Autorentext

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.

Klappentext

The Easiest and Fastest Way to Learn Spanish
Did you know that Spanish is the world’s second most commonly spoken language? For Americans, it’s one of the easiest to learn, and you won’t find anything faster or easier than the Pimsleur® Method. Even knowing a little bit of Spanish will make travel to Latin America or Spanish-speaking countries a breeze. Whether you want to travel, communicate with friends or colleagues, reconnect with family, or just understand more of what’s going on in the world around you, learning Spanish will expand your horizons and immeasurably enrich your life.

The best part is that it doesn’t have to be difficult or take years to master. Thirty minutes a day is all it takes, and we get you speaking right from the first day. Pimsleur courses use a scientifically-proven method that puts you in control of your learning. If you’ve tried other language learning methods but found they simply didn’t stick, then you owe it to yourself to give Pimsleur a try.

Why Pimsleur?

• Quick + Easy – Only 30 minutes a day.
• Portable + Flexible – Core lessons can be done anytime, anywhere, and easily fit into your busy life.
• Proven Method – Works when other methods fail.
• Self-Paced – Go fast or go slow – it’s up to you.
• Based in Science – Developed using proven research on memory and learning.
• Cost-effective – Less expensive than classes or immersion, and features all native speakers.
• Genius – Triggers your brain’s natural aptitude to learn.
• Works for everyone – Recommended for ages 13 and above.

What’s Included?

• 30, 30-minute audio lessons
• a Spanish short story (65 minutes) to provide you practice reading Spanish
• in total, 16 hours of audio, all featuring native speakers
• a Reading Booklet

What You’ll Learn
Builds upon skills taught in Pimsleur’s Spanish Levels 1-3. You’ll be speaking and understanding Spanish with near-fluency and with considerable skill. In Level 4, the pace and conversation moves more rapidly, making way for even more substantial mastery of vocabulary and structures.

Some topics included in Level 4:

• Work related travel: meetings, projects, conferences, appointments; using a business center in a hotel; making conversations in an educational setting.
• Accommodations: reserving a room, requesting an Internet connection, getting help with luggage, asking about breakfast and dinner hours.
• Shopping: getting around in a department store, trying on and buying various items of clothing, asking for colors and sizes, buying gifts and souvenirs, going to the market.
• Vacationing: going to the beach and swimming pool, sunbathing, choosing inside or outside seating at a restaurant, taking a walk, talking about sports.
• Family and friends: conversing informally with and about friends and extended family, talking informally about everyday situations.
• Small**talk: expressing opinions, wishes, and stating views; asking how someone is feeling; talking about books.
• Weather: describing types of weather: rainy, windy, sunny, humid.

After Lesson 30, a short story broken down into 20 manageable segments (65 minutes) is provided for practice reading Spanish.

The Pimsleur Method
We make no secret of what makes this powerful method work so well. Paul Pimsleur spent his career researching and perfecting the precise elements anyone can use to learn a language quickly and easily. Here are a few of his “secrets”:

The Principle of Anticipation
In the nanosecond between a cue and your response, your brain has to work to come up with the right word. Having to do this boosts retention, and cements the word in your mind.

Core Vocabulary
Words, phrases, and sentences are selected for their usefulness in everyday conversation. We don’t overwhelm you with too much, but steadily increase your ability with every lesson.

Graduated Interval Recall
Reminders of new words and structures come up at the exact interval for maximum retention and storage into your long-term memory.

Organic Learning
You work on multiple aspects of the language simultaneously. We integrate grammar, vocabulary, rhythm, melody, and intonation into every lesson, which allows you to experience the language as a living, expressive form of human culture.

Learning in Context
Research has shown that learning new words in context dramatically accelerates your ability to remember. Every scene in every Pimsleur lesson is set inside a conversation between two people. There are no drills, and no memorization necessary for success.

Active Participation
The Pimsleur Method + active learner participation = success. This method works with every language and every learner who follows it. You gain the power to recall and use what you know, and to add new words easily, exactly as you do in English.

The Spanish Language
Spanish is the official language of 19 Latin American nations, as well as Spain, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba. Further, it’s one of the six official languages recognized by the United Nations. Pimsleur's Spanish programs teach an educated Latin American Spanish, featuring speakers from Colombia and Mexico. Students can expect to understand the lessons clearly and to be understood by Spanish speakers everywhere.

Tech Talk

• CDs are formatted for playing in all CD players, including car players, and users can copy files for use in iTunes® or Windows Media Player®.