Romanian, Basic: Learn to Speak and Understand Romanian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur) [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Pimsleur (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0743566211 | ISBN-13: 978-0743566216 | Publication Date: July 22, 2008 | Edition: Unabridged

The 10-lesson (5 CDs) Basic Course gives customers the chance to test drive the incredibly effective and efficient, world-famous Pimsleur Comprehensive Program.  A real try it before you buy it deal.  Customers will love the experience of acquiring the essential grammar and vocabulary of Romanian, during the spoken practice sessions.  It is this ease of language acquisition that makes the full Comprehensive Pimsleur Program so popular and successful for adult language learners.

Editorial Reviews

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; Unabridged edition (July 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743566211
• ISBN-13: 978-0743566216
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.5 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 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: #591,621 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #55 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

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great--if you want to pick up Romanian women, September 29, 2008

By 

S. Gately "halfpint37" (Cambridge MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Romanian, Basic: Learn to Speak and Understand Romanian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur) (Audio CD)

I'm a woman who recently bought this to prepare for a 2 week trip to Romania. I have no problem with the method, and in fact the things I learned did stick with me.

However...it's important to know who this was designed for. As far as I can tell from the dialogues, it is designed for a man traveling on business who wants to pick up women and get them drunk.

I have to say that I am slow to be offended by content. Yet, the dialogues were so slanted towards this dating goal that it came to be hilarious. Except that I seriously needed more practical knowledge for my trip, which made it exasperating instead.

Sample text (restaurant scene)
Man: Would you like something to drink?
Woman: I'll have water.
Man: I'm going to have a beer.
Waiter comes over.
Man: 2 beers, please.
Woman: No, I wanted water.

Another text:
Woman: I'd like something to drink.
Man: How about at your house?
Woman: No, not at my house.
Man: OK
Woman: I'd also like something to eat.
Man: LATER. (In other words, she's only allowed to drink, not eat.)

One lesson after the other harped on this topic of "would you like a drink? How about a beer?" I actually could not believe my ears when I got to the higher levels and it was still on this track.

So, in Romania, I was never thirsty, but I lacked basic phrases and words like "When does the train come?"

Get a different program (unless you want to seduce Romanian women. Actually, not even then. It will help you get to a bar with a woman, but you will have totally run out of vocabulary once you reach that point, so good luck.)

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best language instruction I've ever had., January 25, 2010

By 

KLW "***" (SE USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Romanian, Basic: Learn to Speak and Understand Romanian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur) (Audio CD)

Apparently, this brilliant product sailed over the heads of some other reviewers.

First, the heavy accents of the Romanian speakers are deliberate, as is the lack of written material.

They are forcing you to learn language like children do, via call-and-response. They are teaching you to pronounce words properly, and keeping you from lapsing into Americanized speech habits. If you are in the frame of mind where you think you know enough to criticize the accents of people speaking a language you obviously know almost nothing about, I don't see how you expect to learn anything. Find your beginner's mind.


Second, the bizarre dialogs are obviously supposed to be funny... and very cleverly played in my book.

For instance, in Lesson 9, the guy asks a married woman out over and over again, a dozen different ways, too dumb to take no for an answer, until she finally yells at him for obviously not understanding Romanian. (My Romanian friend laughed and said the woman would have hit him over the head with something long before that). There is also a dialog where a couple orders a wine and beer each, at the same time... huh?

I think what they are doing is trying to make learning more fun. Even better, by not telegraphing the jokes, they are allowing you to discover for yourself that you are not just mindlessly repeating phrases, but you actually understand what is going on in the conversation - enough to know that something is amiss and maybe even have a laugh.

This may also be an introduction to a typical Romanian sense of humor, though I am not sure. Since the weird dialogues are all dating-type situations with the guy often offensive, dumb, or both, it appears they are poking fun at the intended customers for this program - traveling businessmen. While it's true that there might have been room for a broader vocabulary otherwise, a vocab core-dump is obviously not the purpose of this course.

Finally, I took French for years in HS and college and couldn't speak a word when I went to France directly afterward. I tried German in college and quit. I've tried to pick up other languages using other self-programs, including Rosetta Stone, and always quit in frustration. The problem is that most instruction gives you language pieces and analysis, like they are trying to teach you physics or math.

Instead, the Pimsleur method is carefully designed to teach you real speaking skills. It seems based more on a model of learning to play a musical instrument. I was addicted after just a few minutes. In less than two weeks, I've learned more about actually speaking a new language than from all the other classes and materials I've ever tried in my life, combined. I'm looking forward to lessons 11-29.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to understand and learn, September 13, 2008

By 

Nicholas Cribbs "Nick" (Cali) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Romanian, Basic: Learn to Speak and Understand Romanian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur) (Audio CD)

I purchased this product and began listening to it immediately. I have a small advantage being that my girlfriend is Romanian so I was able to practice on a daily basis. She found that this program taught the basics very well and was excellent in speaking properly. I listened to this program every morning on my way to work and usually listened to each disc for two days before moving on to the next disc. This program will teach you and will help solidify words and common phrases through repetition and use in conversation, but much more extensive knowledge and practice is necessary to be fluent. I am looking forward in moving on to Comprehensive Romanian which is next in the Pimsleur study program. This is the first language I've studied in my adult life and I am excited to learn. I have not listened to a CD in over a week but the knowledge I obtained has stuck with me.

Overall I would recommend this product as a good foundation to learning a second language.