were in Germany right now, I would have no problem with the basics of every day life. Bottom line, Pimsleur language programs are the best way to learn a language on your own.

I've completed Pimsleur 2 and 3. Although I feel the programs have the right approach, Level 3 should have been more difficult. There was a considerable amount of redundancy between level 2 and 3...... IMO you can always go back and listen to level 2, level 3 should have moved on. Some of the dialogue should have even been covered in level 1, not levels 2 or 3.

New students NEED a grammar book.

Having listened to some of the German and Japanese tapes just recently, I have to say that the way vocabulary is built up in these tapes is wonderful. The repetition is exactly what is needed. The suggestion about pausing the tape to give yourself time to come up with answers is a very good one.

I have to remember to thank my Japanese and German teachers, however! In listening to the tapes, I was amazed how much I had managed to recall from lessons of over 10 to 20 years ago.

But I've only had one year of college German, and I found even with that I was at least at the intermediate level of the tapes. So what am I supposed to do after level 3? These tapes are rather expensive for that reason. But then again, a college course isn't cheap either. Perhaps the best way to use these tapes is to treat this like you're taking a college course, and use the tapes as conversation practice, but then also supplement them with some good grammar books and a dictionary.

The speakers on the tapes are excellent. Very clear pronunciation. If only people normally talked that slowly and clearly! Just for kicks, I'm going to try the tapes in a language I don't already speak and see just how much I can pick up.

I listened to all three Pimsleur programs prior to taking a trip to Germany. In general, I was very satisfied with the program. For the short investment in time I was able to have relatively meaningful conversations. This ability was especially important when my wife got sick and needed to be hospitalized (the doctors speak perfect English, but it was nice to be able to speak German with the staff.) The biggest problem was that while it was possible to communicate, I ended up butchering a lot of phrases not knowing when to use der, dem, den, etc. Nevertheless, I was very glad I used the program and intend to start the Spanish program next.

Pimsleur Language Programs products are among the best-selling audio language courses available. `Organic learning' seeks to approximate the conditions in which ordinary language-learning takes place. The process is almost entirely aural, supplemented only minimally-or at the student's discretion, not at all-by reference to reading lessons after each half-hour lesson.

Clearly, Dr. Pimsleur and his disciples-I use the word advisedly, as a glance at promotional and instructional materials will demonstrate-have done their pedagogical homework. Utilizing the spectacular power of the brain for on-the-hoof language analysis and replication, the Pimsleur Language Programs lure their listeners into meaning-rich dialogues, providing only the information required for one to respond. The closest thing to a grammatical concept that a student hears is a brief warning that `this is the form used with feminine words'. Yet with a little effort, the student intuits her way to the correct and timely use of all that grammar describes.

This is an extremely productive approach at the level of basic conversational skills that is the bread and butter of Pimsleur's products. The course writers have found just the level at which to challenge the student without counterproductive frustration. One is encouraged to achieve 80% control of a unit before moving on. Many students will accomplish this in most units on the first try. Yet the approach in these three volumes is never simplistic, reducing the urge to be somewhere else or engaged in a more advanced section to the vanishing point.

Pimsleur Language Programs has populated websites with two highly sellable language-learning concepts: the `principle of anticipation' and `graduated interval recall'. The former refers to the interval during which the student is challenged to retrieve information to which he has been exposed, occasionally take some small step in the processing of it, and then utilize that information in a response. PLP has refined just the right intervals to facilitate prompt but unhurried responses.
`Graduated interval recall' refers to the time lag between the initial learning of a language component and its subsequent reintroduction in a new conversation. Here, too, the Pimsleur method shows its debt to years of practice and research. By my lights, they do this perfectly.

Regionally and socially, PLP's German course(s) aim at an `educated' dialect that will prepare the student to be conversant throughout Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Regrettably, Simon & Schuster Audio tampered with a winning recipe and with predictable results. The voices in the recording of volume III are amateurish and the audio quality disastrous, a shocking departure from the evident quality of volumes I and II. This may seem a trifle, until one counts up the 15 hours minimum that one spends with each of these recorded albums. Attractive voices and good audio, especially for commuters like this one, are elements that matter. A Simon & Schuster Pimsleur Language network spokesman stated that a resolution is forthcoming.

German I, II, and III are available in cassette tape and CD versions, packaged attractively and with sufficient ruggedness to survive both winter and summer Midwestern temperatures in my car.

I used the complete Pimsleur course: I - III and German Plus. It gave me exactly what I needed--practice and confidence in conversation. It was all review for me, as I'd studied German before, a considerable amount of study on my own. I found that the cassettes were perfect for my long daily commute. I would listen to two lessons in the morning and listen to the same two in the evening. Although the course didn't really add a lot to my vocabulary and very little to my knowledge of grammar, the conversation practice was great. Especially for those like me, who have studied a lot on their own, conversation can be difficult. Practice is invaluable in breaking down what I call the brain-tongue barrier. (So many times listening to the tapes, I had the answer in my head but just couldn't get it out of my mouth in time!)

Having said that, I would hate for this course to be my introduction to German. I would hate to do this course without knowing some grammar and the principles of German pronunciation. In addition, I find that the words and phrases chosen for special help with pronunciation were not consistent. In effect, some of the simpler words were emphasized like this, but more complex words like "Dolmetscher" were breezed over in the conversations. And some of the basics in vocabulary were not covered--for instance, I don't think the complete list of months was covered, and learning all seven days took quite a few lessons!