Pimsleur Spanish I Language Program Review + My Complete Lesson Notes

If you’re just looking for my lesson notes on Pimsleur Spanish I, you can directly download the PDF here.

I love languages. I love listening to people speaking in different languages. But more than that, I love learning them. While I believe the best way to learn a language is to surround yourself with native speakers, most of us aren’t blessed with a multilingual circle of friends, or simply don’t have people around that speak the language we want to learn.

Signing up for language classes is one alternative but not always a possibility. Besides, large groups narrow down your chances of receiving adequate teacher-to-student interaction.

The second and, in my opinion, best alternative is self-learning (of course ). And I’ve been lucky to have stumbled on an invaluable set of language learning tools for self-learners: The Pimsleur Method.

Today, we’re going to be looking at Pimsleur Spanish I, which is the first 30-lesson course for absolute beginners. It assumes that you have no prior knowledge in Spanish or in language learning in general. In fact, it omits grammar altogether and makes you learn the language organically.

It may sound counter-intuitive to dismiss grammar, but thanks to Pimsleur I’ve discovered the most efficient way to learn the basics. I’ll tell you why.

One of the core principles employed in the Pimsleur language programs is a method (called Graduated Interval Recall) for storing words and phrases in your long-term memory. Your virtual teacher will introduce words and phrases relevant to the theme of the lesson at a comfortably slow pace, which you will then transfer from your short-term to your long-term memory by being prompted by your virtual teacher, at carefully chosen intervals, to recall them (e.g. Do you remember how to say “What time is it?”) These frequent pop quizzes ensure that words are not going to slip away.

So it’s all about repetition? Absolutely not. Well, you are frequently repeating the same words and phrases but at the same time you are also making variations of them and using them in different contexts. There is a lot of repetition, but it doesn’t get dull (except maybe during the first couple of lessons when your vocabulary is still very limited). The lessons are constructed so that you always play a role in all the conversations that take place. And you are introduced to new words and phrases as the themes change and require more variety.

When I had to study Swedish in junior high and high school, our teacher would take an audio tape from her drawer and play it to us. And later we would answer a dozen questions related to what we had just heard. It was for listening comprehension, but it lacked interactiveness and purpose. We were just outsiders passively listening to a discussion about global warming and trying to figure out the message. We weren’t part of the conversation responding to expressions naturally as the conversation progressed.

I’ll admit, In Pimsleur Spanish I, some conversations are just plain cheesy or ridiculous, but you’re not going to care when you’re actually learning the language. It’s not just listening comprehension, because you’re always actively involved. You are being trained to take part in conversations.

Here’s a simple example:

You meet María in front of your hotel…
She says, “I want to eat something.”
How would you answer: “I know a good restaurant called Bolívar on California Street. Let’s go there together.”

On other occasions you’re expected to come up with your own answers:

You are taking a walk in a small Peruvian town when a friendly old man walks up to you.
Mr Rodríguez: Hello. How are you?
You: [your response]
Mr Rodríguez: Are you from here?
You: [your response]
Mr Rodríguez: But you speak Spanish well.
You: [your response]

The beautiful thing about having no lessons on grammar is that you are never asked to memorize complex declension tables or conjugation rules. In spite of that, the program successfully teaches you how to use the correct forms. So rather than scan through a hazy mental image of the conjugation table for the irregular verb estar, you’ll automatically recall how the phrase is going to finish when referring to José. The program conditions you to dynamically employ the material covered in the course based on context, rather than formulae.

So what you’re not going to learn during the first course are the 10 tenses. Instead, you’ll learn how to speak confidently in the present tense, and how to express yourself in present perfect—i.e. “I have drunk Mexican beer.” Why would you want to start off by confusing yourself with dozens of different rules when you can skip it and focus on learning how to understand and use the most commonly used present tense?

What you’ll learn…

• In a nutshell: you’ll learn to have basic conversations in Spanish, with a lot of variety.
• Get a solid foundation for expanding your Spanish knowledge.
• Present tense (“I eat,” or “I’m eating.”)
• Present perfect (“I have eaten.”)
• Verb conjugations for I, you, he/she/it, we, you (plural), they
• Casual you (Tú quieres.)
• How to ask for directions
• How to order food and drink in a restaurant
• How to introduce yourself
• How to ask a girl to write down her phone number

…and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s hard to categorize, because there are so many small things that make up the whole. To get a complete list of topics covered in the program, you should download my notes, and explore.

Some Bottlenecks

Of course, a product never comes without any flaws. Let’s take a look at the two main weaknesses that I’ve personally found while using the language program. Pimsleur Spanish I is such an excellent program that I’m going to be nitpicking rather than giving solid criticism…

Since Pimsleur Spanish I is primarily a course on Latin American Spanish (it’s clearly printed on the cover), the first course does not cover the pronoun vosotros (casual form of the plural you), which is more commonly used in Spain, nor any verb conjugations associated with it. This means that you’ll either have to learn it in a later course or use secondary sources to figure out how it works.

The reading booklet that comes with the audio discs is extremely shallow. I know that it’s an audio program, but since they decided to include a booklet they could’ve put more effort into it. The booklet just covers a handful of phrases used in the last unit of the course, and doesn’t really have any meaningful benefit. You’re obviously not going to learn how to spell your Spanish words correctly using the booklet. This is actually why I’ve created my own “booklet” for revision and for learning how to read and write Spanish.

My Lesson Notes

These are my personal notes I’ve taken while using Pimsleur Spanish I. They’re not to be taken as a transcript of any kind. I’ve only tried to record the main concepts covered in the program. While there certainly is repetition in the notes, I’ve handpicked the variations that I’ve deemed important. These notes are not going to teach you how to speak or understand Spanish. I wouldn’t dare steal Pimsleur’s innovations. You definitely need to have the audio program to learn how to speak and understand Spanish. My notes only complement the audio lessons.

I’ve decided to publish my notes because I believe they can help those who already own Pimsleur Spanish I, and are looking for a more comprehensive reference than the official booklet. I’ve used Google Translate to get the correct spelling for every Spanish word used in the notes, but if you notice any typos or other errors please let me know.

» Download Pimsleur Spanish I Notes (PDF 90 KB)

If you’re interested in learning Spanish on your own, I recommend you buy the Pimsleur Spanish I language program or borrow it from your local library. It’s pricier than other self-study courses, but its quality is worth every dime and penny. There’s no other language learning program out there that teaches you how to speak Spanish as effectively and without hassle as Pimsleur.

$230.02 from Amazon.com

If you’re interested to learn other languages using Pimsleur’s innovative method, you might find these language programs interesting:

• Pimsleur Japanese I
• Pimsleur Mandarin Chinese I
• Pimsleur Cantonese
• Pimsleur Korean I
• Pimsleur French I
• Pimsleur German I
• Pimsleur Italian I
• Pimsleur Brazilian Portuguese I