I'm only a few lessons into Pimsleur but it is quite interesting. I understand the concept of speaking out loud, but I hope normal conversational tone is not required! I do these on the bus, which means I can mouth the words and speak in a quiet voice, but talking makes me look like a crazy person!
I don't know about pavel_lishin, but I care what other people think because I don't want to be an asshole. I don't want to be the guy talking loudly on his phone on a crowded bus, because that's guy's obnoxious.
The guy who's whispering to himself is fine. Weird, but at least not an asshole.
First, no one talks on the phone at a normal volume when they're on the phone. They always speak louder in order to speak "over" the noise of the bus.
Second, yes, it totally does. The guy loudly talking into his phone is audible to everyone on the bus, thanks to the fact that he's speaking loudly. It's really obnoxious. e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0uTi2qkgf0
With that said, you could probably practice this stuff on the bus without being obnoxious by simply speaking more quietly. You'll still be more annoying than the quiet guy reading a book, but probably not unreasonably so.
Just get a pocket dictionary of the language you're studying with the subject printed large on the cover. Headphones on, same mouth movements, but now you've gone from crazy to studious!
It's a great conversation starter, too, which might land you a conversation partner if you're in a multicultural city.
