Learning a Foreign Language can be difficult: Pimsleur may be the solution.

For an American studying foreign languages, the challenge can become daunting rather quickly. Unlike Europe with its host of nations, the size and uniformity of the United States grants most Americans the ease of not having to learn another language out of sheer necessity. But the blessing can also be a curse as learning and maintaining proficiency in a foreign language is for the most part less practical in the United States than in Europe where foreign languages are ubiquitous. In the United States, with the exception of Spanish, foreign languages are largely the domain of recent immigrant communities or certain neighborhoods.

The inherent difficulties of adults learning foreign languages are additional challenges. Selecting a course that will give proficiency and prove practical in light of the average American's busy work schedule (now the highest on average in the world), is critical. Furthermore, finding a methodology that will grant the student a measure of success in conversational communication in a short period of time is also important. Amazingly the United States market spends more on foreign language products than any other country in the world. Despite this, Americans continue to struggle with learning foreign languages.

Given this and the fact that most foreign language students are mainly interested in conversational skills, Pimsleur audio only courses are an option to consider. While they do not cover reading or writing skills, this will not present a problem for students whose goal is practical everyday conversation. This is where the Pimsleur method excels. The audio Pimsleur language learning system is a language acquisition method designed by Dr. Paul Pimsleur. In short the method works almost entirely through listening which of course reflects the learning process of children.

The audio lessons are 30 minutes long so they are very digestible for even the busiest person and Pimsleur courses give the student the ability to

* ask for information, directions, and give basic information about yourself and family,
* communicate basic information on various topics and participate in casual conversations,
* handle minimum courtesy and travel requirements,
* satisfy personal needs
* native-like pronunciation.

 As a rule of thumb you should strive for a minimum of 70 percent comprehension, at which point you can move on to the next lesson. As the lessons repeat themselves and add new material, it is not necessary for you to master each lesson perfectly before moving on. So if your thinking about studying a foreign language you may want to try Pimsleur. As someone who has used Pimsleur for several languages as well as other language learning programs, it is certainly a method to consider.