Thread: Pimsleur RESULTS :-D

I started that monster Pimsleur Progress thread quite some time ago. I promised that I would update you all with my opinion on how effective it was for me.

backstory
Ok -- here's the information you need about me and my studies with the Pimsleur Program:

1. I spent 3 months in Russia, without knowing more than how to say, "I'm sorry, I don't speak Russian," "please/thank you," and "that ... (pointing)." HOWEVER during that time I watched 50 + plays in Russian and attended theatre rehearsals for many hours a week as an observer. Then I spent the next 2 months working in America with some Russians, and heard a lot of translation ... so I had a fair amount of exposure to the language, I suppose.

2. I bought the Pimsleur Program in order to help me learn, because I was having a hard time recognizing and making the sounds.

3. During the past year, I studied on my own from various textbooks, so I did not ONLY use Pimsleur.

4. In June, I began Middlebury's summer immersion program in Russian, so I got a battery of tests (placement) and a lot of exposure to Russian natives in a teachng capacity.

the results - testing
Due to finishing grad school, I did not do the entire 3 sets of Pimsleur's Russian Course. I *completed* Part One, and did about 20 lessons from Part Two. I never touched Part Three.

When I arrived at Middlebury, I hoped to test out of the first semester of Russian. To my great pleasure, I tested out of the entire first YEAR of Russian, despite only having self study. In addition to that, grammatically I was one of the top students entering the 3rd Semester course - my grammar score was within a couple points of the desired *final* score for that level.

On the Oral, Written, and Reading tests, I placed as Intermediate Low, Advanced Beginner, and Intermediate Low. My Listening Comprehension was Intermediate Mid.

the results - anecdotes
I don't think that if I had only done Pimsleur, and had not studied from books in addtion, that I would have done as well as I did. And I am sure having watched all that theatre helped with the Listening Comprehension.

What I think can DEFINITELY be credited to Pimsleur is the good reports I got on my accent. From the very first day of immersion, I had native Russians commenting on my very clean, clear and correct accent.

Even teachers routinely assumed that my level was 6 or 7 (3 and 3.5 years of study). Since my vocabulary was not large, I assume this had something to do with my accent and intonation.

My regular professor told me that my intonation and rhythm was more Russian than English, and the phonetics teacher felt that I came in with a good accent (but it still needed work) and a good ear for the sounds.

summary
Don't use Pimsleur alone, but I truly do think that the practice on pronounciation and hearing paid off in truckloads. If you can get ahold of the tapes and use them along with guided self-study, you can do surprisingly well.

It might also help you get a "feel" for the patterns of the language so that when you do study more, you more easily fall into the patter of Russian instead of the comfort of English.

Ok... I don't know if this will interest anyone, but I did promise quite some time ago. I wanted to keep my word!

Very Truly,
demoiselle

PS - Middlebury was WONDERFUL. Perhaps I should post a bit about that as well...

As a student in Highschool, I envy you MUCH for being able to attend Middlebury's amazing summer courses. I want to do that, but I'm not even in college yet. I've completed Pimsleur 1 and only 4 lessons of Pimsleur 2, I just got bored with it. However, I've been commented on an improved accent as well, so I must concur with your results on this. It's helped me with listening comprehension a tad to, being that I already had a grammatical and vocabularial background in Russian beforehand. It cleared up a lot of misconceptions between the book and myself, so I personally like the program. You've had a lot more immersion than I though.

I agree about the value of watching Russian Theatre, but here in lancaster, England it doesn't come round much. Can anyone out there recommend a few Russian films that are available on DVD, that are good for language learning. Not all films are... many french films, for example, seems to consist almost entirely of moody people staring out of windows smoking fags!

I think you've hit the nail on the head: The main thing Pimsleur is good for is accent.

Originally Posted by Delichon

I agree about the value of watching Russian Theatre, but here in lancaster, England it doesn't come round much. Can anyone out there recommend a few Russian films that are available on DVD, that are good for language learning. Not all films are... many french films, for example, seems to consist almost entirely of moody people staring out of windows smoking fags!

Try the movie Brother. Almost every russian i chat with recommends it to me and one bought it for me as a gift but i haven't watched it yet.

Try Brother 2, it's widely considered much more successful.

Originally Posted by Delichon

I agree about the value of watching Russian Theatre, but here in lancaster, England it doesn't come round much. Can anyone out there recommend a few Russian films that are available on DVD, that are good for language learning. Not all films are... many french films, for example, seems to consist almost entirely of moody people staring out of windows smoking fags!

Ironia Sudby (The Irony of Fate) is very well known, available on Netflix, and has fairly simple language. I was surprised how much I understood after only months of self-study.

Would you also recommend watching Russian cartoons? I know my Russian coworker said she learned a lot of her English by watching TV.