Pimsleur vs Rosetta Stone

I’m a student of various languages with a wide range of fluency from beginner to advanced (though I still have much more to learn to learn!). I’ve studied some languages in college, some at private language schools, and some on my own, using books, software, CDs or cassette tapes, and online. My preferred method is going to a in-country private language school. It’s the most fun though not practical for most people.

If I can’t take a class, my next choice would  be using both the Pimsleur approach and Rosetta Stone Software. I’ve used both and like them very much. I have not used Fluenz, but it looks good. Though they only have language programs for French, Italian, Mandarin, and Spanish. Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone on the other hand have much more languages to choose from.

Pimsleur

I like the Pimsleur approach because it focuses on conversation using the Principle of Anticipation and the scientific principle of memory training that Dr. Paul Pimsleur called Graduated Interval Recall. It’s a great method of learning vocabulary and developing skills in listening comprehension and speaking.

The Principle of Graduated Interval Recall

Dr Pimlseur studied how long students remembered new information and the amount of time they needed to be reminded of it again.  If promted too early or too late, students did not remember the information.  Knowing this, he created a schedule when and how to reintroduced information.  Pimsleur’s method develops language skills by moving from short-term to long-term memory in the language learning process.

The Principle of Anticipation

Years before Dr. Pimsleur, and unfortunately still to this day, many language courses have been based on the principle of repetition as if foreign languages were learned by rote memorization.

Neurophysiologists however say that rote repetition actually hypnotizes or dulls the language learner. Instead, Dr. Pimsleur discovered that when students receive information and then are later asked to retrieve it, they learn faster and retain the information better. The Principle of Anticipation requires students to anticipate correct answers. Students therefore retrieve answers from their memory based on information they previously learned instead of mindless repetition.

One thing to note, do not believe the nonsense about learning a language in 10 days. Dr. Pimsleur designed the comprehensive courses. Simon and Shuster have been marketing shorter programs. The only reason to buy one of the shorter programs is to see if you like the system, but you should know that you’ll need to go through the whole series if you really want to learn a language and develop some fluency. Even then, you’ll need to use other methods and practice speaking in real life.

To get a feel for the three different language programs, you can click here to go to the video page.

Rosetta Stone TOTALe

I used Rosetta Stone in learning modern Greek. I had already learned the Greek alphabet so it wasn’t too hard to start, but I do wonder how they would go about teaching languages like Thai, Hindi, or Arabic. Thai spelling is just nuts! The new Rosetta Stone Version 4 TOTALe may address those issues. They now have online coaches so you shouldn’t be left stranded.

This is why something like Fluenz might be more helpful, but Fluenz doesn’t teach those languages yet.

I liked the challenge of trying to figure out what was going on and how to answer questions. In many ways, that’s what it would be like in real life if you were in a new county. Those experiences help drive those words and phrases deeper in the memory. Some people however don’t like that and hate feeling lost. Many people have complained about the frustration of not understanding or knowing what to do. If that’s you, then I’d stick with Pimsleur or Fluenz.

If I could not get both the Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone courses, I think I might try Fluenz (if I wanted to learn French, Italian, Mandarin, or Spanish).  Next I think, I’d go for Rosetta Stone because of their online coaching and voice recognition software. I care about pronunciation and Rosetta Stone gives feed back on pronunciation, though the Pimsleur approach does deal with pronunciation too. You just have no way of knowing if you’re pronunciation is good.

Aloha!

Which foreign language learning program is better? Pimsleur or Rosetta Stone?

Honestly? It depends: it depends on your style of learning, what you want to accomplish, how much you want to spend,  how much time you have, but mostly your style of learning. Some of you will hate Pimsleur Language courses. Others will hate Rosetta Stone language programs. Some of you will hate both. Some of you you will love only one of them, and others, like me, will love both. So I cannot say that one is better than the other. All I can do is describe the two, point out the pros and cons of the Pimsleur courses and Rosetta Stone courses and hope you can decide with is best for you.

I will go into more detail later, but for now, I’ll just give you a short list of the benefits of the two foreign language programs.

Pimsleur:

1. All audio – You can listen and learn while you’re driving, talking a walk, exercising, or doing mindless house work. You still have to focus and listen, but you’re not tied to a book or computer. The focus is on listening and speaking.
2. Bilingual – English and the new language
3. Emphasis on conversation – After the very first lesson, you will be able to understand and take part in a simple and practical conversation.
4. Short Lesson Spans – Each lesson is only 30 minutes long. It’s best to do only one lesson per day.
5. Pimsleur Method: Based on two key principles: the Principle of Anticipation and “Graduated Interval Recall.”

Rosetta Stone:

1. Audio and Visual – The Rosetta Stone software teaches the new language in a variety of ways. This is good for both audio learners and visual learners. The student practices listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students need but are not limited to using a computer.
2. Immersion – Everything is done in the foreign language. There are no explanations in English. Some people love this, others hate it.
3. Many Short Lessons –  A student can work on short lesson, less than 30 minutes, or study for several hours.
4. Rosetta Stone Language Recognition Software – helps student work and improve pronunciation.

These are the main features and benefits of each language program. There is also a new program, called Fluenz. It’s similar to Rosetta Stone but addresses some of the difficulties some students have had with Rosetta Stone. Each language is unique so Fluenz explains and address the unique characteristics of the different foreign languages. Explanations are also given in English. Although I have not used Fluenz, it looks very good. Studies show that adult foreign language learners do better in classes if teachers explain vocabulary and grammar in the students’ native tongue instead of complete immersion in the foreign language.

There is a lot of talk about learning like a child, but adults learn differently, and their knowledge of basic grammar and concepts can actually help them learn a second language faster than if they “learned like a child.”

Well, that’s all for now. I’ll write more about the different styles. For me, I’d get both Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone or Fluenz, but not Rosetta Stone and Fluenz.