Dutch Phase 1, Unit 01-05: Learn to Speak and Understand Dutch with Pimsleur Language Programs

This course is hands down the best spoken language resource I have ever gotten my earbuds on. I look forward to each day's lesson, it's in digestible chunks, I truly feel comfortable and proficient with the material. This course brings up the old lessons to review just at the perfect time to keep it fresh. I cannot recommend Pimsleur enough.

The only Cons:
1.) These courses will not get you ready for your trip this weekend necessarily, be at least 2 weeks out to get some basics
2.)Obviously this will do you worlds of good with oral skills but does not reference spelling for written
3.)Dutch program only goes to Unit 30! They do not have the later phases! So if you had hopes like me of those, accept that (For now at least) this is only a 6 week maximum course!

Pros:
Absolutely everything else!

This program seems adequate if you want to learn basic phrases in a new language. The words/phrases are introduced clearly and the pronunciation is broken up into individual syllables so that you can clearly hear how to make each sound. There is a good amount of repetition and enough time in most cases for you to repeat the sounds/words/phrases when prompted.<br/><br/>This was my first experience with an audio-only program, and I suppose it will do exactly what it says... help you learn to speak and understand the language. However I am a very visual learner. I found that after learning to say the words/phrases, I also wanted to see the words that I was saying, and know how they are spelled. The "reference guide" that accompanies this program is simply a 14 page blurb introducing the Pimsleur teaching concept. It contains no "reference material" at all for the units or language that you are studying. If you are a visual learner then this might be frustrating to you.

No

Not performance per se, but as noted above, some brief glossary with the spellings of the words we have learned would be valuable.

Rutger Hauer? He can teach me Dutch anytime...

I have tried several audio languages, however this was the first one I thought I would actually learn and retain it. Love this program

Pronunciation repeated only once, fast. Very few useful things to learn. I don't recommend this to anyone . Waist of money. There are so many other and better courses.

Having previously used the Pimsleur Haitian Creole program, I was not surprised to enjoy the Pimsleur Dutch as well. Pimsleur produces some of the best language learning tools I've ever found and I've tried a lot of methods.

I have to say that while Dutch is my ancestral tongue, the pronunciation does not come through genetics. Who would ever have intentionally invented some of those sounds & words?!! In any case, if you want to speak Nederlands, this is the course for you.