Despite what the marketers at Simon & Schuster say in their advertising and at the end of every Pimsleur recording, there is no way you can learn a language by simply listening to a new 30 minute lesson every day. You can gain some confidence with a few useful phrases for vacation or business travel, perhaps. But it takes quite a bit more to learn a language. Nevertheless, the Pimsleur recordings are a valuable rallying point.
I just bought and read Dr. Pimsleur's posthumously-published "How to Learn a Foreign Language", now available as an e-book. It's short -- he may have intended to make it longer but he died before it was completed. Be that as it may, it contains some very useful advice that's in alignment with my own philosophy about language learning. On the topic of whether language learning is easy:
"... learning a language is a serious commitment, and if one's aim is to speak it comfortably ..., this is likely to take the equivalent of six months of full-time study."
He goes on to say that to become fluent, one would need significantly more effort including time spent immersed in the target language. However, he points out that not everyone wants full fluency. For people who might be dismayed at the idea of making a serious time commitment, he notes:
"They should reflect on the fact that one year from today they will be one year older whether they undertake this learning task or not. The only question is whether, on that day, they are going to be well along toward mastering the language that they have dreamed of knowing, or whether it will still be only a dream."
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