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Can you learn a new language in 10 days?


True2marie

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Dr. Pimsleur (see site) promotes a learning program to help a person acquire a new language in 10 days.

To me, this sounds fraudulent. I do NOT believe anyone can learn a new language this quickly.

What do you think?

Link: https://www.pimsleurapproach.com/search286/learn-a-language.asp?sid=007exactLG_286_L10WQRadRed_ggl&Network=Search&kw=learning%20language&ad=28678614905&SiteTarget=&s_kwcid=TC|3792|learning%20language||S||28678614905&gclid=CJ7a2KePh7wCFU5efgodxiEAPg

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The guy is definitely telling a lie. Unless it's a language with a vocabulary of under 1,000 words, it's out of question. He should be honest about what you can learn in ten days. Maybe a few basic words. . .greetings and stuff?

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Well, if there is a disclaimer stating that you can learn enough of the language to get by, while on a short vacation, in 10 days, their promotion is truthful.

However, to truly learn a language, there is no way it can be done in ten days. If that was the case, all of us would be linguists, knowing multiple languages.

Having said that, I've tried Pimsleur and wasn't all that impressed with the program. Perhaps though, they've improved it.

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You have to be a genius to be able to learn a language in ten days. I believe not even Einstein was capable of such a feat. The time it takes to read up on the language alone takes more than that.

Actually Einstein was really bad when it comes to languages. He was really struggling with French he was definitely no super-brain when it comes to learning/mastering languages.

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Well, if there is a disclaimer stating that you can learn enough of the language to get by, while on a short vacation, in 10 days, their promotion is truthful.

However, to truly learn a language, there is no way it can be done in ten days. If that was the case, all of us would be linguists, knowing multiple languages.

Having said that, I've tried Pimsleur and wasn't all that impressed with the program. Perhaps though, they've improved it.

I knew there had to be some kind of catch.  I just keep running across these Pimsleur ads all over the web. Ten days isn't long enough to learn much in life unless it's how to switch a light bulb on and off.

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Anybody trying to convince you that they can teach you a foreign language in 10 days is a crook who tries to sell you something. If it was really possible, then everybody would be a polyglot and nobody would spend years on learning languages. But it is not possible, since mastering a language (or even learning solid basics of it) is a difficult, time-consuming process.

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It does sound fraudulent :angry:. if a new language can be learnt in 10 days then I should be fluent in French having taken it in high school and several classes over the years. I'm not buying it. I would have to see it to believe it.

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I had seen this before a while ago, but I thought it was bogus. I personally like the Pimsleur approach, since it has done wonders for me, but I doubt is possible to learn a language in just 10 days.  I believe they mean you can learn the basics of the language and a few useful phrases.  If they say you an master any language after just 10 days, then I'm sure they are lying. 

The ad of this course looks like the kind of ads that promote miracle cures and products.  That's the impression this ad gave me.

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I believe one cannot readily acquire fluency in a certain language in just 10 days! In learning a new language, there is no such quick formula as I always tell my Korean students. Some would just be studying an upcoming English exam in 2 weeks or so and they think they could get the target score for such major English tests like IELTS, TOEFL or TOEIC. If one decides to learn a new language, it takes time, commitment and constant practice to develop all skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening).

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Of course you can't become fluent in a foreign language in 10 days, but you can certainly pick up enough of the basic structure and an adequate vocabulary to be able to communicate, for example if you're traveling somewhere where your own language isn't spoken. Naturally it depends on a number of factors such as the number of hours you spend learning every day, your own ability, how the material is structured, and which language it is.

I managed to learn to communicate adequately in Indonesian within 10 days, but it's a relatively easy language to learn at a basic level, and I had private lessons with a great teacher every day. I was also pretty motivated as some of the people I had to communicate with spoke no English at all, and knew what I needed to be able to say from one day to the next and was able to learn the appropriate vocabulary and structures and then go off and put it to use.

I should add that I continued my daily Indonesian lessons for 6 months, and then twice a week for another year after that, so that proves that you can't master even a comparatively easy language in 10 days. However, I was certainly able to understand and communicate in simple sentences in a variety of situations within 10 days.

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Learning a new language is just like any other skill you have acquired in life. It takes repeated practice and repetition. There is ABSOLUTELY no way you can learn more than few greetings in 10 days or less. You can just think back to when you were a child. You certainly didn't learn English in less than 10 days. I encourage you to still get started learning. But, realistic expectations are essential.

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Only someone that never studied languages could consider possible to learn a language in 10 days. In 10 days we don't even learn the basics! We might pick up some sentences and words, but that's pretty much it.

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