Anyone use Rosetta Stone

[pontifex]

I was looking at their site and took the demo they had. I don't quite understand how it works. How do I end up understanding the language without pictures? How do you get to the point of actually speaking it?

In the demo (which was pretty simple), I was able to remember what was what and easily choose the right pic, but if I didn't have the pics I don't know that I would have got it right.

 

[tasmanian]

I tried it. Didnt like it so I uninstalled it.

 

[I Saw OJ]

I downloaded it, dont really quite get it. They go from simple words like cat, dog, man, woman to complete sentences without anything in between. I'm gonna keep using it, but so far I dont really care for it.

 

[pontifex]

any other recommendations for learning a language (other than classes)? Also, hopefully cheaper?

 

[akshatp]

Originally posted by: pontifex
any other recommendations for learning a language (other than classes)? Also, hopefully cheaper?

Move to a country where they speak the language you want to learn. Take a translation book and just wander around the busy part of town and "speak" to as many people as you can. Chances are you will pick it up within a few months

 

[Demo24]

Originally posted by: pontifex
any other recommendations for learning a language (other than classes)? Also, hopefully cheaper?

you could try through books, as in the books used at college courses. I dunno what language your looking for, but I can tell you my german book if you're interested.

 

[Freshgeardude]

i tried to learn Japanese with this, like others that have said, goes from word to sentence. and, for example, a boy was under a picnic table, which could mean: the boy was hiding, the boy was scared, the boy was having fun, the boy was under the table, etc had many meaning it could be. which I didnt like so I stopped using it

 

[alfa147x]

would this a good idea to work with a german high school class?

 

[lightstar]

i have some pimsleur language cd's that are excellent

 

[Zee]

if you commute, try using audio books

 

[Synomenon]

Why don't any of the people in the Rosetta Stone commercials do the commercial in the language they supposedly learned w/ the software?

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

If it worked for Phelps it'll work for everyone.

 

[ttown]

My daughter uses it in her high-school language class.

She loves it -- and is doing very well.

She's taking French, but others in the class are taking other languages and they like it too.

From what I've seen, it seems pretty decent.

-ttown

 

[johnjohn320]

Originally posted by: IsLNdbOi
Why don't any of the people in the Rosetta Stone commercials do the commercial in the language they supposedly learned w/ the software?

So that people who they're trying to sell to (who haven't used the software) can understand it?

 

[DomS]

I learned Italian. It teaches you like you're in kindergarten and moves up basically. You learn the language from the very base, which is why it's so easy to work with and progress.

 

[Martin]

Its good, but not sufficient on its own. I tried learning Spanish for a few months and actually got somewhere - I could read and understand simple things, say some stuff etc. What I did is I used RS, then kept my own dictionary of all the words I learnt (using spanishdict.com), and used some grammar websites and books from the public library.

I think I could have learnt basic conversational spanish if I kept at it, but I stopped since Spanish has no practical use to me whatsoever.

 

[Synomenon]

Originally posted by: johnjohn320

Originally posted by: IsLNdbOi
Why don't any of the people in the Rosetta Stone commercials do the commercial in the language they supposedly learned w/ the software?

So that people who they're trying to sell to (who haven't used the software) can understand it?

That's why they'd put subtitles / closed captions showing what they're saying.

 

[Vehemence]

Hey, it worked for Michael Phelps!

 

[Gothgar]

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal
If it worked for Phelps it'll work for everyone.

hahahahah!!!

:thumbsup:

 

[Gothgar]

Originally posted by: dNor
Hey, it worked for Michael Phelps!

too slow...

 

[luv2liv]

Originally posted by: lightstar
i have some pimsleur language cd's that are excellent

Pimsleur is awesome! it's audio cds, repeat what you just heard. i was able to speak mandarin after a month! the vocabulary is quite extensive too. writing mandarin is another story. i dont think i will ever invest time in writing... or reading

 

[Reckoner]

I see that damn Phelps commercial every friggin' day, so no, I have not, and will not, use Rosetta Stone. It's almost as annoying as Saved by Zero.

 

[destrekor]

the concept of Rosetta Stone is just like the concept of learning your first language, except the critical part is you are missing the element of 24/7 immersion.
Remember how you learned English? Progressively more challenging books with pictures describing nearly every action described. And you had your parents and teachers there to point out things and say what they were. Rosetta Stone attempts to boil all that down into a program, and succeeds. But it's going to vary by person though, based on how committed they are, and if they are taking steps to really let every sink in, or just doing what is necessary to pass the tests.

It can definitely help, and if you have other sources, it'll be an extremely beneficial addition to your studies.

Taking Russian courses, I absolutely hate the translation-based style of learning a new language - everything is compared to your language. And I'm terrible at learning languages. I haven't put much time into Rosetta Stone yet (get it online through the Army, sweet), but what I've used definitely helped, and you start seeing how different aspects of the language are applied when sentences are brought into the picture. Much better way to learn the Russian case system than through textbooks. Ugh.

 

[Vehemence]

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
I see that damn Phelps commercial every friggin' day, so no, I have not, and will not, use Rosetta Stone. It's almost as annoying as Saved by Zero.

I'd say Phelps is worse since he talks like such a dick