Principle #1: Anticipation
The Principle of Anticipation requires you to "anticipate" a correct
answer. Practically, what this means is that you must retrieve the answer
from your own memory before it is confirmed in the lesson. It works as
follows:
The lesson will pose a challenge -- perhaps by asking you, in the new
language: "Are you going to the movies today?" There will be a pause, and,
drawing on information given previously, you will say: "No, I went
yesterday." The instructor will then confirm your answer: "No, I went
yesterday."
Before Dr. Pimsleur created his teaching method, language courses were
based instead on the principle of repetition. Teachers drummed words into
the students' minds over and over, as if the mind were a record whose
grooves wore deeper with repetition. However, neurophysiologists tell us
that, on the contrary, simple and unchallenging repetition has a hypnotic,
even dulling effect on the learning process. Eventually, the words being
repeated will lose their meaning. Dr. Pimsleur discovered that learning
accelerates when there is an "input/output" system of interaction, in
which students receive information and then are asked to retrieve and use
it.
Principle #2: Graduated Interval Recall
Graduated Interval Recall is a complex name for a very simple theory
about memory. No aspect of learning a foreign language is more important
than memory, yet before Dr. Pimsleur's work, no one had explored more
effective ways for building language memory.
In his research, Dr. Pimsleur discovered how long students remembered
new information and at what intervals they needed to be reminded of it. If
reminded too soon or too late, they failed to retain the information. This
discovery enabled him to create a schedule of exactly when and how the
information should be reintroduced.
Suppose you learn a new word. You tell yourself to remember it, but
after five minutes you can't recall it. If you'd been reminded of it after
five seconds, you probably would have remembered it for maybe a minute --
then you would have needed another reminder. Each time you are reminded,
you remember the word longer than you did the time before. The intervals
between reminders become longer and longer, until you eventually remember
the word without being reminded at all.
This program is designed to remind you of new information at the exact
intervals where maximum retention takes place. Each time your memory
begins to fade, you will be asked to recall the word. Through this
powerful method, you progress from short-term to long-term memory without
being aware of it, while avoiding the monotonous rote repetition used in
traditional language courses.
Principle #3: Core Vocabulary
The Principle of Anticipation and Graduated Interval Recall are the
foundation of the Pimsleur Method, but there are other unique components
that are also important. One is the theory of a core vocabulary. We have
all been intimidated, when approaching a new language, by the sheer number
of new words we must learn. But extensive research has shown that we
actually need a comparatively limited number of words to be able to
communicate effectively in any language.
Language can be divided into two distinct categories: grammatical
structures (function words) and concrete vocabulary (content words). By
focusing on function words and enabling the student to comprehend and
employ the structure of a new language, Dr. Pimsleur found that language
learners were able to more readily put new knowledge to use. There are
very few content words that are used every day. The essential core of a
language involves function words, which tend to relate to human
activities.
Principle #4: Organic Learning
The Pimsleur Method centers around teaching, in the shortest time
possible, functional mastery in understanding and speaking a language. You
will be working on your vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation all at
once, while also learning phrases that have practical use in daily life.
It has been said that language is primarily speech. With this concept in
mind, Dr. Pimsleur created his language programs on audio because he knew
that students of languages would learn better with their ears, not their
eyes. This is achieved through what Dr. Pimsleur called "organic
learning," which entails learning on several fronts at once. His system
enables the student to learn grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation in a
natural and exciting way.
This course is designed to teach you to understand and to speak the
essential elements of your new language in a relatively short time. During
each half-hour lesson, you will actually converse with two people, using
the type of language spoken by educated citizens in their everyday
business and social life. The program's unique method for presenting
dialogue relieves you of most common learning problems.
Pimsleur Language Program: Select Your Choice of Language.
Pimsleur Albanian -
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Pimsleur Language Program
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