2007-07-15 11:05:13 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
For me it did, it was a great start. I bought Pimsleur tapes made by simon and shuester. I wanted to speak a little Italian for my first trip. I've never spoken a word and am not Italian. The first tapes were extremely basic. "Hello, good day, Mr. Mrs, I would like, where is? etc... I was able to speak complete sentences while driving 40 minutes a day to work. The more I learned and was able to pronounce with the accents, I wanted to learn more. Then I went to the library and took out childrens books to increase my vocabulary. Then I got other tapes and rosetta stone, (what a dissapointment) I went back to more Pimsleur tapes and with a lot of practice and help from friends, I still reccomend Pimsleur as a start. Don't bother with cd's. They are more advanced.
2007-07-15 11:38:20 · answer #1 · answered by You can call me Rob 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I used Pimsleur's Italian and I can still say a phrase or two. I don't know if that counts as "working", but at the time I really could have had a conversation with someone who spoke Italian.
I've tried many, many learn-in-your-car language tapes and have been pretty disappointed with most of them. To get the most understanding of what you're saying, it's really imperative that you see the words on paper, too. A lot of times (especially if the speaker has a native accent) your brain will interpret the sounds made as something completely different. But if you have a book in front of you that you can go along with, you can see what is being pronounced.
I know of one person who became fluent in Korean by using a very expensive, very lengthy tape set. He also speaks German fluently. So, it is possible.
I think you have to be willing to really buckle down and study in order to get the most benefit from them.
2007-07-15 18:31:48 · answer #2 · answered by katefields1 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I guess it highly depends on what kind of a learner you are... and how you use them.
Many people think aproaches like "Teach yourself" are pretty neat for them. I used the Norwegian one. I needed more on pronunciation and listening. But I can't say it is the best material I can put my hands on.
2007-07-15 18:20:32 · answer #3 · answered by kamelåså 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In my opinion, no.
2007-07-15 18:07:42 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋