Has anyone here used the Rosetta Stone software to learn a language?

[SallyMander]

I really, really want to improve my rudimentary Spanish. I've heard this is a good program -- what do you think? Is it worth the money?

Thanks! :hi:

[Midlodemocrat]

1. IIRC, matcom did.

[SallyMander]

3. Cool, thanks

I will PM him if he doesn't see this...

[MrCoffee]

2. I'm tempted every time I'm in the airport

I've heard good things from a friend who used it for Italian.

[SallyMander]

6. Looks like i can get it on Ebay for $250-300

for all three levels. Hmmm... :think:

[suninvited]

4. I used Visual Link

and LOVED it !!

I have only completed the first phase, but can pretty much understand what everyone at work is saying and can talk to them for the most part.

[SallyMander]

7. I haven't heard of that one -- thanks for the tip!

:D

[suninvited]

9. Unfortunately, I cant compare the two

since I only used the one.

Maybe there is someone who has used both.

[underpants]

5. Non

:bounce:

I have actually wanted to try to learn Spanish. Rosetta stone seems to be the best way.

[SallyMander]

8. Je parle le francais aussi

Which will probably totally confuse me with the Spanish, LOL!

:hi:

[tpsbmam]

22. If you're like my sister.....

you'll definitely confuse the accents and words sometimes. I've managed to stay away from that though -- I speak RUDIMENTARY French and Spanish. I'd say my sister's Spanish is better than mine is and my French is better than hers is. Go figure. Spanish cassettes in the car during commutes were a waste of my time -- didn't take anything away from them (but they did keep me from swearing at the "idiots" around me :P). Hope you'll report back if you end up getting Rosetta Stone -- I've been curious.

[SallyMander]

23. I'll let you know how it goes!

I'm sure it'll be confusing at first, since there are so many similarities. I barely use French any more though (i'm much better at reading it than speaking it), so hopefully it won't be too bad.

Too bad the cassettes didn't teach you how to cuss at other drivers in Spanish! :D

[tpsbmam]

34. And sadly.....

cussing at other drivers in Spanish is probably the one thing I'd have remembered off of the tapes. :P

I'm losing my French, too. Spent some time with a guy from Paris not too long ago. He was very complimentary about my reading and comprehension -- about my spoken French, not so much. :shrug: Hey, we could communicate and he didn't speak any English, so he had to give me credit for that. Parisians, sheesh!

[SallyMander]

37. Sounds like you were doing pretty well then!

I have a good friend who has been living in Paris for several years now. She is perfectly fluent, but people still know she's American -- it's just impossible to get that accent perfect!

[Pogue.Mahone]

11. I dunno...

i have the rosetta stone for russian, arabic, and japanese. i feel like i'm missing something not being able to bounce stuff off an actual instructor or having the feedback of a class. i'm a little disappointed.

one thing i was REALLY disappointed about was the fact they use the same damn pix for every language!!! for example, "the boy is running" shows an american boy (white, blonde haired) running with an irish setter in all three languages. i would have preferred soemthing more visually exciting and relevant. especially for $300-400 per set!

[SallyMander]

12. Thanks for the info

It's really good to hear about the drawbacks before i decide if i want to try it!


And hey, welcome to DU! :hi: Are you a Pogues fan? Or just a cranky Irishman? :D

[Pogue.Mahone]

15. hahahahahaha

BOTH!!! :D

[SallyMander]

17. Even better!

:toast:


The Pogues hold the honor of doing the only Christmas song that i really like. :D

[underpants]

13. Welcome to DU

:hi:

Well I meant for someone to learn on their own but you have a good point.

[Pogue.Mahone]

18. Oh yeah...

it beats the hell out of cassette tapes or language cd's, no doubt about that! :D

man, y'all are REALLY friendly!!! :D i'm gonna like this place!

[underpants]

19. It's okay

just don't wonder off into the woods....or GD: P :scared:

[SallyMander]

20. The Lounge is the place to be

GDP is scaaaaary nowadays! :scared:

[evlbstrd]

10. No.

They don't have Gaelic. dammit.

[SallyMander]

14. That's frustrating

Have you looked into the program that Imagine in Texas mentioned?

[evlbstrd]

24. Just checked it out.

French and Spanish only.

[SallyMander]

27. Rats

x(

[evlbstrd]

46. I kept looking and found this...

http://www.learnirishgaelic.com/teachme/

There's a redhead on the box-it has to be good!

[SallyMander]

47. Oh, cool! Let us know if you do it!

:D

[evlbstrd]

50. Rats!

It requires Windows. I could run it on my Mac. But that's one reason I use a Mac!

[GreenPartyVoter]

16. Yeah, that sucks doesn't it?

[evlbstrd]

26. It's a tough language to learn.

So far, all I can do is start fights in pubs.

[GreenPartyVoter]

31. I tried teaching it to myself with books and tapes about a decade ago. I ended up

quitting halfway into the better book because it was just too hard to do on my own.

[evlbstrd]

40. Our local Irish Fest had a mini-class last year.

It was less than useful.

[GreenPartyVoter]

43. You can't learn much in a single day or even 3 days. It's a very complex language, if you ask me.

[evlbstrd]

48. It's very complex.

Although I learned that the Irish alphabet has no "H".

[GreenPartyVoter]

49. Wel there's an h when we write it in English. I thought the lack of "the " was

kinda cool/weird.

[evlbstrd]

54. It's why three sounds like tree.

And you can still hear it in Boston and New York.

[GreenPartyVoter]

55. Yep. It was tricky with the aspiration thing Mhalla vs mballa. I decide to learn

the dialect that uses h instead of b.

[evlbstrd]

58. Which dialect is that?

edit for extraneous w (if only that worked IRL!)

[GreenPartyVoter]

61. It's been a decade, but I think one was Northern and one was Connemara (there being

3 general dialects overall, I think.) But heck if I know which is which now. LOL

There used to be an awesome little forum on the 'net back in the 90s called PaddyNet. You ever run across that? Mostly it was english speakers but every so often people would start conversing in gaeilge.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

32. Not THAT Gaelic -- the OTHER Gaelic

The one that gets you a nice kiss.

Not a fist in the kisser.

:rofl:

[evlbstrd]

42. Don't you always learn the curses first?

Lord knows the Irish have enough of them.

[KitchenWitch]

21. I drool over Rosetta Stone too.

Since I live in southern California, I think I should learn (or *cough* relearn) Spanish. I took two years of Spanish in high school (*ahem* one hundred years ago) and all I remember is how to order a beer and ask where the bathroom is.

[SallyMander]

25. Wow, you look GOOD for 117!

:rofl:


Actually, it sounds like you remember the really critical phrases! :D

[KitchenWitch]

29. It is the Oil of Formadehyde and hair dye.

:rofl:

[SallyMander]

30. ...

:spray:

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

36. Yes, your Spanish needs improvement

You should at least know how to order TWO beers. To be sociable, ya know.

:hi:

[KitchenWitch]

39. Dos mas cervezas, por favor.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

52. Mmmm, cervezas frias!

gracias, Bruja de la Cosina!

:hi:

[CTyankee]

28. Do the demo CD. I did that with Italian, both beginning and intermediate.

I was taking beginning Italian at the time. I also took half of an Intermediate Italian course (got sick and had to stop).

I still use my textbook and the accompanying tape when I am on the treadmill.

Not sure if Rosetta Stone would have helped me. I wonder about verb conjugation.

My experience has been that my Italian gets better when I'm there and at least trying to speak it with Italian native speakers. Same goes with Spanish. Do you have any TV shows in Spanish? You should watch them. You'll get vocabulary and pronunciation very nicely that way!

[SallyMander]

33. That's a good idea!

Thanks for the tip. I didn't even think of a demo CD.

I'm sure we'd have Spanish TV if we weren't too cheap to spring for cable. :D That's another good idea though, i will have to keep that in mind. I know someone who moved to Paris and learned French mainly from the TV!

:hi:

[CTyankee]

38. When I was in Sicily a few years ago, I watched their game shows.

Now if you think game shows in this country is godawful, you'd really be impressed with how truly tacky those shows were! The women were all in their push up bras with deep cleavage and wild hair, tight skirts, etc. The men were almost caricatures! They were loud and (I think) mostly stupid. But I did get a chance to learn some Italian...:rofl:

[SallyMander]

45. LOL -- sounds like fun!

And at least they aren't trying to ruin people's lives, like that insane lie-detector show that's on here... :wtf:

:rofl:

[Common Sense Party]

70. If I may...

Try these sites, if you have broadband:

http://wwitv.com/portal.htm

http://beelinetv.com/

You can watch live streaming TV channels from all sorts of different countries. There are several Spanish-language streams. Some channels are better than others, just like here.

I like to watch the Argentine stations so I don't lose the accent.

[SallyMander]

72. Hey, thanks!

Bookmarking this thread... :D

:hi:

[Common Sense Party]

74. ¡No problema! De nada. nt

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

35. I got Spanish Language channels

For Italian, I gotta watch the Sopranos.

Probably won't improve the vocabulary with that one.

[bikebloke]

41. Arlington County library has it online.

And free, if you're a resident. I've used it for French. It helps a wee bit. I already had a bit of vocabulary, but need some grammar.

[SallyMander]

44. I should check out our library!

What a great idea -- thanks! :D

[bikebloke]

67. A bit more.

I was about to bolt from work, when I posted.

One thing I noticed, because it's multiple choice, is that sometimes I'd try to second guess the next answer. Of course, that defeats the purpose of learning the language. One thing I recommend if after doing an exercise with the images, is to do them again with only sound. That should strengthen the lesson and expose those bits that didn't quite stick.

I have noticed when watching French films afterwards, I'm catching more than I used to. So it does have some influence.

[SallyMander]

68. Another great suggestion!

Thank you so much! :D

[SKKY]

51. Si y en mi opinion esta de puta madre! He aprendido un monton!

[SallyMander]

56. I think that's good!

:D

[halobeam]

53. I'm glad you asked about this. I needed more information

regarding this too.

Helpful tips on the thread! I'll be checking my library also. I don't have the cash for this purchase and the library is close to me.

Good luck to you!

[SallyMander]

57. There are a lot of smart people here!

Good luck to you too -- let me know how it goes! :hi:

[halobeam]

69. thanks, you let me know too!

:yourock:

[matcom]

59. Used it, AM using it, trying to find time to use it MORE

i'm about a third of the way through it. yes it works. I am trying to find time to get into it more but have 1000 things going right now.

I would recommend it as it has dramatically improved my high-school level Spanish. if you have the time that is.

:hi:

[SallyMander]

60. Thanks matcom!

Do you mean you've done one of the three levels? (I'm not sure how the levels work -- what's on which one -- maybe if you come in with some basic knowledge you can skip one?)

I don't have a lot of extra time now, but i'm thinking that it might be a good project for over the summer when my teaching load is a bit less.

:hi:

[matcom]

62. i would start at the beginning. it is amazing what you might have forgotten

good luck and keep us posted!

[stubtoe]

66. Do you think it would be effective for a raw beginner like me?

I've come close to bidding on one of these but am still wondering if it's the right way to go..

[Midlodemocrat]

64. But has it helped your middle school level of English?

:hide:


:loveya:

[appal_jack]

63. I think that the Rosetta Stone hardware is much better...

I think that the Rosetta Stone hardware is much better...



...although I still can't read Egyptian hieroglphics, Egyptian demotic script, OR koine Greek, so fat lot of good it's done me. It's hard werk!!1!1! I'm series...




:hide:



Just teasin' SallyMander! I've never moved beyond the cassette-tape and sporadic-Mexico-and-Bolivia travels level in my attempts to learn Spanish. Best of luck! :hi:

-app

[SallyMander]

65. ...

:spray:


There's always one wise-ass at the party! :rofl:

:loveya:

[The Inquisitive]

71. It helps to know the basics of the language before you use it apparently.

Depending on the difficulty of the language you want to learn as well. I know someone who tried to learn that thai through the program and gave up, and someone who used it as a refresher from after having taken a couple years of high school French a few years earlier with great success.

[SallyMander]

73. Cool, that's good to know

I had a year of Spanish in college, so i know the (VERY) basics. Hopefully that'll give me a good enough starting point... :shrug:

:hi:

[Common Sense Party]

75. What native Spanish speakers do you know?

Or can you volunteer somewhere where you'll be in contact with native speakers?

I don't know Rosetta Stone. I only know that the BEST way to learn any language is to be in situations where you have to speak it with a native speaker on a regular basis. Plus, it's much more fun than sitting in front of a computer or listening to tapes.

[eppur_se_muova]

76. Can anyone compare to Tell Me More? (link)

http://www.tellmemorestore.com/magnum.asp?pg=retlmethod

If you want to order Rosetta Stone, Barnes&Noble members can go to this page and click on "get discount": http://www.bandncoupons.com/rosetta

I tried out the sampler years ago, didn't have much chance to play with it.