Is it Possible to Learn the Spanish Language Rapidly With a Pimsleur Spanish Course?

Before starting on the discussion, you might want to consider this tip when you start studying Spanish at home.

Being in a relaxed and receptive state of mind can be enormously helpful when studying. Back in the 1970's, a Bulgarian professor of psychiatry and psychotherapy - Dr.Georgi Lozanov - developed an accelerated learning method of teaching languages, which he called "Suggestology" or "Suggestopedia". This method has many aspects, but one of the most important is to provide a comfortable and relaxing learning environment. One of the techniques he used was to play classical Baroque music to students while they were in class. The Baroque selections used for this are usually largo and adagio movements that have a rhythm of about 60 Beats Per Minute. Some examples are the Pachelbel Canon in D Major, the Albinoni Adagio, and the Largo from the Vivaldi Guitar Concerto. Lozanov found that if he played the music in the background while he was teaching, the students absorbed and remembered many more words than they did when not exposed to the music. Playing beautiful music while you're studying is something you can add for free to any home study course. Just find a piece of Baroque music that you really enjoy and let it play in the background while you concentrate on your lessons.

Now, let's continue with the initial question of this article. What I am actually exploring here is what the required ingredients are, that turn a self study Spanish course into an effective and pleasurable learning experience, and what can make it better than being in a class with other students and a teacher. At the end, I will get into why the Pimsleur courses are different, and why they work so well.

One of the main ingredients for successfully learning a language is comittment and consistency. More specifically, it translates to learning something new every day. It quickly mounts up, and also it keeps you involved with the Spanish language. A self-study Spanish course makes this quite simple. You don't have to leave home to go out to a course, and you don't have to spend time commuting.

Another factor for success is ease of use under different conditions. If you can take the language course along, you are then able to study on your way to work, while travelling, on vacation, etc. In this way you are able to make good use of time which would instead be wasted, and this makes it easier to support your commitment and consistency to the language study.

Cost is another factor to keep in mind if you are planning to study a language. Self study is far cheaper than going to regular classes at a good language school. If you consider the cost of 3-5 lessons a week at a serious language school, over a period of a few months, you will immediately see that even the most expensive home study course will save you a fair amount.

In the end, though, it all boils down to how effective a self-study course really can be - and here is where the Pimsleur Spanish course comes in. The method developed by Dr. Pimsleur is based on two basic principles - the first is the "Principle of Anticipation", which makes you "anticipate" a correct answer. This is implemented by giving you questions to which you can readily anticipate the answers, based on what was previously said. The next principal is that of "Graduated Interval Recall" which is based on asking you questions about previously presented material, at continually greater intervals. Which all makes the studying practically effortless. In addition since the course is only audio, it's simple to have with you on a digital music player and to learn while commuting or taking a walk.