Pimsleur
Reviews and Complaints

I’ve been trying to learn Spanish in one form or another for the past year and tried a variety of different apps and methods. Duo lingo was fun and somewhat helpful to learn the words, same with Lingo Deer - but I never could actually carry a conversation based on those methods (plus I learned that DuoLingo actually sells your translations, but that’s a different story). This year I decided to make a serious effort and purchased Rosetta Stone. It’s a big improvement over those other apps, but again, I found myself seriously struggling to make Spanish conversational - the lessons at the end which prompt you to respond to Spanish really left me struggling. It’s then I realized that unless I’m actually participating in a conversation, knowing a thousand words was NOT going to help me naturally speak the language. That’s where Pimsleur comes in. After about a month of using it, I’ve gained significant confidence in speaking short phrases naturally The method is proven and works! Albeit the method can be a bit tasking since the app isn’t all shiny and sparkly like DuoLingo- but it actually works! The app itself works very well and allows me to do my lessons without actually holding my phone in my hand. The interface is easy and up to date. There’s no way I’m conversational yet and likely won’t be without a ton more work, but I feel this method and app will be a key to my eventual success. Hands down, if you want to learn to speak a language - I’d say this is the best way to do it

This app is absolutely amazing for language learning. I have been able to retain and keep up with my language learning with this and it gives you a nice base to start off in when you’re completely new to a language. I only have 2 complaints tho

1st - the first one is that there is no transcript of what you’re listening to. Reading is one of the most important parts of learning a language and I feel like if you had an option to read while listening it could significantly increase what you’re learning. This branches off of that, even tho sometimes they break the phrase down in the audio I still am not able to catch what is said. If I can’t I’ll look up the phrase and I’ll figure out oh this 2 words together not 1 word becuase the audio pronounced it so fast. For example in Tagalog “Ang galing mo” is you’re talented but its never broken down in the audio and it was said so fast I thought it was “Angaling mo”. I didn’t realize that there was 3 words in the phrase until I looked it up to write down on a flash card.

2nd - the “mini games”/“quiz” you can do right under the audio is really cool but I wish it there was more to it. I wish yall would make it a little longer with more phrases and words from the audio lesson but overall it’s nice little check to see what you remember from the lesson and goes over the main things, kinda.

Still an amazing app for language learning, I would definitely recommend to other people trying to learn but for the reasons stated above 4/5 (would give 4.5 but I can’t )

I love Pimsleur. I’m almost done with level 4 spanish. I did level 3 and 4 in this app. Levels 1 and 2 via audible audiobook downloads.

While there are some great features to this app, the fundamental function — playing 1/2 hour audio lessons — is terrible. It clearly has to buffer/download the content every time you restart the app. Or even if you’re just returning to the app later in the day. I’ve tried to use the download feature so that i could have multiple lessons ready while on a trip where I would be away from network signals... the app did not maintain the downloads. They disappeared and I had to interrupt my instruction for nearly a week. I listen to each lesson 2-3 times. At least once all the way through without stopping, but also once or twice in piecemel, pausing and coming back to it throughout the day. No exaggeration — I have wasted hours of my life waiting for this app to load the audio. Hours. It’s immensely frustrating. Audio playback is such a basic function. I shouldn’t have to wait 3 minutes for my audio to buffer when I’ve already listened to that lesson earlier in the day and I have 3 bars of LTE network signal.

It’s frankly flabbergasting. If I could do it all over again I would not have spent the money on this app and would have stayed with audible.

At the very least fix the download feature! I’ve got 256 gb on my phone. 15 hours of Spanish lessons is not going to make a dent.

This and other minor UI issues features feel like the app developers have never actually used this app for a full 30 lesson Pimsleur course.

I’ve been using this app for a long time to study japanese and, starting from virtually no knowledge of the language it helped to be to get a solid grasp very quickly. They way they use normal conversation to teach you helps so much for remembering phrases, especially for such a difficult language. Then having the flash cards and the quick match that lets you quickly refresh on the sentences from audio lessons really helps solidify what you learned.
There is also a reading section starting at lesson 11, I believe of each level, though I haven’t worked on that part much yet.
They have been working towards most of the updates I felt the user interface needed so over all it’s great.
My biggest thing is that at this point I have spent waaaaaaay more money than if I just bought the program but there is no way to switch over and get any credit toward just buying the program. I recently looked and I don’t even see an outright purchase option anymore. I think you have to call customer service to buy the language with a flat rate and I wish there was a way to do that. Using the program short term is nice because it doesn’t cost a lot to start but with something like japanese, where it’s difficult and no one around you speaks the language for you to practice, you have to keep using the app so the subscription is not the way to go. I wish there was a threshold that after so many payments you get that language outright. But other than that I love Pimsleur’s language program. I’d like to start working Spanish again soon and this will once again be the way to go.

There are a lot of discussions about the best way to learn a language. Duolingo, Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur, etc.

Any amount of time you practice a language is beneficial. However, I’ve found the Pimsleur method to be the best / fastest method to quickly learn to speak.

Pimsleur is 100% audio, even though they have some duo lingo type questions now that you can answer.

The idea behind Pimsleur is to teach what most people have issues with. In grade school, we focus on vocab charts and grammar rules but what is the most common complaint you hear? High school Spanish didn’t teach me anything. You are in an environment where you need to speak it and you fail.

Pimsleur teaches your ear to listen to native level speech, and teaches you to make phrases and say things from the beginning of the course.

If you do the method, it will take you from 0 to a solid intermediate level stage where then you can download an app like Tandem or HelloTalk and connect with natives and start practicing.

I highly recommend it. I’ve done Pimsleur with Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, and Italian. I’ve notified significant improvements in my languages after about 20-30 lessons and really felt confident after 50 lessons. Do one lesson per day.

It costs $20 a month but it is well worth it. After you finish all 150 lessons in 5 months you can just cancel. $100 to essentially learn intermediate Spanish in under six months? That’s a solid deal. Your time is worth money. Don’t waste thousands of hours on Social media or even Duolingo. Yes, they are free, but you don’t have much to show at the end.

With all my research and how I personally like to learn, this app suited me the best to learn a language. Even though you get only 1 lesson free and you have to pay for the rest I think it is worth it (a personal tutor is by far more expensive than this anyways) One thing this does lack is explanation. I get most people don’t have the time to sit through an 1 of language learning a day, but I much rather have more lessons for why it is apart of the language. I am learning Japanese and currently taking the Japanese course. It was hard to get the subscription and unnecessarily frustrating but once I finally got in I quite like it. There is one problem, it doesn’t tell you why. In Japanese I had a hard time understanding why I had to put “no” or “wa” with certain words and it didn’t tell me why. So I had to do a google search so I can use it properly. For example, imagine your a nonnative English speaker trying to learn English. It taught you how to say “good” now it wants you to say “I’m going to buy some goods” remember to add S to the end of it. It is basically telling you to make it plural without telling you directly. Another flaw is it goes too fast. It teaches you all these new words all in a 30 minute time period. Of course you can restart the lesson and just go over it again but I find it ridiculous that they can’t just do a better job slowing the pronouncements, so you can say it better. Do I still recommend this app? If you want you want to learn how to speak it before reading it, yes, I think this is a good app to invest in, but the structure of it may be a little frustrating.

I would have given this app five stars, because you truly learn a language. The Pimsleur method really works, you nearly remember everything you learn from each lesson (I personally repeat the lesson twice for greater acquisition/retention & sometimes thrice) however there’s a lot of bugs & from reading previous reviews going back a year or more of people reporting bugs, I’m disappointed with Pimsleur. $21 a month is a lot of money & Pimsleur has not given those of us, at least from what I’m aware, any recompense from the inconvenience we’re constantly dealing with during this great & amazing learning process. Additionally, the flashcards section often time excludes new vocabulary learned in that lesson and will have previously learned vocabulary in the flash card set. I’m baffled as to why that’s the case, it would be great for all new vocabulary to be included in that flash card set & if Pimsleur wants to include previously learn vocabulary for whatever particular reason, that’s fine, just don’t exclude the new vocabulary because many of us look forward to getting our pronunciation right by seeing the Arabic spelling, for those of us who know the alphabet and how to pronounce the letters, sometimes the audio isn’t sufficient to get the correct pronunciation. This is not necessarily a negative review, although it can appear to be, rather it’s constructive criticism for a product that many of us who want & are learning/acquiring a new language hope that these disruptions are reduced to near zero as opposed to being a common encounter. Pimsleur, please address these issues! We LOVE! The Pimsleur Method. Thank you!

I always thought I wouldn’t be able to learn another language. I was always horrible at languages in school. But this is different! I’m absorbing so much of it already and I’m only on lesson 4. I love how each lesson builds on and reviews what was learned before. I can feel my brain starting to be able to think in French! My pronunciations are still rough, but my comprehension is noticeably improving. I’m excited to move on to a new lesson, and I enjoy playing their practice games. I can also do the audio lessons anywhere- walking to work, making dinner, paddle boarding, driving, anywhere! I love it!
I also finding it interesting how when learning a new statement they pepper in simple words you learned earlier. So you learn the statement in pieces. Then you are randomly asked how to say “hello” and I happily say “bonjour” - this gives you the “I know this” boost of confidence you need when things feel tougher. It’s brilliant!
I also love how they truly help you to think in this language. In the last lesson I was asked to listen to the speakers question and then answer. So I’m like, ok here we go! I listen, and realize the French speaker asked a question containing words i hadn’t been taught yet. I didn’t understand what she said and had no idea how to answer her. So I responded, in French, “Je ne comprends pas” which is “I do not understand”- this is a phrase I was taught in an earlier lesson- and I said it kind of as a joke and really didn’t think that was the answer they were hoping for, but it was! Which just proves that this system helps you think in this new language and use what you have learned in real situations.

The same issue is happening once a week at this point. The app hesitates when a lesson is chosen, the lesson then appears, a small grey pop up appears at the bottom of the screen saying the device is not connected and the lesson is deleted. It does it for all subsequent lessons until the items are downloaded again. I’m becoming increasingly frustrated with the app. Your app needs to be fixed if it can’t download items correctly or can’t connect when the signal allows full internet access for all other apps. Why does the app need to connect to play an already downloaded item! So I wouldn’t be able to use it on a plane?

Older version below

The method is fine. The app has some problems. When you change levels it erases the level you were on so you can’t go back to review easily. I use it when out and about in another country. I’m can’t just download what the lessons decides to erase with limited foreign phone data (or limited data back in the states). The app still doesn’t play in the locked screen so I can’t pause or reverse to listen to a phrase again. I have to open my locked phone, because I’m out and about, open the app and then figure what to do. I can’t control it from my headphones either. I’m still using the older version without all the Flashcards and “skills” so I can actually use an app that functions the way I need it. I spoke with customer service in September and they had a problem with the developer not including these kinds of things. Get a different developer - they don’t know what they are doing. And if it takes 3 months and they still haven’t fixed it then they don’t know what they are doing. Meanwhile your reputation in this market is suffering.

I’m a polyglot who uses languages in a professional setting. I have used and tested many language apps/services (e.g. Duolingo, Mango Languages, and Innovative Languages to name a few). That being said, I would argue that Pimsleur’s methodology of teaching languages is the best thus far in terms of getting a person speaking a language. Each lesson gave me confidence and a sense of achievement.

I’ve read reviews of others highlighting that the contents of some of the languages offered are outdated and unnatural. These claims may or may not be true, but to the student learning a new language, the fact that one speaks the target language on day one should be enough to conclude the program’s value.

Others pointed out that Pimsleur is lacking in the amount of vocabulary one learns throughout the program. I’ve completed level I of the Eastern Arabic program, and it’s true that I only got a handful. I already know Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) so it’s not much of an issue to me, but in my opinion, I found that I was able to focus on patterns and get a natural feel for the language/dialect because I was not bogged down by a long list of words to memorize.

It’s also true that the lessons can at times feel slow, repetitive, and I dare say boring, but for someone who grew up in a time when repetition - writing the same words countless times, for example - is the traditional practice to “learn” something, I can put my not-so-positive feelings to the side, because the outcomes I’ve had simply sticking to the program are significant.

My only complaint is that the iPad version of the app does not run on landscape mode. I’d like to assume that this is an easy fix, and I hope it’ll be included in future updates.

Using this to learn Korean. I made it to unit 20 of level 1. It’s a very well though-out app. If the phrases and words they used were more natural and commonly used amongst Koreans, then it would be a phenomenal app.

But unless you’re talking to a senior citizen in Korea or a verrry high-up individual, the phrases and wording are not accurate.

For example:

“Mwol Hashi-geh-seyo” is the phrase they use for “what are you going to do?”

But this would only be spoken to someone a LOT older. It’s rarely said in this way. It’s more natural to say: “뭘 했어요” (mwol hes-eo-yo). This is still polite speech, but it’s not OVER the top polite speech that will make native Korean speakers laugh at you (in a nice way, not in a making fun way haha).

Still, the whole purpose is you want to learn a language but you want to be able to sound natural. Even if your pronunciation isn’t perfect, you at least want to have the more accurate wording and phrases.

Another example of the wrong word choice would be the word they use for “dog.”

They say: 개. But the more accurate term would be 강하지. 강하지 means “puppy” technically. But most Koreans refer to dogs as 강하지.

개 is technically more formal, but it’s also used in a lot of cuss words and profanity in Korean. That’s why 강하지 is used more often when referring to dogs. So if you use 개 according to this app’s direction, then you might accidentally say something really offensive we don’t want that.

So altogether, Pimsleur has a very brilliant idea, but the execution isn’t quite there. I can’t speak for the other languages on this app, but if you want to learn Korean, I’d encourage you to listen to real, natural conversations in Korean. You’ll sound very awkward using this app as your only source of learning phrases, Korean dialogue, etc.

Three stars because I believe the audio lessons and the SRS method really work; this is a tried and true method and for decades was inaccessibly expensive, prior to the app subscription. So I appreciate that for what it is, and plan to continue on the course of learning German with Pimsleur. I have been at it for 16 days (German 1, Unit 16.)

I have to let the app developers know I am disappointed to have found numerous errors/typos in the flashcard exercises and other in-app reading components, which I have been reporting as I encounter. These errors discredit Pimsleur’s legitimacy. In 16 lessons, I’ve already found four typos in the German answers on the flashcards. That’s really bad, because I am using the flashcards to learn German spelling. I’m only noticing the errors because I personally catch on to spelling pretty quickly, and I’ll realize a spelling didn’t match what I saw in another portion of the app. Then I go to a German dictionary to find out which way is accurate. Then, I run it by my German husband for a human check. He’s at a point where he’s telling me to ditch Pimsleur because I can’t trust what I’m learning to be accurate.

Please Pimsleur, get a German proof-reading team in there to make sure everything coming out of the app is accurate and error-proof. I love the whole idea of the in-app exercises, as I learn SO much by seeing/reading to solidify and clarify what I just heard. Unfortunately it feels like the release of the app exercises was rushed. Pimsleur is known to have been developed by experts. The whole app should reflect that standard of excellence.

The last minor complaint/report is that the speed round function shuts off before time is up and before all the rounds have been completed. That’s just a tech glitch and I can live with that, I just can’t live with spelling errors while I’m learning to spell.

I took French in school a long time ago for 4 years from 6th-9th grade (I graduated ‘14 don’t ask anymore questions ;)). My wife understands French as she went to a French emergent school from 1st-8th grade. We recently just had a son and dedicated ourselves to become fluent and teach him, especially since we have French roots in our family.

I’ve been using the app for about a week and already I’m loving how comprehensive and immersive it is. 30 min/day is really all you need and take some extra time here and there to do the readings to get good at pronunciations and honing your ear for French. It’s $20/month but if your committed to learning, I say it’s worth it especially with all the other languages you can learn.

Only down side is that it I wish there some more interactive elements to it. Maybe listening to more examples or doing grammar exercises. It can be slow just listening and then doing some flash cards, especially at the beginning for someone who has some knowledge. But I think this app coupled with another like DuoLingo or Busuu, I can bet it all on you becoming fluent in no time !

Edit:
It’s been a month and just finished level 1 of French and I still love it. I still think you all should add more interactive sections and during lessons, explain some of the grammar/speaking rules (prepositions, where adjectives, pronouns go etc) and sentence structure/syntax. When the rules are explained it makes it so much easier to predict and decipher; otherwise it just feels like a lot of memorization. I want to know I’m learning and speaking the language right and not just assuming. Busuu does this very well with breaking down a language as if you were taking a class, but you all do better with listening, repetition, and advancing usable regular conversation. Pairing this app with Busuu is a golden ticket to being fluent in any language

This is a vastly reviewed app that obsoletes the Pimsleur Unlimited app that predates it, and IMO, the Pimsleur Course Manager app that also predates it.

FIRST, this review is not about whether Pimsleur is better than (insert Babbel, Rosetta Stone or whatever). It is about the app.

SECOND, an Apple Watch companion would make it a killer app, particularly for those of us with a data plan on a Series 3 Apple Watch. Taking a walk would not require me to carry my heavy iPhone. Optionally I could upload a course on Series 1 and 2, too.

With that said:
- Lesson progress presented in a circle is easy to understand. Rewind/Forward 10s buttons great for repeating/skipping.
- Great course management.
- Loads lessons on demand or downloads onto iPhone or iPad. Neat feature that saves GB of data on my phone.
- Accumulated summary of skills acquired after finishing each lesson.
- Reading lessons, flash cards, acquiring speed, are bonus in each lesson. Reading is for certain levels and lessons.
-Integration with Alexa. I run it in my Echo Dot at home.
- Driving feature. Hmm, can be a problem because you’re not supposed to take your eyes off the road. Suggest for the user to acknowledge a disclaimer—what if someone has an accident just for pausing, playing, rewinding, forwarding a lesson?

If you’ve had the CD or MP3 lessons, the content is a repackaging of those materials but very effectively done. I would suggest tuning the reading lessons. For example, when the reader says: “Un, Félicitations d”, you can hear the d for deux, the next phrase. This just an example in the French Course, Level 3, where several of the numbered audio sentences are cut off a tiny bit after the next numbered sentence starts. This tells you they repackaged it from the audio files in the CDs or MP3’s. Nothing wrong with that, but it would be if better quality if they fixed it.

I studied 3 languages in school for 8 years. Since then I have used MANY language learning apps to study 21 different languages.

I am VERY familiar with language learning. I have used Duolingo, Rosetta Stone, Mondly, Babbel, Busuu, Drops, and many more.

Pimsleur is BY far the best program I have used. All my friends who are also passionate about learning languages agree.

You can use other programs to compliment what you learn with Pimsleur, but if you can use just one, Pimsleur is BY FAR the best for LEARNING a language.

Duolingo is fun and addictive due to the game aspect of it, but you can spend a year playing with a language on Duolingo and learn very little.

You will learn more in 3 months on Pimsleur than you will with 12 months on Duolingo.

And… for what it’s worth, I just got my first year end report from Duolingo. I am in the top 1% of their users, I got 50,000+ points in my first 6 months. I haven’t missed a day since I started, I am now on day 245 of my streak, and I am debating giving it up all together.

I have come to learn, Duolingo is essentially a waste of time. If it is entertaining for you, GREAT, but don’t expect to learn much with it.

One VERY positive thing I got from Duolingo was, I was able to sample and play with a LOT of different languages. I got to expose myself to 22 different languages FOR FREE! That is truly amazing and for that, I am grateful.

I got to see that Chinese and Japanese are easier than I thought they would be. That doesn’t mean they are easy! Just easier than I thought they would be (for me).

I also learned that Vietnamese might be impossible for me to learn. It is shockingly hard. Same for Korean, Navajo, Hindi, and many more.

To my surprise, some African languages were also easier than I expected. Swahili and Zulu were fun to learn!

But again, Duolingo is a GAME.

Pimsleur is a language learning program. And probably the best one out there. Enjoy

For most of the first year I was happy. Then September hit and I was unable to access any lessons for about two months. I called and emailed and it wasn’t until I put them on blast that they actually reached out to me. They found out there was a bug in the app and fixed it……another two months later. This whole time I was paying in the hopes that the day they fixed it would be soon, as they promised. Once they fixed it I tried to just let that be a wash.

Fast-forward to June and they took my money twice: once from my bank account and then again when I paid via a prepay card. After about a month of hearing nothing after contacting them I finally got an answer. However that only came about from me contacting them AGAIN and also bringing up the fact I was locked out of the program a day before payment was due. I called them about both issues and as far as the paid for account went, they saw my expiration date was the next day. There was no reason for me to be locked out.

As the wonderful CS rep instructed I tried to subscribe again, two times, and that was a failure. All it will do, even today, is take me to the app. I can’t subscribe at all through the app and I don’t feel okay giving them the money directly again, as since the beginning of 2022 I did that very thing yet they kicked me out a day early. Keep in mind earlier that day I was able to do everything just fine until sometime between five and eight P.M. I don’t know why and neither does CS.

So though they are good for the verbal part of language learning I can’t recommend them overall. You’re better off saving your money and joining a language learning Discord group for free, along with another app or two and textbook, to learn another language. Pimsleur only teaches you several hundred words anyway and you will only be able to speak at a conversational level at best anyway.

TL; DR don’t bother with this app. You should probably “get it” somewhere else or pick it up at a library. Do not pay for it. I cannot stress this enough as someone who LOVED this app who has been turned into a critic. I hope you have a wonderful day.

I used Pimsleur over the last couple of years for the above 3 languages, going through all five levels not once but twice. So, I became a big fan of Pimsleur. But I am also aware of its limitations. In summary, I would say, forcing yourself to go through Pimsleur levels 1-5 is a great way to get speaking a new language. It will not make you fluent, and it will not allow you to fully understand native speakers who speak really quickly. But it's a great start to learning the language and will bring you to a point where you can function in daily life among native speakers. At least it did for me and I have been very happy with that result. But I really worked hard to get to that point: Going through Italian was relatively easy. I then found German extremely difficult and French somewhat difficult. But I didn't use it just 30 minutes a day like they advertise. I really tried to make a study tool out of it. On average, I went through each lesson 3 times but with really difficult lessons it would be at least five times. Along the way, I would look up any grammar that I did not understand, and sometimes take significant breaks, in order to understand that area of grammar. Then after finishing all 3 languages separately, I decided to go through all 3 simultaneously (ie, lesson 1 of Italian, German and French then lesson 2 of Italian, German and French, etc). This was to get used to speaking each without being confused by the other. Really tough at first, but eventually worked. During the year that required I took detailed notes of every sentence I had problem with. So, for me Pimsleur has been a very helpful study tool. But it's like with so many things: you get out of it what you put into it. One final note: they obviously put a lot of thought into the later lessons, particularly in French, and sometimes they can be very funny (eg, #16 of level 5). I only wish they would avoid all trendy issues such as global warming, environmentalism, gender issues, etc... sometimes it was so bad that I would just skip that part of the lesson rather than speaking the words they wanted to force me to speak. People realize when you're trying to push your agenda on them, and it only has a negative affect. Just teach language for goodness sake.

First and foremost, this is BY FAR the BEST app to truly immerse yourself into a language however one thing that I can testify for is that this app audio is kinda boring. I am very dedicated to learning languages so when I learn I’m do not multitask so I can focus on the material at hand; In doing so, I find that rate of speed that the audio plays at can be a little too slow. I think especially when they speak your native language slow as well. I think a feature that would immensely IMPROVE this app is making the playback speed for the audio to adjustable especially depending on the language currently be spoken. I don’t want to hear English (my native language) being spoken at a slow and mundane tone when I can gather the same information when it speaks at let’s 1.3x the given rate. If there was feature to speed up the “instructor’s” language while also keeping the “subject” language at the rate of speed, this app would be FAR MORE engaging as more convenient as each lesson tune itself more dynamically for the user’s needs.

EDIT: I reached out to the pimsleur team via email and they responded with this

“Hi,

Thank you for contacting Pimsleur.com, the official store of the Pimsleur Language Programs.

I apologize you are having trouble with the lesson speed. At this time, we do not have a way to slow down or speed up the speed of the program. The program helps you learn by speaking and repeating the lesson, the course speaks at a normal conversational speed. I am including some basic information on the course.

We do not recommend pausing the lesson after the tutor asks you to repeat. It is important to reply within the time given in order to practice speaking at a normal conversational pace. If you are having difficulty responding within this time, you are always welcome to repeat the lesson or even go over the previous lesson. You are welcome to repeat the lesson within the same day, or even repeat it over several days if you find the content challenging.

100% accuracy is not required for the Pimsleur Method to work. The courses are constructed so that every item is recycled and reviewed in subsequent lessons. It is better for the learner who has a small difficulty to go on rather than to tortuously try to "memorize" the lessons, which will be self-defeating. Hence, our guideline is to continue if you have 80 % of a lesson correct. In fact, if the course is done correctly, the percentage will be much higher.

Please feel free to reach out with any additional questions or concerns.

Thank you for learning with Pimsleur!

Kind Regards,

Mackenzie F”

Needless to say this cleared somethings up and i changed my review from a 4 star to a 5 star!

I would wager there are far greater numbers of people who have started with Pimsleur and failed to learn a language than have started and finished. This is due in part to the method, after the first ten lessons, of introducing complex multisyllabic words and phrases without proper introduction to the word. For example, at lesson 24 for Japanese, the phrase “The store is closed,” was introduced. While not a complex statement in English this is a complex sentence in Japanese. The program then immediately introduced an alternative word for store - “depato.” The program spent the next few minutes going over how to properly pronounce “depato,” but only practiced the complex phrase twice. Then moved on to multiple other new words and approximately five minutes later called for the listener to recite the complex version of “the store is closed.” This is extremely frustrating when trying to learn the language. Its seems as if significant time is devoted to rather simple two or three syllable words, and almost no time to complex phrases. However, the complex phrases are called for repeatedly without substantial time to learn the words encompassing the same.

I can appreciate that the above method is immersive; however, after lesson 15 it began requiring multiple listens to the same lesson to have any idea of what the response would be to the phrases requested. I think this could be easily corrected by Pimsleur offering the “new” words and phrases for the lesson before the lesson starts in written form. Or, having an introductory period for each lesson where the new words or phrases are explained and practiced.

As a result of the above, I find myself operating as follows to get any benefit from the program:(1) listen to lesson, (2) study the words in written form that are now available, (3) listen to lesson 2nd time, (4) listen to next lesson, (5) be completely confused, (6) go back to prior lesson again. This means I can typically only get through 3 lessons a week as it takes three complete listens to be able to adequately respond.

Be advised I took two years of Japanese in college and lived in Japan for four months. That was twenty years ago, so my Japanese is at a beginners level today, but I can read hiragana and katakana well.

I am at 45 days of paying for the app and have only completed 24 lessons. I also have a tutor I work with twice a week, and have the working knowledge explained above. Without other forms of study I’m not sure one can progress effectively with Pimsleur. It is a good way to practice stating words and phrases while listening to Japanese being spoken, but I am not satisfied with the product for the above reasons. As indicated, I think with a few small modifications, it could be really great. I gave it a one star, but I am upping it to 2 because of ease of use via mobile.

Unlike every other language app I’ve seen, the basic Pimsleur program at least tried to put a little grammar into their lessons. Because without grammar, you are just memorizing magical phrases.

So I upgraded to the premium version. To my great disappointment, there is no additional discussion of grammar. All you get is more practice memorizing those magical phrases. That might be good for a tourist. But it’s a poor way to really learn a new language.

The app is constantly crashing. Also, my completed lessons aren’t always accurate. For example, today it said I completed lesson 3, but not 2. Yesterday it said I had completed lesson 2, but not 3. I’ve done both. I’m glad it’s available as an Alexa skill; otherwise, I think I’d cancel the subscription because the app is so glitchy

Edit: Hasn’t crashed in awhile, but I keep having to re-download all the material. I’ve downloaded a whole level at least 4x in the last week

Update: doesn’t work on WiFi today. Freezes up. I’m not willing to lose progress by uninstalling and reinstalling, I would rather delete and find something that actually works.

Works great when connected to Wi-Fi but I purchased this app to use on my 45 minute commute to work every morning. I cannot get the app to work at all when not on Wi-Fi. I doubt that I will keep this app after the free trial because of this. It is unfortunate because I found the lessons to be effective. I am very disappointed.

They expect you to listen to 30 minutes of audio for each lesson. This is a complete waste of time and while it may be an effective way of teaching, it is unbearably slow

Also, the reading sections are extremely slow as well. So be prepared to skip 50-60% of this app if you want to learn a language in less than a decade

I will be requesting a refund due to the extremely low quality and bad design of these snail-paced 30 minute lectures. If someone wants to put more effort in, they should be able to learn faster.

Pimsleur offers a 30 day money back guarantee, but. In my case I just wanted to get the correct plan, adjustment was needed. The original plan had to be cancelled first, which PimsLeur only tolerates after filling in a very detailed (unnecessary) ‘form’. Impossible to cancel otherwise - after several weeks of slow and not helpful responses from CS decide to leave for the competitor and file a chargeback. ( While The FTC decided last week to make cancellations very easy). The end of a pretty good few weeks of learning a language.

I have the Spanish Premium account and for over 10 days I have been getting a failed to activate error. I contacted their customer support via their online contact page and never heard back. I just got off the phone and apparently every time I long in it counts as a new device, so it appeared to them I had 13 devices active. The customer service rep cleared them out, but they have no problem keeping my money for the whole month. The language program seems to be something that will help me learn Spanish, but I don’t know if I want to stay with this company.

I’ve used Pimsleur to work on Russian and Chinese. Now, I want to learn some Thai. However, the Thai course has no vocabulary list. I’ve messaged back and forth with customer support begging for just a PDF of the words so that I could practice them and make Flashcards.

Customer Service has told me many times that a $20/month language learning app should not be expected to provide a vocabulary list.

I’ve begged Pimsleur customer support to help me on a daily basis with a basic resource every learner would want. A 1 star review is the only option they’ve left me.

I bought Japanese lessons a couple of years ago but didn’t keep up with it. I decided to return to the lessons and found that they created a new app. unfortunately, the app wont open any lessons. a “system error” message appears and the lesson wont launch. Ive tried this on my iphone and ipad. ive deleted and reinstalled it. my prior lesson purchases are now a waste of money. fix this or refund my money!

Update 6 sept 2018. I emailed you as suggested in your response. I also submitted a help request on your website. I haven’t received any response whatsoever... not even an automated acknowledgement.

I like the program very well, but have a problem with the app. I have the program on disk, and recently upgraded to the audio version. The program opens, then very shortly closes for no apparent reason. This has been happening on both my iPhone 6 Plus and my mini iPad. As I write this the program is holding on my iPad, but I am afraid that if I close and then reopen the app I will have the same problem. I have shut off both devices many times in the past week, deleted and reinstalled the app numerous times, and the problem has persisted. When it works I love it, but don’t think I can continue to put up with the frustration.

I did not realize that I was paying for this subscription because it did not show up in my Apple subscriptions. Also I never received any notifications from Pimsleur about being charged monthly.

When I realized the charges, I couldn’t figure out how to cancel the service - there is no way to do it through the app - must call customer service to cancel. They would not refund me the charges even though I haven’t used the app during that time!

This is shady and unfair. Customers deserve to be notified when they are being charged, and cancellation should be easier. Other companies in my experience have offered refunds in this situation, and Pimsleur should do the same here.

I paid for the app, they took my payment and refuse to give me access to the lessons.

I’ve called them 5 times over a 30 day period and they always say the same thing… “we are working on the issue and will email you as soon as possible”. I have proof of emails and phone calls with these people.

I’m frustrated because they also will not allow me to remove my credit card information from their website. They even tried charging me again for the second month! I STILL DONT HAVE ACESS TO THE FIRST MONTH , WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU TRY AND CHARGE ME FOR THE SECOND MONTH OF NO ACCESS TO YOUR LESSONS ?!?!

This company has been nothing but a headache for me! I’ll update my review if they fix anything… but for now, run like the plague !

I have once again picked up studying Spanish for about the 3rd time in the last several years. This is the first time that I have stuck with it because of using the Pimsleur app and am actually making good progress. This app WORKS! I have tried other programs and the last one I tried was one of the more popular language app programs but I lost interest quickly because it was concentrating only on the names of items. I wasn’t learning how to actually converse with a Spanish speaker. I’m about halfway through Spanish 2 (there’s 5 modules) and I can actually hold a basic conversation with a Spanish speaker. I am excited about becoming fluent and there’s enough repetition that I feel comfortable and the language is actually the one used in Mexico.

This review is not for the course itself but for the app. I subscribed to Pimsleur due to a new job that suddenly thrust me into my car 3 hours a day so the whole point of this exercise was to make the most of crawling in Storrow Drive in Boston. Unfortunately the app is severely flawed in that it does not work with Bluetooth. The programmers forgot to allow the apps audio to over-ride iTunes. For clarity all of my non-iTunes audio apps work perfectly fine including Audible, Pandora, Amazon music, YouTube, etc. but not this app. It weirdly activated iTunes and only plays audio when music is playing. If I pause iTunes music the app also pauses. Very disappointing because the free course that was MP3 (not through the crummy app) worked flawlessly.

I’m more than 100 lessons in (French) and the app freezes at least a half dozen times per daily lesson. I have to force close and start over every few minutes. The games don’t work consistently. Sometimes they don’t load and the screen is blank. To find a sentence I learned from the lesson, the only option is to search through several tabs and hundreds of sentences. It needs to be better organized! I use it on both an android and apple system and I have the same problems on both. The tech seems over a decade old and desperately needs to be brought to the 21st century. When I pay over $500 for something, especially something that’s essentially an audio book with dozens of competing companies who have the same product for a fraction of the price or FREE, I expect top notch quality. This app is NOT worth the money! The cd version may be better.

It seems Pimsleur is trying to approach this App like a Kickstarter campaign... Why would you begin selling a product before it’s launch ready? Do you need more funding to pay your programmers or reach the finish line?

Literally I’ve been spammed everyday in my email with “50%” off here or “30%” there, not to mention the HUGE push on “premium” features like flash cards, games, reading tests, etc.

But then you download the app... and literally nothing works. When I try to download lessons I’ve purchased it freezes and closes. I haven’t even been able to listen to a lesson, let alone try any “premium” feature.

Their answer to everything? Uninstall and re-install. Well it’s been on the same version for going on a week and no bug fixes at all to solve my issues. I’m done with it, don’t waste your time or money on the broken promises and hype.

This service assumes that you have not only never heard a single word in the language you’re trying to learn, but you’ve never been taught anything in your life. Furthermore, it absolutely refuses to accept my pronunciation of any word no matter how slowly I speak or how much I enunciate, even though my phone’s speech to text service, other (much cheaper) language apps, and my Spanish speaking friends all have no problem understanding me. For instance, when repeating the phrase “hablo un poco de español” the app literally thought I said “hablo un poco de Asperger”. At $20.99/month for an app that slowly spoon feeds you 2-3 sentences per every 30 minute lesson this is clearly a shameless money grab with no intention of actually helping anyone learn even the basics of another language. Stay very far away unless you have unlimited patience and about 500 years to learn.

Update: I sent an email to that email after I spoke to the agent over the phone a few days before I posted my review, and nobody replied. The agent told me to email Pimsleur. I also messaged within the app. I have been waiting for over a week. I got nothing. I have been quite patient.

I’m not in the best mood right now. I called customer support, which was of no help; I emailed with screenshots; I also put a message/gave feedback in the app itself and I still haven’t gotten a reply. I have purchased lifetime premium editions for many of your language courses (all levels), and I found a problem with one of them. Japanese (Premium ) Levels 1,2 and 3 I saw got updated. I noticed I still have the old one. Why hasn’t mine been updated. I purchased Levels 1-5 Premium lifetime editions. Am I going to have to shell out another $450 for those updates? I made a full purchase to not be tied down to a subscription. I don’t know what else to do.