What is pimsleur?
Is the reason why I can speak many languages.
But what is it?
An audio language learning program.
Is it free?
Of course.
How to get it?
First download torrent, go to the pirate bay and type pimsleur + the language you want to learn on the search bar, so if you want to learn Turkish, you want to type: pimsleur turkish, order the results by the number of seeders and open the ones who have more seeders with utorrent.
Is there pimsleur for every language?
Couple dozen
How many languages have you used it for?
So far portuguese, italian, french, german, japanese, korean and chinese.
How many lessons for each language?
There are 90 lessons for each language that would cover all the basics of grammar, sentence structure, vocabulary, some culture notes and if you finish the 90 lessons you can get by on the language you are learning, then you just need to practice and use the vocab you learned.
How good is it compared to other language learning programs?
Pimsleur is a very systematic, very structured method, it gives you tons of very basic vocab and forces you to speak out and make sentences. There’s no slang at all so it’s like learning from a textbook, you will learn to use a very neutral version of the language with a very neutral accent.
After you finish pimsleur I’d strongly recommend you to complement it with the 101series, chinese101, korean101, spanish101, and so on. They are great for learning slang and really useful vocabulary and expression that you wouldn’t find on a textbook, the 101 series are usually ongoing so it never finishes, as there is always new stuff to learn.
And once you’re proficient in the language you are studying I’d recommend you the “in flight” series paired up with some word list, for vocabulary building. to download the 101, in flight, and word list is the same as for pimsleur: torrent, pirate bay, order by seeders, open with torrent.
Are you still using pimsleur these days?
No, because there was a problem with my last mp3 player.
What happened?
Well, it’s a long story actually, I’ve had 4 mp3 players in my life, first it was a red one I got in spain, that one just stopped working by itself, then there was a pink one I got in spain also in 2006, that one worked until 2009 and then also decided to stop working. Then, in china at school, our boss gave us a white one that was also mp4 player, problem was the storage was quite low so couldn’t put much inside, that one got a virus and then the screen cracked while it was in the bag. and the last one that I had been using since 2009 till now was also the best one. It was blue and had a lot of space, like 6gb and it was very light and stylishly small, it was perfect, and I loved it because it had been a gift from Kishi, so I had kept it in my pocket and used it regularly for almost 4 years.
but while in NZ few weeks ago I was reviewing some korean lessons while on the way back through the park and I stumbled upon a fountain.
I always check the fountains at the park because many times they have coins that have either grown by themselves from the bottom of the fountain or have been dropped by some birds who were transporting them somewhere.
So I forgot I had the mp3 player on my jacket pocket instead of the trouser’s pocket, as the one in the jacket is on the sides, so you can put your hands in while you walk, and that makes things fall also. The one in the trousers won’t let anything fall from it. So, what I did, I leaned in to grab the coins and forgot about the mp3 player, so it slipped off my jacket pocket and fell into the water, ruining my week, lost one of my precious possessions just for a few coins.
So stupid.
Who is Kishi?
Oh, very very cute chinese girl and very very sweet. We used to live together in China. she really loved me and treated my like a king.
What happened to her?
Nothing happened to her, she’s still in china.
Do you miss her?
Maybe a bit sometimes, I have ambivalent feelings about it actually. On one hand I know she was just perfect for me, On the other hand, she didn’t really like my lifestyle of traveling and moving around, she wanted to stay in China for some reason. And I couldn’t stay in china any longer, because well, I don’t know how to say this nicely, but It’s a shithole there.
I really loved her and if it had been any other country I’d had probably stayed with her, but not China.
But if you had really loved her you would have stayed with her anywhere, even China.
Have you even been to China?
No, just saying.
I thought we were talking about the pimsleur program.
This is more interesting.
I do think sometimes that I should have stayed there with her, but China… ufff.. it’s the worst country ever. I had eventually got used to the air pollution, and the spitting, and the noise, and the people.
But the smoking is just too much, in the elevator, in the cinema, on the bus, at school, hospital, office, everywhere on the streets and places to eat, every single place, it’s just too much.
I understand they are Chinese and everything, but it’s just too much.
Did you ask her to move to another country with you?
I begged her to, I wanted to take her anywhere, anywhere but china. And she said no, because she likes China and it’s her home.
That’s understandable, most people can’t even consider your lifestyle, they can’t just detach from everything and move somewhere else just because.
It’s not just because it was to be with me.
I know, but why she has to be the one to make the sacrifice of moving abroad and you can’t make the sacrifice of staying there.
That’s why I said, if it had been any other country I would have probably stayed, just not China, and probably not India either.
Have you been to all the countries in the world?
Of course not.
So you will find that there are many places even worse than China and India, in Africa for example. You should open your mind and be more open to different cultures, you should stay in China and make a life there with cute Kishi.
I know you say that because you have never been to China.
But it’s a big country and everywhere is different.
Slightly different, very slightly.
It’s not the same being in Hainan than in Tianjin, they have desserts, mountains, valleys, they have everything there.
It’s still China though.
I know but you said she got you an mp3 player and treated you like a king.
Still China.
China China China, yes, but the girl is more important.
And actually, if I hadn’t left I wouldn’t be writing this right now because the succession of events that lead to me getting a laptop and starting a blog happened BECAUSE I left china.
You don’t know maybe it would have happened anyway.
Maybe not, and you wouldn’t exist, so, me leaving China is actually the reason you exist, so you should be happy I left, and you should be proud of me for keeping moving forward instead of getting stuck in a place I hate.
I just want you to be happy and thought if the girl can make you happy the place shouldn’t mind so much.
Yes… but China… 🙁
I know, I know, don’t worry, you don’t need to go back there ever again, ok?
Do you promise? 🙂
I promise.
And what about Kishi?
Well you know Kishi means river bank in Japanese, and in the river, there are many fishes, you will meet a fish that doesn’t need to be in china.
Well, either that or I just get myself a new mp3 player
Now we’re talking!