Rosetta Stone Language Software

[Harry Longshanks]

With all this discussion about mandatory English for LPGA players, it reminded me to ask about something I've been wondering for a long time:

Has anyone tried Rosetta Stone or any other software that they found very effective for learning a new language?

I'm also interested in opinions about software, or other methods, that were not effective.

I took French in High School because language was mandatory, but it didn't "take" and that has always bothered me.

[julie_m]

I've tried Pimsleur and other software and many books, they're all crap and I assume Rosetta is the same, they maybe teach you a couple phrases but I also learned that asking people, "hey, how do you say..."

We were laughing today about all the Michael Phelps/Rosetta Chinese commercials...saw a lot of him and never once heard him speak Chinese at the Olympics. Hm.

Took Spanish for six years. Learned nothing. It was in Minnesota, where there aren't any Latinos, hardly.

I've heard watching movies helps too, but it's not my experience. Maybe if I turned off the subtitles.

The only way to learn a language is to talk to someone who speaks it, preferably many people. Hear it, speak it, converse with it. Or you're stuck with "Donde esta el bano?"

My take, with 10 years of trying desperately to be bilingual.

[par3forme]

I tried it a couple years ago for french, learned a few come-on lines to try out on the wife that seemed to work pretty well
Otherwise I was not really all that impressed with the program.

[Everardo]

Took Spanish for six years. Learned nothing. It was in Minnesota, where there aren't any Latinos, hardly.

Use it or lose it. Spanish was my first language, even going through school I had to speak Spanish while at home. Back then I'd get teased a little for my Spanish accent, now though it's the opposite, my family in Mexico say I have an English accent BUT after a week long vacation my vocabulary and Spanish accent improve. Ask anyone who has traveled abroad about how well and fast they learn a language when they are forced to.

Like you, my friends who took 4+ years of Spanish can tell me when I've used the wrong tense but yet I do all the talking when we're vacationing in Mexico. Now with regards to Rosetta Stone or any other software I think it's very beneficial only when you use the language on a very regular basis to reinforce it. Finally, yes, listening to TV and radio help, while you may not understand the whole conversation gradually you will begin to pickup more and more words plus you get to listen to the accent and pronunciation.

[joshtpa]

With all this discussion about mandatory English for LPGA players, it reminded me to ask about something I've been wondering for a long time:

I too took french in high school many many years ago and it never took at all. I recently purchased the Rosetta Stone software for a different language. All I can say, is that if you really want to learn it, it will work. What I mean by that, is that you really have to use it every night. So far so good with me. It is helping a lot. I would give it a thumbs up if you have the 30 min or so a night to devote to it.

[GaijinGolfer]

Rostta Stone works really well, but its also pretty expensive. I looked into it when I was first learning how to speak Japanese, but it was more than I could afford at the time.
I instead just bought some books and some tapes off of Amazon.com (Living Language) and went that route.
I also got into a language exchange program over the internet and that helped a lot too.
One of my friends learned German through Rosetta Stone and he loved it. In less than a year he learned how to speak fluent German. Like I said though, its not cheap.

[Uber$winG]

Rosetta (German) worked well for me... although I had already taken six semesters of German in college, and it is rather expensive - but worth it.

[MunkeyGolfer]

I used Rosetta Stone for Spanish and thought it was great. At first I didn't think that it was working but once I heard people speaking Spanish, I actually understood what they were saying. I am glad I did it but probably wouldn't have paid for it if I had to. I got mine for free through my work place.

[Ben]

Bringing this thread back to life. Anyone have any recent experience with the software?

I'm looking to restart learning Korean. There is a local learning center in L.A. where I went for a "semester" which was spent on learning to read, for the most part. I need a faster pace.

[Smarf]

I was going to get their Spanish software until I realized it was 200-300 bucks. The only software I'd pay that much for would have to do with women and holograms.

[Ben]

Pulled the trigger yesterday. Found out that Rosetta Stone sells direct on eBay and offer free shipping. Plus I got 15% off on the full Korean package. Paid $424.

[Ben]

Pulled the trigger yesterday. Found out that Rosetta Stone sells direct on eBay and offer free shipping. Plus I got 15% off on the full Korean package. Paid $424.

So, I started on my way with the first level (of three) yesterday. I gotta say, in two days I am picking up an understanding of the language. Not only grammar, but also writing. Which is saying something, being that Korean has its own alphabet. The way the software integrates vocabulary with reading is really neat, and easy to pick up. If I were taking a language like Spanish or Italian that actually use a Romanized alphabet, I'd be flying through. Hell, I'm already flying. "Thumbs Up" so far for Rosetta Stone.

[is2linda]

Maybe i'll downlo... i mean buy it

[Jay-Bird]

I'm learning Vietnamese right now. Rosetta Stone works.

[Ben]

Alright, so I just finished Lesson 1 of Level 1 Korean. It seems as though I'm getting a feel for this language. I've still got a long way to go though, but that's a good thing. I've picked up basic sentence structure, counting, a tiny bit of vocabulary and some reading. Pretty exciting. I've still got 3 Lessons to go in Level 1. Then all of Level 2 and Level 3 waiting for me. I'm gonna be Korean pro after this!

[Fatphil]

Alright, so I just finished Lesson 1 of Level 1 Korean. It seems as though I'm getting a feel for this language. I've still got a long way to go though, but that's a good thing. I've picked up basic sentence structure, counting, a tiny bit of vocabulary and some reading. Pretty exciting. I've still got 3 Lessons to go in Level 1. Then all of Level 2 and Level 3 waiting for me. I'm gonna be Korean pro after this!

what the F ya gonna do with Korean? At a + 2.5 I assume you're in the golf biz, (or really obsessed with golf) guess in Cali theres a bunch of asians..be interesting to see how they react to a gringo rappin in their langage,,

whats your back story here?

[Ben]

what the F ya gonna do with Korean? At a + 2.5 I assume you're in the golf biz, (or really obsessed with golf) guess in Cali theres a bunch of asians..be interesting to see how they react to a gringo rappin in their langage,,

Yeah, that's exactly it. Koreans are all over the place on golf courses in L.A. At my club there is a bit of a rift between the Korean and non-Korean members. Its really not so bad anymore, but still a bit of love lost. I like to learn languages (I also know Japanese) figure I might as well pick up Korean. Good for the club, good for my resume. Plus, Korean girls are H O T!

[DJYoshi]

doesn't really teach you the proper way to conjugate verbs and tenses until you get into the more advance discs