Customer Reviews

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

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This first of a proposed three programs teaches the Ojibwe language (a.k.a. Chippewa or Anishinaabemowin) in a fashion which is refreshingly new and different from other language material and courses. Instead of presenting new elements of vocabulary and grammar in choppy sequences of unrelated events, it builds up on a conversation by expanding a dialogue from one session to the next. The progression includes consistent reminders of previous lessons in an aural construction of a simple greeting between two individuals into a longer conversational interaction. The price seems a bit high for a package of sixteen tapes. The cost is comparable to purchasing several individual Anishinaabe language tapes which the market offers. It has an advantage in the continuity which exists from the first of the many tapes to the last, and its method of delivery avoids the dullness of continual rote memorization. For those who care to further their abilities and print in the language, any web based search engine or a distributor's search engine such as the one on this page can display a selection of texts which instruct in or include writing the Ojibwe language.

I'm very impressed with Pimsleur's method of self-teaching via an oral method. I'm very familiar with the process of learning language. Recently, I've been using Pimsleur's high-intermediate Arabic course to refresh my Arabic skills in preparation for a return to that part of the world.

Just out of curiosity, I started the Ojibwe course and am now on the 7th lesson. I really like the way the vocabulary and dialogs are tailored to Native American culture. There isn't a lot of talk about going out to drink beer or wine with friends, for example. Instead, the focus is more on the natural landscape and Native American cultural activities.

I have a contact in a Native American tribe here in Utah, and one of my goals is to model a course in his language on this Ojibwe course.