Pimsleur Czech Basic Course - Level 1 Lessons 1-10 CD: Learn to Speak and Understand Czech with Pimsleur Language Programs (1) Audio CD – CD, January 1, 2006

In that learning to speak a foreign language is not an easy task, this course is a very good way to do it. It does proceed slowly and repeats itself, but that tends to reinforce what is learned. If you want to learn introductory Czech very quickly, this is not the course. But if you have some time, it works quite well. Of course, this is just the first ten lessons - it gets you through the basics of asking directions and numbers, and greetings, etc. The next twenty Pimsleur Czech lessons can be found on Amazon Audible.I use this in my car. The 25-30 minute lessons are perfect for the trip to some stores. I repeat each lesson at least twice, which gives me the practice I need. Sometimes the pronunciation is difficult to understand at first, but each phrase is initially broken into syllables and is repeated often enough over the next several lessons that everything can be mastered.I find the repetition to be very helpful in that Czech has so many sounds not found in English. This course is working well to train my mouth and tongue to actually speak and pronounce Czech well.

Dr. Pimsleur (what, no first name?) has taken the most basic principle of language retention and turned it into an art form and...guess what, it works! For those of us who do not have a gift of learning languages, the most common stumbling block is trying to absorb too much too soon. We try to learn alphabets, days, times, numbers, and by the time we get to verb conjugations we're on the verge of mental block. Having a live teacher is the best remedy; repeating phrases over and over with Pimsleur may be the next best thing.Almost any language program would work just as well (even better with a textbook) if one would just focus on one phrase or sentence at a time, and let it take root before going on to the next topic. Pimsleur's stunt crew rewinds a short conversation over and over until you're hearing it come out of your mouth the way they're drilling it into your head. Face it, people, this is how dogs, cats and infants learn commands, and if it's good enough for them it's good enough for you. You may want to compare other language CD's to this one but you'll be surprised how quick you'll keep gravitating back to Pimsleur.This is DEFINITELY NOT worth the retail price, but if you can get a used one at a bargain basement price you're losing out by not taking advantage. It's a great shortcut that can help you avoid burnout before you even get on track.

This is a good way to learn basic conversational Czech. Even if you don't remember all of it, it's enough to be polite and people will treat you better if you try some of their language. If you flounder through their language, they feel OK floundering through yours. You do actually have to play the CD's and give them your full attention. I found I have to do each 30 min. lesson about 3 times before moving on to the next. Then after doing 5 or 6 lessons go back and do them all. You don't have to give them as close attention and can be doing something else this time through. Repeated playings will help so you can quickly call up the words you need. These lessons won't give you reading or writing skills, but you can order a beer. At first it's seems impossible, but it does work with time. Try It!

Pimsleurs Czech is getting a bit aggravating.I am on CD 3 and have spent nearly an hour learning how to ask a woman if she is Czech or telling her I am not Czech. I mean, come on, if I am going to the Czech republic, I am going to assume that a woman who is speaking this language is Czech and my lack of fluency in the language will reveal that I am not. Most people can spot an American a mile away without having to tell them.Another thing, all I require is to know how to say: "I understand a little Czech" I don't need an hour to memorize "I understand only a little Czech", then..."But I understand only a little Czech." It's a waste of valuable study time. Then we launch into how to say "speaking". To me, understand is good enough but Pimsluer wastes your valuable 30 minutes having you memorize how to say speak.I have yet to find out any basic greetings but I probably will be the time I reach CD lesson 10, if I have the patience to get that far.At any rate, I will have mastered telling a woman I am American and finding out if she is Czech.

Pimsler's Basic Czech is a 10-CD collection for learning some basic phrases. You are asked to listen to the native speakers and repeat after them, some explanations being given in English. According to the product, their method is superior to other audio guides, as the phrases are repeated at specific intervals (almost like native speakers hear them when they acquire the language), which would improve remembering them.I tend to think that learning a language this way is inefficient. I have spent a total of 300 minutes, in which I learned little vocabulary, little phonology and almost no grammar at all. The CDs go very little into how to count, how to name fruit, how to name places etc. Learning a language as native speakers do is a little utopia, as you don't have the same abilities children have and you can't dedicate as much time as them (7 years of continuous Czech listening and speaking).In my opinion, if you really want to learn a language, take a book, which in each lesson teaches you vocabulary, grammar and has exercises associated with them.On the other hand, I think that the CDs are very good to open up your taste for the Czech language. The speech is very clear and some particularities of the Czech language are highlighted, such as the fact that verb are conjugation, that nouns are declined, that the verb must agree with the gender, without going into details. I would also recommend this book if you plan to meet Czech people and want to impress them with a few basic phrases, to show how open you are towards their culture.