Rosetta stone

[bambikiller]

Anyone ever try and use Rosetta stone to learn a second langue?
If so were you successful in learning it.
Any comments on it.
I have a hard enough time with english how easy is it.

 

[SweetErika]

I haven't tried it, but I have a family member who has, and she thought it was fun and effective.

It's a lot cheaper than a private language program or tutoring, and I think the way it teaches (immersion and association with images vs. translation makes a lot of sense, so it's probably worth a fair shot.

Do they offer a guarantee or trial?

 

[fire_breeze]

Anyone ever try and use Rosetta stone to learn a second langue?
If so were you successful in learning it.
Any comments on it.
I have a hard enough time with english how easy is it.

The major drawback of Rosetta stone (or learning any language) is that you have to keep at it. With tutorials/language classes, you're sort of forced to practice and to be consistent. With Rosetta stone, you do not have that, so it will take an inordinate amount of discipline, during and after completing it (you have to continually practice a language, or you will forget it. Trust me on that).

Also, you get encouragement from language courses so if you get frustrated you will not be tempted to quit.

That being said, it can be useful. My brother brushed up on a language skill and he's pretty conversational in it. He just had to find people to speak with, but he said it was worth the money and time... if you keep at it.

And by the way, in some ways, you will find learning another language will improve your English. You never learn your mother-tongue, you just know it. Even children who speak several languages will 'learn' the other ones and not their mother tongue. I speak English considerably better - and much more accurately - than my first language for the sole reason that I knew when I made a mistake. Studying a language as an adult improved all of my language skills, so you may just see one in yours.

 

[amofiga]

Anyone ever try and use Rosetta stone to learn a second langue?
If so were you successful in learning it.
Any comments on it.
I have a hard enough time with english how easy is it.

My wife and I take Italian lessons and there is a person in our class that tried Rosetta Stone and gave up. He decided that he needed more person to person interaction in order to learn to actually converse. He has a fair amount of basic grammer and vocabulary skills, but felt that the interpersonal factor was weak. On the other hand, my cousin's husband had good success with it, but didn't really hone his conversation skills until he was living "in country" for several months.

The total Rosetta program for any language will run you about $400-500 depending on where you buy it. I think Amazon is the cheapest I've seen. I think it's the best "computer based" system out there. I tried Pimsler and Berlitz for a bit, but it's not so great either. I've considered Rosetta Stone as a supplement to actual classes, but didn't want to pony up the $$$ in addition to what we pay the instructor which works out to about $10 per two hour session per person. He's pretty cheap but isn't a truly certified teacher at a college or anything. He's basically a relatively educated guy who grew up in Italy and the US and has a good grasp of both English and his native language.

You should check evening adult education programs or community college programs in your area and compare the cost to Rosetta. The thing with going to a class is that it forces you to keep up. If you are an organized person with lots of will power and determination, Rosetta can probably work for you.

 

[EdwardMidweston]

Anyone ever try and use Rosetta stone to learn a second langue?
If so were you successful in learning it.
Any comments on it.
I have a hard enough time with english how easy is it.

The other potential problem, which is just as true of every other form of language instructuion as it is of Rosetta Stone--is the existence of regional/ethnic/slang dialects that seem to exist in almost every language. Since nobody can really anticipate how and where you'll use a language, they just go with the middle of the road.

An example of how bad it can be: people in Munich understood my German perfectly, but people in Berlin rarely knew whatinhell I was talking about. (Thank God, most Berliners speak some English, because my German wasn't cutting it there.)

The same is true of seemingly every language. Back in the 1960s, Alistair Cooke once wrote that it was difficult for him to believe that Lyndon Johnson was speaking the same language as the recently-assassinated JFK.

 

[bambikiller]

Thanks everyone for your input.
As far as keeping up with it I've had a polish guy work for me for 13 years and still haven't picked up the langue.
When I hire a sub contractor that doesn't speak english I won't have to have bring my guy to tranlate for me.

 

[Loverskitten]

Try your local library. Mine has a few different Rosetta Stone language programs. Can't beat FREE!

 

[SweetErika]

Try your local library. Mine has a few different Rosetta Stone language programs. Can't beat FREE!

Yep, I was going to suggest that in my post, but it slipped my mind.

What language are you trying to learn, BK? Spanish?

If so, I think you'll probably find it a lot easier than English, since there are a bunch of words that are similar and the rules are far more regular. I've helped ESL students work on their English, and it's a bitch because there are so many words that don't follow patterns and common sense!

Also, if it IS Spanish you want to work on, you shouldn't have much of an issue with regional variations. They're definitely there, but they're more like Americans talking to Brits or Aussies than anything else. You should have no problem learning standard Spanish and conversing (albeit likely more slowly and simply) with anyone who speaks it. At least I've never had an issue, and I've talked with Spanish speakers from a ton of different countries.

So, I'd suggest checking with your local library and other resources (e.g. Freecycle, Craigslist) for Rosetta Stone, using the internet and perhaps books to learn industry-specific words and phrases AND hooking up with a native speaker who wants to practice with you in person (e.g. you help them with speaking English, and they help you with your new language). Then practice, practice, practice! Use your new words whenever you can (like I even practice when I'm cooking or doing chores, like emptying the dishwasher).

 

[MatthewVett]

Another option is www.livemocha.com. It's a social language learning site, and free.

 

[James65]

Another option is www.livemocha.com. It's a social language learning site, and free.

Hey Thanks for the info,going to try the site out and Happy holidays LM

 

[Somehowyou]

I am 90% finished with the 2nd DVD of the language I am trying to learn. All-in-all it is pretty good. There is absolutely no translation and they call it immersion. They typically show you 4 pictures per screen and you have to select the word/sentence that goes with the each picture. You buy one CD at a time for about 180$ or buy an entire set for under 500$. It is cheaper to purchase the entire set. Each CD contains 4 units. Each Unit is dedicated to a topic such as "travel" or "friends and social life" for example. Each unit contains 4 core lessons. Each core lesson takes about 30 minutes. Following each core lesson there are several exercises that are presented in the same order: vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, reading, writing, listening, reading and listening, speaking and review. Each successive lesson builds on the previous lesson. The voice recognition for the speaking lesson is the best part. Also, if you cannot satisfy the word recognition, you can go to another screen and they break the sentence down syllable by syllable. You can practice the sentence until it is perfect. You can play back the sentence and listen to your pronunciation.

My problem is that there is no translation anywhere. Other than the instructions for loading the disk and queuing the lesson, you will not see your native language again. I could take this 3-cd set and hand it over to a native German or Mandarin speaker and they could use it just as well. This must save RosettaStone a lot of money. You could also use the exact same pictures for any language as well so this reduces the number of units.

I think if there were some basic explanation of the language rules or something more every once in awhile it would really help.
There is another program that is all audio where they say you can learn a lesson in 10-days.

 

[Somehowyou]

Additional thoughts

Buy a few childrens movies in the langauge you are trying to learn. Watch them over and over again. try to anticipate the lines as they are being spoken and recite along with the movie.

Make flash cards of the most important phrases and practice ove rand over.

Label everything in the house in the language you are trying to learn.

 

[Daisyl]

Rosetta stone is pretty expensive and teaches you specific things. While I was brushing up on my Spanish, I found a series of podcasts called Coffeebreak Spanish. The basic version is free and there are several upgrades. It worked for me, but I pick up on languages fairly easily. They have other languages too. You can find them at Radiolingua.com.
One funny thing, the instructor is Scottish. At times, I had trouble understanding his English, but his Spanish accent was flawless!

 

[bobinks2]

I don't have any experience with Rosetta Stone. I did use Pimsleur a couple of years ago. A lot of people are talking about how expensive these language learning programs are. I bought Pimsleur CDs off of ebay. They were about US $150 plus shipping and handling. After I listened to them, I sold them on ebay for $150. I did that with three levels of Pilsleur. Learned the material for the cost of shipping and handling.

I have library cards to two public libraries. They both have something called "Mango" free. They have lessons for several languages. I've thought about using it to brush up my my skills.

 

[TypicalDeviant]

One important thing a lot of these courses don't cover, even if they do have natives speaking the language, is that you need to hear it over and over it its natural use. Grab some movies in the language in you're trying to learn. Don't watch dubbed English movies - the lack of lip syncing will throw you off. Even if you can't keep up with everything, hear how they speak. How they emphasis certain words or roll others together.

Also, grab some music in that language. The way people sing can help you learn new things too.

 

[bambikiller]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[manyways4u]

I did Rosetta stone to speak Spanish better and it does work. Like anything else you have to practice and stick with it. There is no substitute for practicing with a live person. One of the things that none of these courses will teach you is the slang of the languages. I was lucky that when I was learning Spanish that one of my closest friends is from Mexico so we practiced a lot. You pick up different things using it in conversation. Another tip from her that helped was to listen to children’s books and music in the language you are trying to learn. There is a web site that you may find helpful for learning another language www.livemocha.com

 

[airman2]

I have tried rosetta stone and I do intend on going back to it at some point. I found it a bit difficult to stick with it as I`m normally very busy. I appreciate the method they use although sometimes I wish they had other types of exercises I could work at a bit more like the class room style. My one real dislike is that their GUI looks and feels like a POS. Maybe it`s changed since I used it. I would suggest it based on what I`ve heard and once I`m done round 2 of grad school I plan on getting back into it.