NEW YORK, Nov. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur® Language Programs announced today that it is offering free downloads of 15 lessons of its Tagalog language program to support aid agencies and volunteers helping the millions affected by the devastating Typhoon Haiyan which tore through the Philippines two weeks ago.

Pimsleur, a leading publisher of foreign-language learning programs, has made the courses available free of charge on its website Pimsleur.com at www.pimsleur.com/relief, and has authorized their digital resellers, including iTunes and Pimsleurdigital.com, to provide the Tagalog downloads free through the end of the year.

By providing aid workers with a way to communicate with victims, Pimsleur hopes to ease relief and recovery efforts in communities affected by the crisis. While Tagalog is not the primary dialect in the areas most severely hit, it is one that is generally understood, and will be more comprehensible to more people than English will. The ability to communicate will be especially crucial in more remote and rural areas where English is not widely spoken and where widespread damage has occurred.

"In the aftermath of a disaster like Typhoon Haiyan, the ability to speak to victims is critical. With our programs, volunteers will be able to speak basic phrases almost immediately," said Robert Riger, Vice President & Director of Pimsleur Language Programs. "Our thoughts go out to those impacted by this disaster, and we're eager to help in the relief effort."

Pimsleur has donated to relief efforts in the past, providing free course downloads after both the Japanese tsunami in 2011, and the Haitian earthquake in 2010. The company's Haitian Creole course was downloaded free of charge over 6,000 times by individuals and organizations supporting relief efforts in Haiti.

In partnership with the USO and The Boston Foundation, Pimsleur has also distributed more than 22,600 free Pashto or Dari courses to U.S. troops deployed in Afghanistan through its, "Free Afghan Languages" program.

This year, Pimsleur is celebrating its 50th anniversary by launching the Pimsleur Course Manager App and publishing a hardcover edition of Dr. Paul Pimsleur's classic How to Learn a Foreign Language. Pimsleur offers audio-based language learning programs in 50 languages available on CD, MP3 and as software.

For more information about Pimsleur, visit www.pimsleur.com.

About Pimsleur

Pimsleur® is an audio-based language-learning program that follows the Pimsleur Method™ developed by Dr. Paul Pimsleur 50 years ago. The Pimsleur Method teaches foreign languages the same way you learned your first language as a child, acquiring the vocabulary of the new language, along with the melody, rhythm, and intonation as used in everyday conversation. Pimsleur offers audio-based language learning programs in 50 languages, ranging from Albanian to Vietnamese. Part of Simon & Schuster Audio, a division of CBS, Pimsleur has its Editorial and Production group based in Concord, Mass. with management in New York City.

SOURCE Simon & Schuster