{"id":138157,"date":"2024-01-10T11:03:47","date_gmt":"2024-01-10T16:03:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/pimsleur-spanish-review\/"},"modified":"2024-10-22T20:25:11","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T00:25:11","slug":"pimsleur-spanish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/reviews\/pimsleur-spanish\/","title":{"rendered":"Pimsleur Spanish Review: Excellent Native Audio but Uses Too Much English"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Pimsleur has been one of the most popular ways to learn Spanish and has been around since 1963. But does it really work? To answer that as honestly as I can, I tried learning Spanish with Pimsleur for two weeks.<\/p>\n<p>What I found was that Pimsleur&#8217;s audio content is top-notch and effective for beginners, but that the program relies too heavily on English, neglects writing, lacks video and authentic media and isn&#8217;t ideal for anyone above an intermediate level.<\/p>\n\n<p>[fluentu-toc skip=4]<\/p>\n<h2>What Are Pimsleur Spanish Lessons Like?<\/h2>\n<p>Pimsleur is an <strong>audio-based program that teaches you Spanish through listening and repeating after native speakers. <\/strong>Through the conversations, you naturally pick up on Spanish grammar and vocabulary.<\/p>\n<p>There are five levels, each containing 30 lessons that are 30 minutes long.<\/p>\n<p>(To read our review of the general Pimsleur program for all other languages, check out this review here):<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"cyBC9k8YZJ\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/reviews\/pimsleur\/\">Pimsleur Review: Solid Audio Program, But It\u2019s Not for Everyone<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Pimsleur Review: Solid Audio Program, But It\u2019s Not for Everyone&#8221; &#8212; FluentU Language Learning\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/reviews\/pimsleur\/embed\/#?secret=MFAL29wQDI#?secret=cyBC9k8YZJ\" data-secret=\"cyBC9k8YZJ\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>30-Minute Audio Lessons<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.29.18-PM.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-223355\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.29.18-PM.jpg\" alt=\"latin american spanish pimsleur course lesson one\" width=\"500\" height=\"236\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.29.18-PM.jpg 2880w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.29.18-PM-300x141.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.29.18-PM-1024x483.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.29.18-PM-768x362.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.29.18-PM-1536x724.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.29.18-PM-2048x966.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Each lesson is 30 minutes long and starts with a dialogue in Spanish. The dialogue is then analyzed and translated by the narrator line-by-line, teaching you how to understand and use the structures and words on your own.<\/p>\n<p>By the end of the session, you&#8217;re supposed to remember the new words and be able to easily recall them when prompted.<\/p>\n<p>The downside of these lessons is that, apart from the dialogue at the beginning and the focus on Spanish vocabulary words, <strong>all you&#8217;ll hear is English. <\/strong>The amount of native Spanish included in each lesson is very little in the beginner courses.<\/p>\n<h3>The &#8220;Skills&#8221; Feature<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.32.00-PM.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-223356\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.32.00-PM.png\" alt=\"pimsleur latin american spanish course skills feature\" width=\"500\" height=\"237\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.32.00-PM.png 2880w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.32.00-PM-300x142.png 300w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.32.00-PM-1024x485.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.32.00-PM-768x364.png 768w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.32.00-PM-1536x728.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.32.00-PM-2048x971.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>One of my favorite Pimsleur features is the &#8220;Skills&#8221; section available for Premium learners.<\/p>\n<p>In this section, you can see <strong>the skills you&#8217;ll be working on during a lesson,<\/strong> and can easily click on or tap each skill to see the words and expressions included in that category. You can also go to the &#8220;Skills&#8221; section under &#8220;Practice&#8221; to see all of the available skills and how many words you&#8217;ve learned under each of them.<\/p>\n<h3>The &#8220;Practice&#8221; Feature<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.34.09-PM.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-223357\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.34.09-PM.jpg\" alt=\"pimsleur latin american spanish course practice section\" width=\"500\" height=\"234\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.34.09-PM.jpg 2880w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.34.09-PM-300x141.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.34.09-PM-1024x480.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.34.09-PM-768x360.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.34.09-PM-1536x720.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.34.09-PM-2048x960.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h4>Flashcards<\/h4>\n<p>The Flashcards subsection is basically that: flashcards. You choose which language you want to see first (English or Spanish), and then you get flashcards with the core vocabulary of the lesson you&#8217;re doing.<\/p>\n<p>Each flashcard includes the native pronunciation of the word.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.36.37-PM.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-223358\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.36.37-PM.png\" alt=\"pimsleur latin american spanish course flashcards\" width=\"500\" height=\"232\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.36.37-PM.png 2880w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.36.37-PM-300x139.png 300w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.36.37-PM-1024x476.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.36.37-PM-768x357.png 768w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.36.37-PM-1536x714.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.36.37-PM-2048x952.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h4>Quick Match<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.38.04-PM.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-223359\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.38.04-PM.jpg\" alt=\"pimsleur latin american spanish course quick match feature\" width=\"500\" height=\"232\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.38.04-PM.jpg 2880w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.38.04-PM-300x139.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.38.04-PM-1024x475.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.38.04-PM-768x356.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.38.04-PM-1536x712.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.38.04-PM-2048x949.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This exercise consists of 10 English sentences for which you&#8217;ll have to choose the Spanish translation among four possible answers. The sentences are taken from the lesson&#8217;s dialogue, and you can listen to each of them before choosing your answer.<\/p>\n<h4>Speak Easy<\/h4>\n<p>This subsection is supposed to<strong> improve your Spanish pronunciation, rhythm and accent,<\/strong> but I find it a bit underwhelming.<\/p>\n<p>What you actually get is a fragment of the lesson&#8217;s dialogue divided into sentences. You have to listen to each sentence and repeat it after the audio. It&#8217;s a bit like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/shadowing-spanish\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-schema-attribute=\"\">shadowing<\/a>, except it&#8217;ll only take you a couple of minutes to complete the task.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.39.47-PM.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-223360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.39.47-PM.jpg\" alt=\"pimsleur latin american spanish course speak easy feature\" width=\"500\" height=\"237\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.39.47-PM.jpg 2880w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.39.47-PM-300x142.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.39.47-PM-1024x485.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.39.47-PM-768x363.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.39.47-PM-1536x727.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.39.47-PM-2048x969.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>To make the most of it, be sure to pay very close attention to the audio and mimic as many of its nuances as possible.<\/p>\n<h4>Speed Round<\/h4>\n<p>I recommend you use Speed Round after you&#8217;ve completely digested the whole content of the lesson because<strong> this exercise can be stressful.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You&#8217;ll see words and phrases falling down your screen and you have to choose their translation out of the choices you&#8217;re provided.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.40.59-PM.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-223361\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.40.59-PM.jpg\" alt=\"pimsleur latin american spanish course speed round feature\" width=\"500\" height=\"240\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.40.59-PM.jpg 2866w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.40.59-PM-300x144.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.40.59-PM-1024x491.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.40.59-PM-768x368.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.40.59-PM-1536x737.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-09-at-6.40.59-PM-2048x983.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I don&#8217;t fancy playing against the clock, so this subsection is my least favorite. However, I admit it&#8217;s<strong> a good way to really test yourself<\/strong> and see whether you&#8217;ve mastered the lesson. You have to think on the fly when having actual conversations in Spanish, so this feature gives you a chance to improve your skills in that regard.<\/p>\n<h4>Bonus Packs<\/h4>\n<p>Every five lessons you complete grant you a free additional deck of 30 flashcards to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-vocabulary-builder\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-schema-attribute=\"\">improve your vocabulary<\/a> even further. There are a total of <strong>180 additional words\/phrases per level.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>The &#8220;Reading&#8221; Feature<\/h3>\n<p>I was a bit lost when I first accessed the Reading subsection. The words aren&#8217;t related to the audio lessons, and they aren&#8217;t even translated. However, after listening to the presentation of the subsection, it kind of made sense.<\/p>\n<p>Level 1 of the course doesn&#8217;t include real reading. Full sentences are included later on. Instead, it&#8217;s <strong>an introduction to the sounds and basic words of Spanish. <\/strong>You&#8217;ll have individual words and phrases read by a native speaker and you&#8217;ll have to repeat them, listening carefully to the English instructions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The goal is to teach you how to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/learn-spanish-pronunciation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-schema-attribute=\"\">pronounce Spanish<\/a> correctly,<\/strong> first by working on the sound of individual letters, then letter combinations and finally, phrases and sentences.<\/p>\n<h2>Pros of Learning Spanish with Pimsleur<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Grammatical concepts are acquired naturally through conversation<\/li>\n<li>Accent and pronunciation are highlighted<\/li>\n<li>Good for developing listening skills<\/li>\n<li>Dialogues by native Spanish speakers<\/li>\n<li>Features core vocabulary that&#8217;s used most in real-life<\/li>\n<li>Effective for absolute beginners with no prior knowledge of Spanish<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Cons of Learning Spanish with Pimsleur<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Writing is overlooked<\/li>\n<li>Too much English and very little Spanish<\/li>\n<li>Repeating syllables and single words time and time again can get boring<\/li>\n<li>Little content for upper-intermediate and advanced learners<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Pimsleur Spanish Versus Other Spanish Language Programs<\/h2>\n<p>All language learning programs have their advantages and drawbacks, so I thought I&#8217;d compare Pimsleur Spanish with some of the most popular language programs available today. Here&#8217;s how they match up.<\/p>\n<h3>Pimsleur vs. FluentU<\/h3>\n<div style=\"float: right;\" id=\"fluen-3683686164\"><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a2t-link\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"FluentU New iOS App Icon\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/iTunesArtwork@1x.png\" alt=\"FluentU New iOS App Icon\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/iTunesArtwork@1x.png 512w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/iTunesArtwork@1x-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/iTunesArtwork@1x-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/iTunesArtwork@1x-65x65.png 65w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Since one of the features I most missed while using Pimsleur was video, I wanted to start this comparison section with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/spanish\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FluentU<\/a>, which uses video at the heart of its program.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p> \r\n<p>You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/fluentu-learn-language-videos\/id917892175\">the iOS app<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.fluentflix.fluentu&amp;hl=en&amp;gl=US\">Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p><i><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\r\n  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/2\/NativeAd-Spanish.jpg\" alt=\"FluentU Ad\" \/>\r\n  <p style=\"text-align: center\">\r\n    <button class=\"btn-blue\" style=\"border: none;font-size: 18px;text-align: center;padding: 0.75rem 1.5rem;cursor: pointer\">\r\n      Try FluentU for FREE!\r\n    <\/button>\r\n  <\/p>\r\n<\/a>\r\n\n<p>I don&#8217;t know how many times I&#8217;ve heard from foreign friends (non-native English speakers) who&#8217;ve told me that they learned English through watching movies (and TV shows and skateboarding videos, etc.). In fact, I&#8217;ve heard it so many times, I definitely believe it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>FluentU works really well for me because I&#8217;m a person who really likes to watch movies, TV, music videos, news and vlogs on YouTube already. So it feels like a really sustainable and fun way to learn and review a language and it&#8217;s worked really well for me.<\/p>\n<p>I find myself spending hours on FluentU, all while feeling engaged, while 30 minutes sometimes felt like a lot on Pimsleur because of its dryer learning style.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, I&#8217;d choose FluentU here, but I really think <strong>FluentU and Pimsleur would complement each other nicely. <\/strong>And the cost would still be pretty affordable.<\/p>\n<h3>Pimsleur vs. Duolingo<a href=\"https:\/\/www.duolingo.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-138402 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/2\/Duolingo-learn-spanish-websites.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/2\/Duolingo-learn-spanish-websites.png 150w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/2\/Duolingo-learn-spanish-websites-65x65.png 65w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/2\/Duolingo-learn-spanish-websites-120x120.png 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>I mentioned <a href=\"https:\/\/www.duolingo.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Duolingo<\/a> in this review because one of the elements that I was missing the most while using Pimsleur was the fun colors and other visual elements like illustrations that Duolingo has.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I think that Duolingo is more fun and more gamified, and that cute little bird is always encouraging you (some would say pestering you). But for more serious types, Pimsleur might feel like a better fit.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s our full review of Duolingo:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"NuYgHje5vy\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/reviews\/does-duolingo-work-review\/\">Does Duolingo Work? Yes, If You Use It Right<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Does Duolingo Work? Yes, If You Use It Right&#8221; &#8212; FluentU Language Learning\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/reviews\/does-duolingo-work-review\/embed\/#?secret=4jbxYXmjMX#?secret=NuYgHje5vy\" data-secret=\"NuYgHje5vy\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Pimsleur vs. Drops<a href=\"https:\/\/languagedrops.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-44077\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/drops.png\" alt=\"drops logo\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/drops.png 225w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/drops-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/drops-65x65.png 65w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>I figured <a href=\"https:\/\/languagedrops.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Drops<\/a> would be good to compare to Pimsleur because it&#8217;s also a spaced repetition vocabulary app.<\/p>\n<p>Drops is more gamified than Pimsleur and it doesn&#8217;t feel like a holistic learning program. Instead, it&#8217;s a supplementary app that you can use in addition to whatever main program you&#8217;re using.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Drops limits each session to five minutes, and if you want premium content (anything above beginner level), it actually costs just slightly less than Pimsleur.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Overall, I&#8217;d choose Pimsleur in this match-up. You get the vocabulary plus a bunch of other stuff for a lower price.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s our full review of Drops:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"gMMI49mVQ4\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/reviews\/drops-language-app\/\">Drops App Review: Worth a Free Download, But Won&#8217;t Make You Fluent<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Drops App Review: Worth a Free Download, But Won&#8217;t Make You Fluent&#8221; &#8212; FluentU Language Learning\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/reviews\/drops-language-app\/embed\/#?secret=6vwCYrTcPW#?secret=gMMI49mVQ4\" data-secret=\"gMMI49mVQ4\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Pimsleur vs. Rosetta Stone<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rosettastone.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-183592 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/rosetta-stone-app-logo-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/rosetta-stone-app-logo-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/rosetta-stone-app-logo-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/rosetta-stone-app-logo-65x65.jpg 65w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/rosetta-stone-app-logo-120x120.jpg 120w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/rosetta-stone-app-logo.jpg 512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rosettastone.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rosetta Stone<\/a> has those vivid photographs that really make a huge difference for me.<\/p>\n<p>While Rosetta Stone teaches words and phrases in context like a native speaker would learn their own language, Pimsleur uses more English and explicit explanations of grammar and translations of words, phrases and sentences.<\/p>\n<p>This, for me, makes Pimsleur more of an &#8220;adult&#8221; language learning program. You can immerse yourself in your target language, but you can also get an explanation of why something is the way it is. I like that personally since I&#8217;m not actually a child.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s our full review of Rosetta Stone:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"APnUb8FOfG\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/reviews\/rosetta-stone\/\">Full Rosetta Stone Review: Effective Legacy Program but Lacks Interactive Features<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Full Rosetta Stone Review: Effective Legacy Program but Lacks Interactive Features&#8221; &#8212; FluentU Language Learning\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/reviews\/rosetta-stone\/embed\/#?secret=t0ScvURT1c#?secret=APnUb8FOfG\" data-secret=\"APnUb8FOfG\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Pimsleur vs. SpanishPod101<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spanishpod101.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-143257 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/2\/SpanishPod101.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"125\" height=\"125\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/2\/SpanishPod101.png 125w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/2\/SpanishPod101-65x65.png 65w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/2\/SpanishPod101-120x120.png 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 125px) 100vw, 125px\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>If what you&#8217;re looking for is a comprehensive method to learn Spanish, <a class=\"tasr-replaced\" href=\"https:\/\/www.spanishpod101.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SpanishPod101<\/a> might be for you.<\/p>\n<p>SpanishPod101, which is basically free (the Premium membership tiers start at $4 a month), also focuses on audio learning, but they&#8217;ve branched out into video now, too, which gives it a leg up on the Pimsleur approach.<\/p>\n<p>They also offer personal teachers via instant message, which really helps when you want personalized feedback to see how well you&#8217;re progressing.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s our full review of SpanishPod101:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"4m8L14yLaG\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/reviews\/spanishpod101\/\">SpanishPod101 Review: Well-rounded Audio Lessons for All Levels, but Could Be More Immersive<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;SpanishPod101 Review: Well-rounded Audio Lessons for All Levels, but Could Be More Immersive&#8221; &#8212; FluentU Language Learning\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/reviews\/spanishpod101\/embed\/#?secret=gnYFdcGT7P#?secret=4m8L14yLaG\" data-secret=\"4m8L14yLaG\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>How Much Does Pimsleur Spanish Cost?<\/h2>\n<p>To make sure Pimsleur is a good fit for you, I recommend that you take advantage of their seven-day free trial first. After the trial, the program<strong> costs $19.95 a month for access to one Spanish course<\/strong> or <strong>$20.95 a month for access to all 51 languages.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s also an annual option for all-language access for $164.95 per year.<\/p>\n<h2>Who Is Pimsleur Spanish Best For?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>I recommend Pimsleur for <strong>people who are just starting<\/strong> to learn Spanish or have a very rudimentary knowledge of it. Although levels 4 and 5 can be used by <strong>pre-intermediate and intermediate students as a refresher course.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>People who prefer or learn best by listening to audio are the obvious target of this course. However, bear in mind most of the language you&#8217;ll hear is English, with Spanish scattered along the way.<\/li>\n<li>If you&#8217;re<strong> a commuter<\/strong> or spend periods of time doing tasks that don&#8217;t require your full attention, Pimsleur is a good option for you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The Verdict: Is Pimsleur a Good Method to Learn Spanish?<\/h2>\n<p>The short answer to this question is:<strong> It depends on what you want to achieve.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If your goal is to learn a bit of Spanish before you travel to a Spanish-speaking country or you need a quick way to become conversational in Spanish, then Pimsleur is a great method.<\/p>\n<p>If, on the other hand, you need to really learn Spanish and you&#8217;re looking for a comprehensive language-learning program that covers all <a href=\"https:\/\/www.translateday.com\/basic-language-skills\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-schema-attribute=\"\">four basic language skills<\/a>, look somewhere else or complement this method with other resources.<\/p>\n<p>The excessive amount of English and the lack of actual reading and writing practice are things you should definitely bear in mind before buying Pimsleur.<\/p>\n<p>However, I must take into consideration there are many types of learners, and I understand this method is so popular for a reason: <strong>It&#8217;s the perfect method for audio learners.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So, all things considered, I can confidently label Pimsleur &#8220;Franko approved.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>And One More Thing\u2026<\/h2>\r\n<p>\r\nIf you've made it this far that means you probably enjoy learning Spanish with engaging material and <strong><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> will then love FluentU<\/a>.<\/strong>\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\r\nOther sites use scripted content. FluentU uses a natural approach that helps you ease into the Spanish language and culture over time. You\u2019ll learn Spanish as it\u2019s actually spoken by real people.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nFluentU has a wide variety of videos, as you can see here:\r\n<\/p>\r\n<a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1234 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/2\/Spanish-1.jpg\" alt=\"learn-spanish-with-videos\" width=\"320\" height=\"568\" \/><\/a>\r\n<p>\r\n<strong>FluentU brings native videos within reach with interactive transcripts.<\/strong> You can tap on any word to look it up instantly. Every definition has examples that have been written to help you understand how the word is used. If you see an interesting word you don\u2019t know, you can add it to a vocab list.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19339\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/2\/Spanish-2.png\" alt=\"learn-spanish-with-interactive-subtitled-videos\" width=\"320\" height=\"569\" \/><\/a>\r\n<p>\r\nReview a complete interactive transcript under the <strong>Dialogue<\/strong> tab, and find words and phrases listed under <strong>Vocab<\/strong>.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1235 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/2\/Spanish-3.jpg\" alt=\"learn-spanish-with-songs\" width=\"320\" height=\"568\" \/><\/a>\r\n<p>\r\nLearn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentU\u2019s robust learning engine. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you\u2019re on.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1236 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/2\/Spanish-4.jpg\" alt=\"learn-spanish-with-music-videos\" width=\"320\" height=\"568\" \/><\/a>\r\n<p>\r\nThe best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you\u2019re learning, and gives you extra practice with difficult words. It'll even remind you when it\u2019s time to review what you\u2019ve learned.<strong> Every learner has a truly personalized experience, even if they\u2019re learning with the same video.<\/strong>\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nStart using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. <a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pimsleur has been one of the most popular ways to learn Spanish and has been around since 1963. But does it really work? To answer that as honestly as I&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":226117,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"Pimsleur Spanish Review: Excellent Native Audio but Uses Too Much English | FluentU Spanish Blog","description":"Thinking about using Pimsleur to learn Spanish? Click here to see if the program is really worth your time and money. We'll go over how the program works, what its key features are, pros and cons of the program, pricing and more. Plus, see how it compares to other language learning resources like FluentU and SpanishPod101."},"footnotes":""},"categories":[211],"tags":[],"coauthors":[191],"class_list":["post-138157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138157"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":226119,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138157\/revisions\/226119"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138157"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=138157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}