Learning a Language

[EL Burro Loco]

I apologize if this would be better in the software category but i didnt think it would get any response. Has anyone used pc software to learn a language and if so reviews? Rosetta Stone looks good but i have heard from others it sucks. I am planning on taking a class in addition to buying some software just wondering if anyone has done it. (i am learning Italian)

[daryn]

non ho esperienza personalmente, ma il mio amico si piace molto Rosetta Stone. buona fortuna!

[Peter Harris]

Rosetta Stone is a specific form of language acquisition, so it's not for everyone. From what I hear it is good in a sense that it does not allow the language learner to fall into the habit of directly translating everything they hear in the other language (something i do with french). However, this very system works well for some people, which is why some people hate Rosetta.

It depends entirely on a) how you prefer learning language [classes, software, phrasebooks, native practise], b) where you plan to use it [in your own country as a 2nd language, in another country as their first] and c) how you plan to use it [reliance on spoken/heard vs reading, writing].

I would try a few things out if you don't know. Get a textbook which teaches the language, get some CDs, get Rosetta (although it's pricy), go to the country and immerse yourself (even pricier).

[imitation]

Rosetta stone is stupid, I like to learn the grammar and in a more formal way through text books, I just thought it was really useless, though I had already been studying my language for 6mths when I first used it. Maybe it will be more useful for a latin language also.

[IggyWH]

Rosetta Stone has a 6 month no questions asked money back guarantee, which I can personally vouch for. I had mine for 5 months but I never really had time to get into it, so I sent it back and got my refund pretty quick.

They have a free internet demo online that is pretty much fully functional that you can try out. It says when you enter it you have 10 minutes, but when I played around with it, I was on it for an hour before I quit and I never got booted off of it or anything.

[Dale Dough]

All I can say on the subject is it takes work.

I've lived in Russia for a year and a half now, knew some, but not much, beforehand.

While I get by, I'm not happy with my slow rate of progress, so I finally took classes this week. Seems promising so far, but it's definitely work.

I even have to do homework. Man, that blows. Now I understand why I haven't made more progress before.

On a more useful note, Pimsleur is pretty good, although it will only get you so far. (I didn't start out with just Pimsleur so I can't really say, but it will get you to about 'intermediate' level, whatever the F that means. You won't have a real conversation like in your mother tongue, but you won't get lost either).

It's very expensive though. Which is why I uhh.. borrowed the tapes from the library.

[TheMetetron]

Okay, I'm learning more and more how much you don't know unless you've lived in a country where that language is native and you take classes there.

I've been taking Spanish in Argentina for the last 6 months for 10 hours a week with a private tutor (so, 240 hours so far) + having the advantage of living here and having to speak Spanish to do anything in this country.

I can tell the huge difference between what I used to know (3 years of Spanish in HS + 1 year in Junior High) and what I know now. I also now have the ability to tell how much I still truly don't know.

I've also used Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone together along with a Danish girlfriend and briefly living in Denmark in learn Danish. I completed both Rosetta Stone Level 1 + Pimsleur and had a girlfriend forcing me to speak in Danish a lot and I still didn't learn crap. My Danish is barely pasable and if they didn't speak English in Denmark I'd feel totally lost trying to get things done when I visit. I can read it decently well and I can understand/speak basic phrases, but that isn't much. This is really the absolute best you can expect without learning in a native country.


I guess where I'm going with this is you need to decide what you want to get out of learning another language and how much effort you are willing to put into it. After you answer those questions, people can give better answers.

1) What is the language?
2) Why do you want to learn it?
3) When/where/how do you plan to use it?
4) How do you learn best?
5) What is your ultimate goal with this language?


Edit: Please for the love of god, learn to use a correct accent no matter how hard it is. Americans speaking Spanish in Argentina drive me [censored] insane, it just hurts my ears to listen to that accent.