FUCKIN LANGUAGE AND SHIT
I got through the first level of German, which will run you about $180 for the newest version. It gave me a leg up on pronunciation for sure. Saying the same words over and over out loud really helps. Especially with the umlauts (ü ö ä) there to throw you off when you first start. I also had a general idea of how verb declension worked, as well as a basic vocabulary to work with.
Nevertheless when I was in Germany, speaking and being spoken to was still tough. Rosetta Stone doesn't have you actively recalling the language you are trying to learn enough of the time. The program made me feel confident in my German, but I couldn't do anything useful with it other than understand sentences like "the book is laying on the table." Another problem I had with Rosetta Stone was that it didn't teach me much grammar. There are four cases in German, and there's no real way for Rosetta stone to present them to you in a functional way.
When I used the Arabic version of Rosetta Stone at the "language lab" at my school I found it helpful because it helped me learn the new alphabet as well as pronunciation of letters that don't exist in English. However this was used in conjunction with the language class and there was a native speaker of Arabic in the classroom to help.
Please comment and let me know about your personal experience with Rosetta Stone. I'm really interested in what people have to say. Did you think it was effective? Was it worth your money if you personally paid for it? How long did you use it and how often?
I have Rosetta Stone for learning Japanese. However I was a bit surprised at the learning curve, especially since it required me knowing how to write, type, and read Hiragana before I started. I guess the experience is different for many.
ReplyDeleteI've got the Russian course installed and waiting for me to pay it soem attention... I'll let you know how I get on
ReplyDeleteI actually had access to a free version through the military library. I tried to learn Japanese but it was useless because I did not have a microphone :(
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'll try again.
I've heard good things about it before, maybe I'll give it a try to improve my japanese
ReplyDeleteCarm was abandoned in the forest as a child. He was raised by wolves, and then by the spirits of wolves that live in trees.
ReplyDeleteexplain this please
I have never used Rosetta Stone because I don't think they did it for the language I was learning. Looks pretty good from what I can see though.
ReplyDeleteI did all 4 lessons each of stage 1 and 2 and the first lesson of stage 3 Latin American Spanish, i can watch Telemundo now with out many problems ;()
ReplyDeleteI used Rosetta Stone for Italian.
ReplyDeleteGoogle Translate has been doing the job for me thus far.
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I liked what I used in french but only went in a lesson or two. But felt I was getting the hang of it quickly. But I do see how it would be harder to teach the intracies of a new language.
ReplyDeleteNever knew about this program before, looks useful if you want to learn a new language, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteyou learn certain phrases very well, but beyond that - I don't know if I caould have a proper conversation making things up as I go.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised it isn't all it's cracked up to be. In the commercials it seems a little too good to be true.
ReplyDelete+followed
never heard of that
ReplyDeletei've seen the demo of it and i have my reservations. it's certainly less dull than an audio programme like assimil. while i do think the child-like intuition based learning style sets it apart, there's faster ways to learn new languages as an adult in my opinion. what *really* turns me off is the price tag.
ReplyDeletei've been doing assimil italian on and off for a while now. it's a great programme but my lack of persistence is really holding me back!
I tried to learn Japanese but it was useless because I did not have a microphone
ReplyDeleteFirst think that you should learn from a foreign language is cursewords... :D
ReplyDeleteRosetta stone seems pretty expensive for an alright language program. It's probably better for the less popular languages, but it's probably better to go to a local college for the more common languages.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to use this but it was expensive.
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