PMG
The best way to learn languages
One obvious flaw
I am using this app specifically to make learning in the car possible. But every time I try to access this app through CarPlay it says “open this app on your phone.” So the app works in the car, but only if you manually unlock your phone and open it first, which goes a long way towards negating the point.
In terms of content, I first did Pimsleur through audible. I thought it was very overpriced through audible and not so easy to navigate. But the app isn’t a ton better—for me, when the menu opens in CarPlay it doesn’t say which lesson I left off on—I have to remember. It’s still pricey to use this. I also think the Pimsleur courses have some dated phrasing in terms of formality.
But I haven’t found a better option for car learning, so here I be.
In terms of content, I first did Pimsleur through audible. I thought it was very overpriced through audible and not so easy to navigate. But the app isn’t a ton better—for me, when the menu opens in CarPlay it doesn’t say which lesson I left off on—I have to remember. It’s still pricey to use this. I also think the Pimsleur courses have some dated phrasing in terms of formality.
But I haven’t found a better option for car learning, so here I be.
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MSA Arabic/ Spanish
Excellent,better than the rest. Just needs more real life topics for the serious learners (crime, love, shootings) and more
Easy to get a hold of
Very easy and love the re use of earlier learnt words
Single best method for me
I am often asked where I learned to speak Portuguese well, and I always recommend Pimsleur. I also completed the German courses and have the same recommendation. The method works, and the app is reliable.
⭐ 1/5 — Congratulations, Pimsleur. You Finally Got the Review You Wouldn’t Stop Asking For.
⭐ 1/5 — Congratulations, Pimsleur. You Finally Got the Review You Wouldn’t Stop Asking For.
Pimsleur has managed to accomplish something remarkable: take an otherwise excellent language-learning application and make me actively resent opening it.
The lessons are good. The methodology works. I genuinely enjoy the educational content. Unfortunately, someone on the product development team apparently decided that repeatedly interrupting paying customers to beg for App Store reviews was an acceptable substitute for respecting their time.
Every time I open this application, my intention is simple: to learn a language, not to participate in your marketing campaign.
Yet the relentless review prompts continue. There appears to be no meaningful option to say, “I like your application, but I do not wish to leave a review. Please stop asking.”
Apparently, declining isn’t an answer. It’s merely an invitation to be harassed again later.
The irony is extraordinary. You have a customer who enjoys your product, voluntarily returns to use it, and is willing to pay for the service. Rather than leave that customer alone to learn, you repeatedly interrupt the experience until you’ve converted genuine satisfaction into outright frustration.
So congratulations, Pimsleur. Your persistence has paid off.
You wanted a review badly enough to repeatedly disrupt the very experience I’m paying you to provide. Here it is: one star.
Not because your language instruction deserves it, but because your complete disregard for the customer’s attention, autonomy, and repeated refusal deserves public criticism.
Here’s a revolutionary product-design suggestion: When a customer declines to review your application, respect the decision and stop asking.
I paid to learn a language. I did not pay to be relentlessly solicited for free advertising.
You didn’t earn this review through excellence. You extracted it through irritation.
Pimsleur has managed to accomplish something remarkable: take an otherwise excellent language-learning application and make me actively resent opening it.
The lessons are good. The methodology works. I genuinely enjoy the educational content. Unfortunately, someone on the product development team apparently decided that repeatedly interrupting paying customers to beg for App Store reviews was an acceptable substitute for respecting their time.
Every time I open this application, my intention is simple: to learn a language, not to participate in your marketing campaign.
Yet the relentless review prompts continue. There appears to be no meaningful option to say, “I like your application, but I do not wish to leave a review. Please stop asking.”
Apparently, declining isn’t an answer. It’s merely an invitation to be harassed again later.
The irony is extraordinary. You have a customer who enjoys your product, voluntarily returns to use it, and is willing to pay for the service. Rather than leave that customer alone to learn, you repeatedly interrupt the experience until you’ve converted genuine satisfaction into outright frustration.
So congratulations, Pimsleur. Your persistence has paid off.
You wanted a review badly enough to repeatedly disrupt the very experience I’m paying you to provide. Here it is: one star.
Not because your language instruction deserves it, but because your complete disregard for the customer’s attention, autonomy, and repeated refusal deserves public criticism.
Here’s a revolutionary product-design suggestion: When a customer declines to review your application, respect the decision and stop asking.
I paid to learn a language. I did not pay to be relentlessly solicited for free advertising.
You didn’t earn this review through excellence. You extracted it through irritation.
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Excellent!
Very effective for immediate conversation!
Learning is Healing
Exercise your brain/ Aspergers & Alztimers Awareness
Disappointing
The 30 minute lessons are impractical for people who have 15 minutes at a time. There is no assessment of your skill level and feedback is minimal. In today’s Duolingo world, a 50 year old strategy of flash cards and self learning is disappointing. Don’t make the mistake of subscribing if you aren’t committed. Chose a month by month plan to start with. They offer zero refunds. Just a greedy old business with a long history in the language learning space.
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Good compliment or alternative to Duolingo
I’ve been learning languages for a long time and I’ve always found Pillar’s audio message with real humans a great way for action reduction and a great way to learn learning languages is not just one dimensional so having this additional dimension is really useful
Best app I’ve used!
Cannot rate this highly enough. I’ve only been using it one day and can already hold a basic conversation in Hebrew.
I am happy to use this
Love this
Très bien!
Pimsleur est tres birn! C’est facile étudier et apprendre
NOT FREE :(
It was great it said it was completely free and then after lesson two said I needed to pay 31 dollars per month to continue just a bummer really I wanted to connect with family.
The Best
This is just the best audio companion to learning a language I have ever found. Add it to your toolkit!!!
AI needs some work
I just finished my 7-day trial and I think it is worth going ahead with the plan as it is helpful in combination with my live weekly online Spanish tutor, but the AI sometimes totally misses a word you said or indicates you said something that’s totally off. I realize you can’t hear us to know if this is correct, but I take comfort in that we’ll, that’s more repetition, but I hope it improves.
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Talking from the start
I am wanting just to learn conversational Spanish for going on holiday. This seems to do the job, though perhaps aimed more for business travellers. I am older and learning slowly but I feel more able to ask for simple things.
Pimsleur is engaging from the start.
The lessons keep me talking throughout and the reading and quick match lessons keep that engagement going while helping me to fix any misunderstandings I had from the audio by itself. I especially appreciate being able to flip between the Chinese characters and pinyin in order to reference tones and correct pronunciation.
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Good supplement
I am doing Japanese on Pimsleur and I completed 60 lessons (2-30). I am a polyglot who speaks four languages and Japanese is a language I’ve always wanted to learn.
I think that Pimsleur is a very good app as a supplementary learning with other language learning programs, either in person or apps. What I think is the most valuable about Pimsleur is the immersive learning. For 30 mins a day, you are listening to the language and repeating after it so you train your listening skills and oral muscles for the language that you are learning. This is not common for most programs.
It does help quite a bit because I realize that I am able to catch more words when watching a show in Japanese.
That being said, I don’t think a person can get very deep into the language with Pimsleur alone. I think that it glosses over the grammar and the fundamentals of the language. Busuu, for example, does a better job in this field.
For anyone who is learning a language on their own, I highly suggest doing Pimsleur with another app like Busuu or Duolingo so that you get the immersive learning that Pimsleur offers and understand the grammatical fundamentals.
I think that Pimsleur is a very good app as a supplementary learning with other language learning programs, either in person or apps. What I think is the most valuable about Pimsleur is the immersive learning. For 30 mins a day, you are listening to the language and repeating after it so you train your listening skills and oral muscles for the language that you are learning. This is not common for most programs.
It does help quite a bit because I realize that I am able to catch more words when watching a show in Japanese.
That being said, I don’t think a person can get very deep into the language with Pimsleur alone. I think that it glosses over the grammar and the fundamentals of the language. Busuu, for example, does a better job in this field.
For anyone who is learning a language on their own, I highly suggest doing Pimsleur with another app like Busuu or Duolingo so that you get the immersive learning that Pimsleur offers and understand the grammatical fundamentals.
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Such a great way to learn!
Pimsleur makes me feel more confident that I am able to learn such a challenging language such as Japanese!
