Rosetta Stone (Language Program) Greetings friends! Knowing only English is bothering me, so I'm trying to learn a new language and was wondering if anyone here has any experience using this program. If you have, could you please post about it? Things like how you progressed (or rather, how long it took to get to the level you're at now), how frequently you used it, do you currently speak the language you learned and if so how fluently... things like that. Anything helps! Many thanks
I've used it to much learn very basic Arabic and Spanish and its a pretty good program for what I needed. It makes you have to learn the word and/or phrase and actually utilize it very early. Its not just a repetition learning method like how learning a new language use to be.
Yeah I've used it to start learning mandarin, not got very far because I don't do it often enough but it's very good. If we had it at school for 5 years I would probably have left fluent in something because of it. It doesn't get boring either because it makes you feel like you're actually learning and remembering the language (multiple choice questions with 4 pictures and you pick one etc.) so you want to carry on and on because it feels quite easy. It also has a cool thing where it records you saying a phrase and shows you the soundwave with analysis of where you said it wrong and a comparison of how it should be said. Def recommend it.
I haven't used Rosetta Stone myself but I hear it is pretty good. I usually use language books such as the Teach Yourself series, Colloquial, Pimsleur, Living language etc etc.. Maybe you could check these out as well. If I remember correctly Rosetta Stone doesn't teach grammar, I'm not 100% sure on that so I could be wrong.
ahh damm i thought this was a thread about the actual rosetta stone. tbh am not sure about this lean it yourself things but i think they are a good start for the basics then you want some real classes with a real speaker of that language. (doesnt matter say if its colombian spanish etc). then find out if there are people you can hang out with or better still visit the country and practise. is hard as the only real way is 2 spend at least 2+ yrs and be forced to speak it non-stop. took me perhaps 4 yrs to master spanish but even then (and thats 20yrs or so of visiting the country as well) i still find it tricky from time to time. managed a best mans speech in it though so dont give up op as it is a really rewarding experience all round. go for a culture you are interested in and where its not 2 hard for you to meet the natives or there are some where/nr you are. its appealing to me to learn something like japanese but i know that isnt going to happen unless i emigrate.. good luck!
Lol, at first when I read the thread title I thought you was after a pornstar/model from the name! I however know FLUENT Arabic & obviously English... Best way to learn a language is to move to another country!
I would imagine this would be some pretty good advice but I cannot move out of Canada. However I suppose browsing through websites and forums and such in a different language would be the next best thing. Once I up my vocabulary, of course.
Yeah, or just join a class and learn the language you want on a regular basis and in your spare time you can practice or go through what you've just learnt. What language are you interested to learn?
My schedule is so random, which is unfortunate because taking classes would ultimately be the best. I'm looking to learn (or sorta relearn... long story) German first, then French and possibly Russian.
Go for French, I find it much better to learn. I did learn Spanish at one point but never took to it. I'm almost fluent in French now, it doesn't take long to learn the basics and from there it's not a huge step to speak more complex sentences. Find someone from Quebec to speak to lol.
Quebec French is sooo bastardized compared to France French.... or at least that's what I'm told. I will learn it but I think I'll be able to pick up German a bit easier. Looking forward to learning stuff though... it'll be good for my puny brain :nerd:
It's good to know a relatively advanced language (many more words with meanings that don't exist in English exactly, ways to say/express things) to show you how limited English is and in turn expand your mind. Most of us, even those of us who speak multiple languages, think in English which is quite bad because a limited language will somewhat limit the way we think. It may be easy for you to learn German due to its similarities to English... but that's the problem right there, it's a similar language. I'm no language expert so I wouldn't be able to really tell you what more advanced language you should go learn but you can look that up.
That's a pretty good point. The reason why I said it will likely be easier for me to learn is because it was actually what I learned first. My grandma taught me (or I suppose was beginning to teach me) when I was very young... but when I went to school it was only English and she wasn't exactly giving me German lessons anyways... but yeah. I was told that it's one thing to be able to speak a language, but it's a completely different thing to think in it. The good (and bad, I suppose) part about English is that everything is formed in a logical sequence and switching from that is difficult. I can't really give a good example because I don't speak anything else yet, but hopefully you understand what I'm getting at
It only seems like a "logical sequence" to you because that's the only language you speak. To others their language is the logical sequence... in a lot of languages the words can go in almost any order and it's still proper grammar which is logical. Trust me, English is the butt end of every joke as far as languages go. English is the Aquaman or Apple of languages. For example in other languages you could say either "Tired I am" or "I'm tired" and they're both proper grammar, in English you could only say it one way. One of the many ways English is limited.
That's very true as well... I suppose the hardest part (for me anyways) will be breaking away from that and understanding that fact. Stupid English... Also, LOL!!!!! I definitely lol'd at this... nice one. :nerd:
