While Rosetta Stone’s Japanese language learning system is the best-selling language software program, the Pimsleur language system is one of the longest-selling systems. Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone share some common elements, but Pimleur also contains elements that seem to contradict their competitor’s system, at least in theory.
Both Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone take a scholarly approach to language teaching. Both are based on proven linguistic and psychological learning models. In particular, they share the belief that languages are best learned from scratch the way children learn their mother tongue. Neither system wastes time with a lot of translation or grammar lessons. Both step in and teach the student the spoken language.
The difference between the Pimsleur method and the Rosetta-Stone method is that while Rosetta Stone is opposed to the behaviorist (or behaviorist) approach to teaching, at least in theory, Pimsleur actively applies it and has used it in the past as part of its marketing strategy. dr Paul Pimsleur introduced his language teaching method over forty years ago, at the height of the popularity of behaviorism.
At its most basic level, behaviorism takes a mechanistic view of human behavior. We are essentially stimulus-responsive automatons, devoid of any unique and meaningful human qualities. For example, the strict behaviorist believes that free will is an illusion.
While a more humanistic approach to both learning and psychology has been adopted in recent years, no one disputes the effectiveness of many behaviorist-based models, including that of Dr. pimsleur Two techniques of the Pimsleur system of memorization and retention are particularly noteworthy.
The first of these methods derives from the “principle of anticipation”. This means that the learner has to anticipate the answer to a question instead of having the answer given over and over again until it “hangs”. dr Paul Pimsleur, creator of the Pimsleur language learning technique, referred to this type of interactive learning as “input/output” as opposed to a passive learning technique. Although she dr. Pimsleur doesn’t exactly give credit for this, most if not all modern language learning programs use this technique.
Another contribution from Dr. Pimsleur for language lessons is called “Graduated Recall”. When we first learn a new word, we’ll only remember it for a minute or two, no matter how many times it’s repeated to us. When the word is repeated to us at graduated intervals, first more often and then at longer intervals, we memorize the word faster and retain it longer than if it were “drummed” into us over and over again.
The Pimsleur Japanese learning CD series will appeal to those learners who like a thoroughly comprehensive audio teaching system that can quickly teach students how to speak and understand spoken Japanese. This method is used by the CIA and the FBI – hence the Pimsleur slogan: “Learn like a spy! Pass for a native!” At $274 per unit of 30 lessons (30 minutes per lesson), the entire series costs over $800, so only for “true believers”. It comes with a money-back guarantee, but you might want to try their short starter kit first. For just under $20, it includes the first 8 lessons and is intended for people who just want to understand some basic Japanese.
If you’re interested in learning to read and write Japanese, you’ll need to look elsewhere. Pimsleur’s Japanese learning system is dedicated exclusively to conversational Japanese. While the approach can be considered limited, Dr. Pimsleur that a language can be more thoroughly understood when it is learned in this way, just as children master their spoken language long before they learn their alphabet.
Pimsleur excels at teaching students to speak and understand Japanese quickly. While not everyone may like it, it is a very effective system and has been used by businesses and government agencies for decades simply because it does its job so well.
Thanks to Bunky Malone | #Pimsleur #Japanese #Language #Learning #Program
