Catchy Banner Ad on Language

Saw this banner ad recently (quick parenthesis: I rarely look at banner ads as they are usually a waste of time and quite spammy, but as this one had to do with ridiculous claim to learn language in 10 days, it caught my eye).

So this launched me into finding out what method this guy uses, and discovered it was the Pimsler Method.  Essentially, the method focuses on oral retention and oral production of what is heard, rather than working on written text of the language.

Mark Kaiser, a Language Center administrator at Berkley, posted this critique:

I suppose we could engage in some nitpicking: could the "sneaky linguistic secret" referred to in the ad be the audio lingual method? After all, the Pimsleur method is basically listen and repeat, which is hardly a secret and hardly sneaky. And while one might be free from the computer, one will still be tethered to some kind of audio production device. And just what is meant by "speaking another language" in 10 days leaves volumes unsaid. At the college level we have students speaking after the first 50 minutes in the classroom, so take that!

As for my small critique, on the one hand, it seems there are some commendable aspects of the Pimsleur method: the fact that listening and oral retention is focused upon, and the stress on active participation over rote memorization. However, on the other hand, I am not thrilled about the false sense of accomplishment, not to mention the potential harm done to one's long-term language production by hastening the oral production of what is heard. Accurate production comes from active listening over time, and only when the words surface closer to the top of the "iceberg" does a high level of successful production result (exceptions made, of course, for basic survival and greeting phrases, etc!).