Which audio lessons best suit your language learning needs?
Pimsleur Audio lessons are a great way to build new vocabulary whilst getting used to the sounds and structure of a language. Quite conveniently you can listen to them when you have spare time at home, at the office or even in the car. Check out some of our favorites, and why they're so great...
PIMSLEUR Audio LessonsWhen it comes to audio language courses it is very difficult to find anything better than Pimsleur. The lessons, provided on CD, cassette and mp3, are fun and interactive, a great way to begin learning a new language. They are based on the methods devised by the renound Dr. Pimsleur, who spent years researching how the brain learns languages. Many feel these audio lessons are in a league of their own because they employ two unique methods called "backwards build up drill" and "graduated interval recall."
Languages Covered...Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Chinese Mandarin and Cantonese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Farsi (Persian), French, German, Greek, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Ojibwe, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Swiss German, Tagalog, Thai, Turkish, Twi, Ukranian, Vietnamese.
Best For...Memory: To aid long term memory Pimsleur lessons use the Graduated interval recall method. In the lessons you are asked to recall a word or phrase just as you find yourself beginning to forget it. This is not mere coincidence, but rather, a carefully timed repetition of the words/phrases which is presented at the optimum time at which long-term memory can take place. Many have found that even years after using the lessons you find yourself remembering phrases which the Pimsleur method forged indellibly into your mind. Pronunciation: Pimsleur also employ rge Backwards Build-up Drill method. Words and phrases are broken down into syllables and words, and then repeated backwards. Through his research Dr. Pimsleur discovered that by using this technique, language students very quickly learnt to immitate the exact pronunciation and intonation of new words and phrases. Tonal Languages: As Pimsleur is so good for developing accurate pronunciation, it is an excellent tool for learning tonal languages. A good example is Chinese Mandarin. The learner is quickly taught to use the four tones correctly, and to distinguish them from eachother when listening to Chinese. Each time a new word is introduced the tones used are explained.
Also Good For...Practicality: The lessons are always based on real life scenarios and cover regularly used vocabulary. Business and Travel: If you regularly need to use the same language on your travels, Pimsleur will quickly teach you to ask for directions, order food and make conversation about day to day matters. The courses tend to teach formal speach first, gearing them perfectly to business use.
Levels Covered...Pimsleur courses are ideal for complete beginners wishing to get a quick start and solid foundation for learning a language. The languages in which the full 3 course Pimsleur set is available, will take you up to about intermediate level.
Where to Buy...Pimsleur-Languages are one of the cheapest sites to directly order the lessons from. Talking Book Store provides Pimsleur audio lessons downloads in mp3 form at excellent prices.
PRAXIS Language Podcasts
Also known as ChinesePod
Languages Covered...Chinese Mandarin, French, Italian, and Spanish.
Best For...Fun: These podcast audio lessons are presented in a friendly, entertaining manner, which often involves humorous day-to-day situations. Culture: Language and culture are so intrinsic to eachother that you can't learn one without the other. The free Podcast lessons always consider the culture behind new language being considered to help you get a feel for when and why it is used. A good example is the Chinese Pod lesson which teaches you how to request no MSG in your food, and why this can be a challenge. Day to day speech: Many of the podcast lessons teach you common expressions i.e. how the real people speak. Each time a new phrase is introduced several translations of the same phrase are given in English. This helps you get a real feel for what a phrase really means and when to use it. This can be a plus over Pimsleur which tends to focus more on formal speach.
Also Good For...Your pocket: Although evey single lesson used to be accessible by anyone, for free, more recently they have changed the format and so the lessons have become available for free only through a free trial membership. You may sample a lesson first and see what extras come along with it, in terms of lesson materials and tools. Signing up for the 1 week free trial will give you full access to all of these excellent learning resources. All you need to do is provide an email address, no payment details, so there's nothing to lose! Online Community: The free online study group facility provides a way to practice your new language and get tips or questions answered from other learners. Other learners post comments, questions and responses by each lesson. You too can get involved.
Levels Covered...Praxis provide lessons suitable for all levels, from "newbie" right the way through to medial level.
Where to Buy...While to an extent you can get Praxis Podcast Lessons for free on their main website, you are invited to reinforce them with a suite of online and mobile review tools, for a reasonable price. For example, each lesson's vocabulary is provided for you to look over. You can even collect the words you want in your own personalized Dictionary online. Each word is also clickable for repeated audio pronunciation. There are games and exercises to help you embed the new expressions and words into your memory. The varying access to this extra lesson material is extremely user friendly and at the end of the free-trial you will see that the cost of continued access is well worth it. There are different packages available depending on your budget. We signed up to the free trial Praxis Podcast lessons, for example, and so can share the following subscription pricing information with you, that we were presented with at the end of our free trial. As you can see the options vary greatly and offer excellent value for what you pay in a month! 
101 Language PodcastsHere is another range of FREE podcast language lessons, available in many more than what Praxis provides however it follows the same line and view of each lesson, so that they are short, practical and interesting... that's right, language learning on your terms! Languages Covered...Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Spanish. Best For...Those of you you love a wide selection of language learning methods and options... these include flashcards for your ipod or iphone, downloads, online language learner comments for each lesson, and your own personalized dictionary/vocabulary list. Also Good For...Mobility and ease of use, you don't need alot of time or money to take full advantage of these language lessons and tools! Levels Covered...The lesson types, or levels, include Survival, Newbie, Beginner, and Cultural. Where to Buy...Go to the 101 Language Podcast page of your desired target Language and request a free brochure or free trial just to get a taste of the tools at your disposal. You will then know best which package would best suit your needs. Below we've pasted the subscription options available, for your information.  MICHEL THOMAS Audio LessonsA whole book has been written on Michel Thomas's language learning method: THE FUTURE OF LEARNING The Michel Thomas Method: Freeing Minds One Person at a TIme Languages Covered...While alive, Michel Thomas himself created audio language courses for French, German, Italian and Spanish. Since then, his same method has been used to create further audio language courses for Arabic, Chinese Mandarin, Dutch Best For...Those learners out there who hate doing book/text work or homework, since the method requires that you do none!Also Good For...Those who learn best by memory or visual aids, since the method uses gestures and visual aids to help you memorize new vocabulary or concepts.Levels Covered...From Beginner's to Advanced. Where to Buy...Follow the links above to the language you are learning, and you will see which products are available and at what prices. Amazon provides the best options, either new or used, at very reasonable prices. DUMMIES Language SeriesAh yes, deep down we don't mind admitting that we don't have a single clue about some things! And there is the genius of this language course material provider... they know what we don't, and make it available to us in an easily graspable manner. Languages Covered...Providing audio instruction for Arabic, Chinese Mandarin, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish. Best For...Also Good For...Levels Covered...Where to Buy...LIVING LANGUAGE IN-FLIGHT Audio SeriesWhat a great idea this series is! Why not pass the time on a flight, learning the language of your destination? Languages Covered...These lessons provide help for Arabic, Chinese Mandarin, Croatian Best For...Also Good For...Levels Covered...Where to Buy...LINGUAPHONELanguages Covered...Audio lessons available in the following languages:
Arabic, Chinese Mandarin, Dutch Best For...Also Good For...Levels Covered...Where to Buy...ROCKET LANGUAGESThis company has done a fantastic job because the audio language lessons combine several different methods of language learning to give you a complete package. The Rocket package combines dynamic audio lessons with interactive software games, grammar exercises and much more. Follow the course by doing a little each day and you'll be chatting competently in your target language within 3 months. That's right you'll learn your language like a rocket! Languages Covered...Click on the links below to find out more about the language of your choice: French, Rocket German , Rocket Italian , Rocket Japanese , Rocket Sign Language Rocket Spanish , Best For...Also Good For...Levels Covered...Where to Buy...TEACH YOURSELF Beginner's AudiopackagesLanguages Covered...A great line of audio lessons for common and more out-of-the-way languages, like Chinese Mandarin, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Hindi, Japanese, Latin, Nepali, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Turkish, Welsh, Xhosa.Best For...Also Good For...Levels Covered...Where to Buy...WORLD NOMADS Podcasts in 15 LanguagesLanguages Covered...This excellent company provides language lessons/free podcasts in Arabic, Chinese Mandarin, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Lao, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese. They also provide feeds on up-to-date information written by bloggers in the country of origin, aswell as travel insurance. For more information on that please see our Go Abroad page. Best For...Those of you with a tight budget or simply those who love a great deal, you can't get anything cheaper than free! There is neither anything on the horizon that seems to indicate a desire to try and "rope" you into a paid membership, so you can access the free lesson feed with peace of mind, if that is your concern.Also Good For...Those who don't have a lot of time on their hands. With the lessons on your ipod you can learn on the go!You may also find very interesting the free travel blogs that WorldNomads keeps up, to learn also about the culture and ways of the country you may be travelling to. Levels Covered...WorldNomads doesn't seem to define their language guide levels but from the looks of the language guide content, they seem to be for basic or beginner learners, apparently those interested in travelling to or around certain countries for short or long periods. Where to Buy...These language guides/podcast feeds are completely free, and no membership required! Help Others Live & LearnIf you've used audio lessons to learn a new language, we'd love to know what you thought about them. Did they meet your expectations? Were they worth the money invested in them? What impressed you about them... and what could've been better? At Live and Learn Languages we combine hundreds of language learners' experiences to provide the best advice on language learning resources.
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