Any good software for learning a foreign language? - Page 2

JohnAndersen · #11 03-13-2007, 07:41 PM

Ive taken 3 years in high school and 5 semesters in college and I was shocked at how little I understood when I arrived here in Spain however what those classes do is give you a base to start from and once you are immeresed in the language you can catch on very fast

Arnfinn Madsen · #12 03-13-2007, 07:48 PM

When you are already at some level, listening to news on the radio has been useful for me, look if you find a web news channel or something with 24 hour news. You have some clue as to what the subjects can be and they also keep repeating phrases and reports etc.. They also usually speak very clearly so you can hear the different sounds clearly. After a while your brain manages to figure out what some words has to mean and then phrases and finally most of it.

XXXNoahXXX · #13 03-13-2007, 11:43 PM

I will bump this thread on September 1st because I am going to learn a second language this summer using some sort of software as a jumping off point (with tutoring to come if I like it). Still not even sure which language.

My school language progression looked like this

7th- Intro to Latin
8th- Latin II

Then go to private HS:

9th-Intro to Latin
10th-Latin II-Honors, Greek I
11th-Latin III-Honors
12th- Latin IV-AP

Then I go to college!

Freshman yr- Intro to Latin.

captZEEbo · #14 03-13-2007, 11:52 PM

rosetta stone is the best software you can get for learning a foreign language; however it's just a start. You will not be fluent when done.

trickymartin · #15 03-14-2007, 11:26 AM

http://lomastv.com

Not a software, but I have found it very useful when learning Spanish. I think there's French version too.

donkeylove · #16 03-15-2007, 07:33 AM

I researched this heavily last month, and the overwhelming consensus of users who had purchased both was that Plimseur audio only cds are far better than Rosetta Stone and all other types of software. Go check out user reviews of Rosetta Stone software and Plimseur cds on Amazon. By a huge margin, the customers who had purchased Rosetta and then Plimseur said Rosetta was crap in comparison. If money is no object, then a combo of both coupled with a tutor to run everything by seems the best formula. There are now online tutors who are very cheap and speak to you via skype from their home countries with English as your common language. Obviously to learn the written language you are going to need a more comprehensive approach. The Plimseur cds are very expensive, but are sold and resold on ebay, and hold their value very well. You might have to dish out like $500-$800 depending on the language for the entire set but can resell them on ebay and recoup probably 80% of cost.

bernie · #17 03-15-2007, 04:55 PM

[ QUOTE ]
The Plimseur cds are very expensive,

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, they seem to be about the same price as Rosetta stone.

[ QUOTE ]
Go check out user reviews of Rosetta Stone software and Plimseur cds on Amazon

[/ QUOTE ]

This is where I was looking for reviews of Rosetta and they were very mixed. Which is what prompted the inital question in the post.

Thanks for throwing in the other one. I'll check that out.

b

RJT · #18 03-15-2007, 05:10 PM

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What's good for Spanish?

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Back in my day, a few mushrooms and you were basically fluent. Even real good pot did the trick. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Freakin · #19 03-15-2007, 05:39 PM

I'm learning thai w/ rosetta stone right now and I think it's about as good as a high-school class was. It doesnt appear to be very conversational, unless I want to talk about the dog jumping over the fence, or the young man being inside the red car.

My wife is thai and i'm going to depend on her for the conversational instruction I need....

donkeylove · #20 03-15-2007, 09:13 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The Plimseur cds are very expensive,

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, they seem to be about the same price as Rosetta stone.

[ QUOTE ]
Go check out user reviews of Rosetta Stone software and Plimseur cds on Amazon

[/ QUOTE ]

This is where I was looking for reviews of Rosetta and they were very mixed. Which is what prompted the inital question in the post.

Thanks for throwing in the other one. I'll check that out.

b

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey Bernie,I mispelled his name.It's Pimsleur. I meant expensive for audio only cds. Rosetta Stone from what I gathered is audio and visual. Good luck.