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                                    Introduction
         
         How to Use Your Pimsleur Language Program
           Congratulations! You have just purchased the most effective language program
         ever developed. As you probably know, learning a new language can be a frustrating
         experience. You may have had your first experience with a foreign language in high
         school, or even earlier. If the classes seemed difficult, if your grades were poor, you
         probably believed you had no aptitude for languages. Or, if you did well, you may
         have been surprised later to find that what you learned was of little or no use when
         you tried to converse with native speakers.
           Perhaps you’re one of the learners who waited until later in life and tried your luck
         in adult education classes, language schools, or home training programs. There, too,
         you may have found the information hard to retain, the lessons tedious, and your
         progress slow. A large percentage of language students give up early in these
         programs, convinced they lack the natural ability to understand and use what they
         read and hear.
           The truth is that anyone can learn a foreign language—with the right system of
         teaching. In this program you will benefit from the years of research and development
         that helped make the Pimsleur System the most effective foreign-language system in
         the world. The Pimsleur System of language learning, developed by Dr. Paul
         Pimsleur, fills an urgent need for self-instructional materials in many of the world’s
         languages. As high-speed travel and telecommunications bring our world closer
         together, there is an increasing need to be able to communicate with our global
         neighbors. The government employee, the business executive, the student, the
         traveller—all can benefit from the practical, effective method of the Pimsleur
         program.
           Until now, language-training systems have largely failed because the burden of
         learning has been left to the student. Most programs fail to supply a useful
         vocabulary that can serve immediate practical needs. Some offer useful phrases, but
         fail to show the student how to combine the phrases to be able to make new sentences.
         Most programs teach the three distinct components of any language—pronunciation,