Hey, You Talkin' ta ME?

Though I really like the Pimsleur all-audio method for learning a language, I frankly don't see how it can work with less phonetic oriented languages like German and French.  I listened to a sample lesson of Pimsleur German and discovered that I could very easily pick up incorrect pronunciation if I relied solely on the listen/repeat style of the program.  There were many words and phrases that I strongly sensed I was way off in my pronunciation.  In my forays into French, Italian, and Spanish, I never began listening and speaking before I had at least a brief peak into the written form of the language.  And there are many French words that I don't see how I could even begin to pronounce correctly if I didn't know what they looked like spelled out.

Now, except for this one flaw, I feel that I have tremendously benefited from Pimsleur for all three languages that I am studying right now.  It's great to hear the phrases repeated multiple times and to try to mimic the pronunciations of the natives who are speaking on the recordings.  Also the program requires you to speak, so that you don't get lazy and just listen.  Another very valuable feature is that I am asked to respond to questions and comments made by the native speakers, so that I get the feel of a real conversation.  It is also very helpful that previously learned material is re-presented frequently in subsequent lessons.  It's easy to forget what one has learned if you only hear it once and you never run into it again.

I wish that I had understood back when I first began to study French, many years ago, how important it is not to get too comfortable with merely reading and writing it.  Language is meant to be spoken and you can never learn the rhythms and tones of the language unless you listen and attempt to speak frequently and determinedly.  It's very frustrating when I think of all the time and money I spent studying French at a university, only to end up unable to carry on even a simple conversation or to understand the French in the easiest children's TV cartoon.  Now, hopefully, I can make up for lost time.

 A plutard...