Although I have no regrets about using Pimsleur Spanish II, I am not 100% satisfied. After finishing the Pimsleur series I have learned some Spanish but I don't think that I have learned as much Spanish as I thought that I would have learned. As a couple of reviewers already pointed out, Pimsleur does not cover as much Spanish as the FSI Spanish method (but I paid several times more).

There are a bunch of reasons why I feel this way. But as a couple of reviewers have already mentioned, Pimsleur does not do a good job teaching the subjunctive mood. Pimsleur does a terrific job teaching basic topics such as asking about the weather, greetings, inquiring about the price of things. But it doesn't do so well teaching more complex topics like the subjuncitve mood and other more advanced topics. And when Pimsleur does cover the subjunctive mood its coverage is limited to the subjunctive mood in the present tense. FSI Programmtic Spanish Two covers the subjunctive in the past and present. It is almost impossible to be fluent in Spanish without having a solid grasp of the subjunctive mood in the past as well as the present tense.

The subjunctive mood isn't the only area of Spanish that Pimsluer either failed to cover or did not thoroughly cover. I have compiled a list with some but not all of the areas that I found thoroughly covered in FSI Programmatic Spanish Two but not in Pimsleur Spanish.

1. use of "mas de" instead of "mas de lo que" or "mas que"
2. use of "por" vs. "para"
3. use of both the "habia . . . . do" as well as "he, ha,hemos, han . . . . do" structure
4. aca/alla vs. aqui/alli (aha)
5. I should/ought structure vs. I'd like to (i.e. debiera vs. quisiera)
6. ir vs. irse
7. "Shall we" in Spanish
8. Cognates - English ending "-ty" is Spanish ending "-dad" and English ending
"-ry" becomes Spanish ending "rio/a"; and English ending "-ly" is Spanish ending "-mente"
9. Vamos a pedirle and Pidamosle
10. Indirect commands (digale/pidale a "X" que . . .)
11. preguntar vs. pedir (i.e. when to use the Spanish verb for "to ask" as into ask a question
instead of the verb for "to ask for" as in to ask someone to do something)
12. should've/could've/would've structure (habria . . . do)
13. use of "haya . . . do" structure
14. se puede decir ("it can be said" or "one says")
15. me gusteria and quisiera
16. Expressions: Ojala que; Que hambre!
17. saber vs. conocer
18. Preterito vs. descriptivo (e.g. no sabia que hablaba/hablo)
19. si tuviera, si hubiera tenido, etc.
20. La voz pasiva (passive voice)
21. when to use "aun" vs "todavia" and "ya"

Pimsleur is good for learning basic phrases suchs as "I eat," "I ate," "I have eaten" and "I am going to eat." Unlike FSI Programmatic Spanish Two, Pimsleur does not do a good job with more advanced sentence structure like "I would eat," "I hadn't eaten until now," "I would've/shoud've/could've eaten," "I may have eaten" "I would like to eat", "I am glad that you are eating," "I am glad that you ate already,"
"I am glad that you've eaten already," "I am glad that you had eaten before" "I would be glad if you had eaten already," etc.

Depending on whether you wish to speak Spanish fluently the above topics and the ability to form more complex sentences may or may not be important to you. You can still buy Pimsleur II. I have no regrets about buying it. But if you want to take your Spanish to the next level of conversation, you should seriously consider FSI Programmatic Spanish Level Two.

Bookchip version is better and easier to use, ( 3 bookchips compared to 52 cds) I bought bookchips and cds, send cds back. Buy Bookchip (Audiofy Bookchip) instead.

Other reviewers have already adequately listed the reasons for using the Pimsleur method. I did all three levels of Italian and have a excellent proficiency in the language (especially pronunciation).

However, the price for these CDs is a bit high in my opinion. Pimsleur could actually make more $ by lowering the price because many more people would then buy it. I think it's an exorbitant price and a ridiculous burden on a poor little consumer who's trying to become bilingual. Anyway.

Definitely use Pimsleur, it is great! -- my only suggestion is that you check your local library before forking out the cash. I live in a pretty big city and was able through circulation request to obtain all 3 levels on CD. I then burned all 27 or so discs onto my computer into mp3s and listened to them on a portable device. Thus learning Italiano for free ;)

If you're computer proficient and really cheap like me also try a file-sharing network like Limewire - many people share Pimsleur language audio tracks (or the whole program as one file) just like music. Just a suggestion...

When I got the three Pimsleur Spanish CD's I thought I'd be very far along with my goal to learn spanish. I have learned a lot via Pimsleur, but it didn't take me as far as I thought it would. It gave a pretty good overview of the basics in Spanish, but nothing more.

I've since switched to Platiquemos and I am just finishing up Level Two. Bottom line for me: Pimsleur is nice way to be introduced to Spanish if you can afford it. Platiquemos will take that introduction and run with it. There is some overlap between Pimsleur Spanish 1-3 and Platiquemos' Level 1, but I recommend starting at Platiquemos' Level 1 once you finish all three Pimsleur's. If you want to go the cheaper route just start with Platiquemos and work your way through Level 1. It may be tough at first, but you'll learn a lot quickly.

Good luck in learning Spanish!