Reviews for Pimsleur | Language Learning

Very overpriced for what you get. Learning Chinese and disappointed. I don't like the outdated UI. No visual ques in the lessons so it's difficult for your brain to associate new vocabulary with their meaning. The complexity ramps up very quickly so I have to redo lessons. The worst aspect is that the lessons are extremely BORING. No emotion in the instructor's voice, it's tough to stay engaged. I regret my purchase and cannot recommend it.

I like the lessons, but the app is the worst ever. It had one purpose... to let me listen to audio lessons. It fails at that so miserably, I've never seen anything like that - I can't control playback, it won't respond to me tapping pause or +-10 sec, it won't let me scroll to a point in the track, there are sometimes long pauses, it tracks playback time wrong and it doesn't start from where I left off if I close the app mid-lesson and reopen. So. Damn. Bad

Ok, I'll be honest, I've only tried lesson 1, but I really enjoyed it! I wanted to try pimsleur because of its rep in speaking practice, something other apps underperform in. Unfortunately, I looked at the pricing and oof! it's so ridiculously expensive it's ludicrous. The subscription is monthly and gives you access to all languages at all levels, or you can purchase one level for one language for hundreds of dollars. no in-between. how about an affordable subscription for just one language?

This app 70% works and that 70% is great. That 70% is getting you used to physically speaking ane forming sentences, and this is important. Nothing else does this for you as well as Pimsleur. The 30% which doesn't work is: 1) 20% the "mastering phrases" score. It just can't hear you well most of the time. It seems to be pretty bad at filtering out background noise, so you often "mispronounce" everything. 2) 10% not enough reading. You'll need to practice additional reading on your own

This method is horrible for adults. There are no visuals with the lessons, so you have to rely on hearing the unusual way they're pronouncing a language you don't know with spelling that is very different from your native language. I'm not a 2yo - I'm 60 and can read much better than your app can annunciate. Half the time I can't even tell what your app is saying. Then I see the word / letters and understand. I moved on to another app that uses both aural and visuals with much better success.

I never rate apps or programs. They've all become a dime a dozen cheap repetitions in one form or another. And language apps are often the worst as they focus sometimes wholly in reading or playing games in that language which stunts your development of crucial skills needed to survive in another country's setting. I have gained huge amounts of confidence going through this Pimsleur course and I can ACTUALLY understand so much spoken Japanese now just from practicing their method!!!

Okay overall. Useful for getting used to spoken language, it would be nice to have subtitles while listening to also learn how to read and write whatever is spoken. App needlessly uses lots of mobile data to download the lessons while listening to them (and moving back and forward through a lesson) when these episodes could/should be downloaded on Wi-Fi and cashed. App is unusable without data connection, e.g. on the subway.

So far the lessons and associated exercises are enjoyable. I like the UI, it's dense but easy to use. One gripe: when listening to each lesson by aux in my car or by bluetooth headphones, there is a "crossfade" that omits the first second or so off each sentence which is jarring and makes it impossible to follow the speech exercises. Update 26/5/25: It's better with headphones but still has crossfade loss when using an aux cable meaning no good for driving (my car has no touchscreen).

I've dreamed of going to Japan and speaking the language there. Pimsleur definitely got me there. There were 5 modules of 30 lessons each that I took before going. I actually took the last lesson on the flight to Tokyo. You can visit Japan without knowing Japanese but it definitely helps. Pimsleur got me to where I could handle common transactional type conversations. I still have a way to go (mada mada desu) but the local people were very appreciative and engaging. Arigatou gozaimasu!

I like the way it gets you right into the language. the interface is great and the video lesson is quite helpful. my only issue is there is no placement test. I've been learning norwegian for years and recently decided duolingo is no longer helpful. but, unfortunately, I don't want 30 minutes of easy lessons until I get to my level. I understand the reason behind that, it just doesnt work for me. if I start a new language this is where I will go. love the app.

Free trial, sign-in impossible, can't access. I signed up for the 7 day trial 3 days ago. I created a password. I downloaded the app, tried to sign in, and got a message that the password/email wasn't recognized. Tried to reset multiple times, but the password reset email never came to my email. Contacted customer service via email, 3 days later, no reply. Cannot recommend!

Great app for learning a language while in the car. makes driving productive. each lesson is 30 min and works perfect for my morning drives. it teaches you casual conversation and does not require any app interaction. again, this is a great app for people that want to learn while driving and do not want to have to interact with an app or phone.

It's a well-made app, but the problem is that it doesn't teach the most useful phrases first. Most people may be studying because of an upcoming trip. You'll need to first know to buy something, how to ask for directions, how to order at a restaurant.... NOT have a conversation about the weather. I was studying Japanese, and they don't do small talk anyway. I'd put "Oh, it's bad weather, isn't it?" way down on the list. I need to know many other basic phrases first.

update: dropped from 4 stars to 3 stars. it just keep going too fast. I listen to each lesson, at least two or three times and still struggle. I am getting to the end of my first chapter which is thirty lessons. I still struggle with any conversational portuguese with any brazilians. This is an organized app but it's not effective. It's good. But it just goes way too fast in the lessons

the app stops and gets frozen all the time. I will be mid lesson when suddenly it stops and is perpetually loading. the app will not resume until I exit out and open the app again. So frustrating, especially when I use this while doing other tasks or busy doing something else. I wish the app wouldn't freeze so often. I paid for this service and expected a more efficient app.

The more I use the app, the worse it gets. The Lessons for japanese seem sound but often aren't beginner friendly. The Native speakers later on sometimes speak too fast and I can't keep up. The AI voice coach is infuriating and often marks things wrong that I am clearly saying right. I can clearly tell because you are able to playback your own voice. (I'm flat out not using that feature anymore) It has a good amount of flash cards and other exercises that are good and it's good to speak out load

This is the best language app I've used. I've been able to use it to build on skills in old languages and develop proficiency in others from almost nothing. It builds actual listening comprehension and speaking fluency, which are the most important things, at least early on. It isn't everything. You're going to need other stuff to advance in reading writing, and you'll only reach a certain level of proficiency without actual usage in the language, but it may be as good as a language app can be.

I've only been using this for two days but I've used other language programs and this gives you a lot more for your money. I love that it starts you out with speaking and listening practice from the very beginning. I struggle the most with listening comprehension. Danes speak very quickly though so I'll see how much it helps in the context of real life. Update: I finished all 30 lessons of Danish and the enrichment exercises and I'm so sad there isn't more. I love this method though.

Great app, when it is working correctly....I like Pimsleur - the teaching method is very nice with how it breaks down the phrases. It also teaches relevant conversation instead of random words. My favorite part is the practice tools, it has helped a lot with what I retain. I recently switched to the paid version to access more languages. That being said, the app recently signed out of my account and will not let me sign back in and it is very frustrating. Hopefully, this is fixed soon.

I highly recommend this app. I have tried several others, including Duolingo, Hello Chinese, and Rocket Chinese, and so far this one is teaching very well and very quickly! I am doing the Chinese course, but I also tried their Italian, German, and Spanish. They all seem just as great. I had already studied pinyin before I started their Chinese course, which made it easier however. I advise others to learn some pinyin before you start their Chinese course as well, if you want to make it easier.