Learning foreign languages is necessary - people understood this a long time ago. And if earlier English was the most popular, now others, both European and rarer, have been added to it. In an effort to help everyone who wants to master knowledge faster, teachers and scientists come up with new ways of learning. For example, learning English using the Pimsleur method has become extremely popular. Today we offer to find out why it is remarkable.
Why learn foreign languages?
In the context of the rapid rapprochement of countries from economic, political, cultural and other points of view, knowing only the native dialect has become an unaffordable luxury. English is a necessary minimum that can be useful to any person at any time. Foreign online stores, instructions for use, some highly specialized articles, interesting books and films, travel - for access to many of these benefits of humanity and implementationto their full potential, they need to know at least one foreign language.
It is not surprising that, realizing this, people began to develop various methods to learn new knowledge as quickly and efficiently as possible, in other words, to start speaking and understanding interlocutors from other countries. These techniques are based on a variety of principles.
Basic Study Principles
Polyglots and professionals say that if you want you can learn any language. For some it is easier to do this, for others it is more difficult, but it is extremely important to observe two principles: comprehensive practice and regularity. It is believed that learning foreign languages is most effective from three main sides at once: reading, listening and speaking. As for the second principle, it is very simple - you can do it quite a bit, but every day. It is better if new information constantly arrives, as well as a repetition of the old. In the early stages, you can focus on vocabulary, but grammar will also be needed very soon, so you won’t be able to neglect it for a long time.
And yet, despite the fact that you will have to learn the same things, you can do it in completely different ways. Linguists, translators, philologists and just enthusiasts have developed a lot of ways over the years.
Modern techniques
If you do not mention each method specifically, conditionally they can all be divided into 6 large groups that involve certain memorization mechanisms. So there are the following mainforeign language learning methods:
- Traditional (lexico-grammatical). Everyone, without exception, is familiar with it, because in accordance with this methodology, training programs are built in most educational institutions. According to this method, language memorization is based on learning words and grammatical rules, compiling your own sentences and translating in both directions. Programs using this technique can be built according to a variety of principles, but they all have one thing in common - constant active practice.
- Dive into Wednesday. As a rule, this method involves a temporary move to the country of the language being studied. However, without minimum knowledge, it is still useless - it is better to obtain relevant knowledge by applying it to known basic principles. The advantage of this approach in its purest form lies in the simultaneous understanding of the culture of the country, the characteristics of life in it, etc. On the other hand, some knowledge may be lost.
- Communicative method. Today it is the second most popular after the traditional one. In this case, the goal is to learn not to read or make dry sentences that are not related to life, but to start interacting with people using your knowledge. This group of techniques is considered the most advanced and effective, so its popularity is not surprising. A well-designed program can produce truly brilliant results.
- The method of silence. This approach assumes that the teacher does not "put pressure" on the student with his authority, does not influence his level of knowledge with his own, but simply guides. According toWith this technique, not a sound is pronounced in a foreign language until the study of transcriptions and reading rules is completed. This approach quickly fell out of favor, probably due to its time consuming and dubious effectiveness.
- Method of physical response. This method is also quite unusual due to the fact that students have to literally "pass through" all knowledge. The first lessons are based on the study of verbs, to which each student begins to react over time. At the word "stand up", he performs the necessary action, thus, remembering not abstract lexemes, but using associative memory.
- Audiolinguistic method. Often it is based on simple cramming according to the "hear - repeat" scheme. This is not suitable for everyone, since the perception of hearing is well developed in a few. It is to this group that the widely advertised method of Dr. Pimsleur belongs. But what makes him stand out from this group?
Pimsler method: essence
This approach belongs to the last, audiolinguistic group. The standard course contains 90 lessons divided into three levels. The first one is for beginners and the other two are for advanced.
According to the creator of the methodology, the student does not need any textbooks, literally from the first lessons he will be able to start speaking. This approach is claimed to be patented and has been used by US intelligence agencies for several decades.
In fact, everythingcomes down to repeated listening and repeating some conversational phrases, that is, certain communicative patterns are formed. It's valuable, but no language ends there.
Building lessons
Each lesson lasts no more than half an hour, since it is believed that a long duration tires the student and reduces his level of motivation. In addition, scientists believe that this is the period during which the brain assimilates new information most effectively. Training involves one lesson per day, so the entire course is designed for approximately 3 months.
Lessons according to the method of Dr. Pimsleur involve constant repetition of the information obtained in the course of previous lessons, later there are also tasks that involve the translation of previously memorized phrases. Thus, memory is trained and persistent patterns are formed for certain situations.
Efficiency
As already mentioned, almost all audio-linguistic techniques do not justify the efforts of the student. They are convenient as a support, additional practice, but not the main approach. By themselves, the lessons of the method of Dr. Pimsleur are not something innovative or breakthrough. However, the right move was to make the duration of the lesson no more than half an hour, because otherwise the students would quickly get tired and start to be frankly bored.
Of course, everyone wants to find a miraculous way to immediately start speaking and understanding a foreign language, but, unfortunately, this does not happen. Acquisitionknowledge, and even more so in such a complex area, requires considerable. This is probably why polyglots are so admired.
Furthermore, Paul Pimsler studied the mechanisms of language learning mainly on the example of children, who in this sense are very different from adults.
For Russian speakers
You can learn a range of languages (Japanese, Chinese, Greek, Hindi, Arabic, French, Spanish, German) using the Pimsleur method. This is also slightly suggestive, because there can be no universal solution. True, such a large selection is available only to those who already know English, while the rest have to be content with much less. Whether this is due to the gradual fading of interest in the technique after the death of its creator or doubts about its effectiveness is unknown.
So, for example, the Pimsleur method for Russian speakers is limited to only the most popular language - English. However, there are many analogues that have a much larger set, but approximately the same effect. Few audio courses involve the study of grammar, and without it, the value of knowledge is reduced to almost nothing.
Benefits
Like any audiolinguistic approach, Dr. Pimsler's method immediately forms the correct pronunciation and teaches you to understand foreign speech by ear. In addition, memorizing not individual words, but phrases provides a certain advantage, which students are often deprived of in other approaches. In this case, a person does not have to form a phrase in his native language, and only then translate it intorequired. Linguistic patterns allow you to react to certain situations immediately, without this delay, since constant practice produces an unambiguous reaction. However, this is also a disadvantage.
Flaws
Of course, the student will be able to ask a foreigner a question and even start a dialogue with him, but any deviation from the "standard" will be a kind of shock, and the same thing can be said in completely different words. Replacing any word in an existing phrase is incredibly difficult, and Pimsleur lessons don't prepare you very well for this.
The second major drawback is the focus of the approach solely on spoken language. A rather limited vocabulary is formed, and grammar generally remains undeveloped. In addition, students subsequently find it difficult to correlate written and oral speech. So there is no need to talk about a thorough and comprehensive study if only the Pimsleur method is used.
Reviews
Reaction to this approach is rather controversial. Many admire this technique, while others consider it a waste of money and time. It's hard to say who is right. Most still agree on one thing - this course helps those who learn a language from scratch, but it's better to combine it with mastering grammar rules. In any case, you can always try and decide whether this or that method is suitable or not for a particular student. After all, the mechanisms of learning and memory are very different for everyone.
Possible use
Dr. Pimsler's method can be a good help for those who, for one reason or another, do not speak the language, while still being able to write, read and compose sentences. It helps to improve pronunciation while doing other things, but it would be incorrect to talk about it as the main approach to learning any language. It can also be suitable for those who, for example, briefly ended up in a foreign country, and they need to simply explain themselves on everyday topics. For a deeper study, this technique is no longer suitable.
Listening is an important element of practice, anyone who has ever encountered the development of someone else's speech knows this. Translation students spend many hours in language labs, but this is only part of the picture when it comes to learning foreign languages. So do not limit yourself to this technique, while simultaneously learning vocabulary, grammar, syntax and other important aspects. So the Pimsleur method is not a "panacea", but it can greatly help those who wish to speak a foreign language.
