Rosetta Stone

[Howard Barlow]

Anyone using RS, specifically, for a new language?

[C!LLY]

I've used it for Japanese and Spanish. My husband has a military copy and it is the full complete set with all languages. Unfortunately he has it with him in Iraq. But otherwise it is fun and works really well.

[Arnor]

Howard,

I've been wondering the same. I would like to add some more languages to my arsenal and the RS looks interesting.

Best regards,

[cooltouch]

I'm using it for Chinese. My wife is from Taiwan, and my daughter is bi-lingual, so I have some incentive. It's taking more time than it should, however, but that's due entirely to my own recalcitrance.

<linguist hat>
I have a BA and an MA in linguistics, and I know just a little bit about language acquisition. The reason why I spent an almost obscene amount of money on the Rosetta Stone system was because their approach really is different from everyone else's, and really is closest to what it is like, in real world conditions, when one is trying to learn a language.

I was able to verify this to my satisfaction by repeatedly using the demo that RS has as its website before I bought the program. The demo is actually quite comprehensive. One can progress a fair ways using it, certainly far enough to get a good feel for what the program is all about.

I would not have spent the amount of money I did on the RS system if I hadn't already used the demo at length. So, I recommend that you do it for yourself, and see for yourself, before you commit to the expense.

So, what is so special about RS? In a nutshell, RS does not hold your hand while you learn the language. It instead tosses you into the proverbial pool, using the "sink or swim" method. This isn't as serious as it may seem, since almost all people figure out how to swim when it comes to language. Language is part of the human genome, and we will adapt to survive.

RS relies on the concept of "immersion," which is and has always been the best way to learn a language. Namely, the subject is "immersed" in a foreign language environment, and learns how to connect events that are transpiring around him or her with the subject language as it is being used, through observation.
</linguist hat>

[Arnor]

Thanks Michael! Did you buy the packages or did you buy the online subscription? Looks like you can get the 12 months subscription for $299 instead of $499 for all the packages (looking at Italian, don't know if the prices differ)

My native language is Icelandic and Danish was my second language and English my third. I lived in Denmark for 3 years and picked up the language pretty quickly as I started learning it in 4th grade. I can also read Norwegian and Swedish, but I'm not so good at understanding what is said and I can't speak either.

Thanks again for the information:)

Best regards,

[ronocnikral]

i used briefly for a language that I am semi-fluent in. At the time, I lived in New Orleans and the library (actually the Jefferson Parish library) there had a deal with RS for all the members to use their online version for free (might want to check out your library)...

I found it helped a lot, even for a language I had some knowledge of already.

[Arnor]

Thanks Connor - that's an excellent idea! I'll ask at the local library.

Best regards,

[ChristopherCoy]

I've been wanting to get the spanish version of the software, but the cost has been prohibitive thus far. Learning spanish would be so helpful, especially in my job, let alone everyday "Texas" these days.

[cooltouch]

Originally Posted by Arnor

Thanks Michael! Did you buy the packages or did you buy the online subscription? Looks like you can get the 12 months subscription for $299 instead of $499 for all the packages (looking at Italian, don't know if the prices differ)

My native language is Icelandic and Danish was my second language and English my third. I lived in Denmark for 3 years and picked up the language pretty quickly as I started learning it in 4th grade. I can also read Norwegian and Swedish, but I'm not so good at understanding what is said and I can't speak either.

Thanks again for the information:)

Best regards,

I bought the software. The way things work for me, having the software around for when I can get to it works better than a subscription.

Since you are not new to learning languages, it should go quickly for you, I think. Icelandic, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian are all Scandinavian languages, and being part of the Germanic language family, are about as closely related to English as they are to German. When learning a language from within the same family, there will be cognates that will make the process somewhat easier. If you're looking at learning Italian, then you're moving from Germanic languages to Italic -- still Indo-European, but much more distantly related. Fortunately, however, there is a tremendous number of words in English that were constructed from Latin roots, so many words in Italian will sound familiar to a person unfamiliar with that language.

I have three different language courses on Italian -- two on CD and one on cassette tape. It is a language I also would like to learn. Can't afford another RS purchase -- or subscription -- at this time, though.

I studied German in high school and Japanese in college. I have a decent passive understanding of Spanish, mostly written, because I've lived almost my entire life in communities that have had significantly large Spanish-speaking populations. But I don't really speak more than a few words and/or simple phrases. Chinese, I'm picking up just from paying attention to what's being said. But RS has helped in this regard, since, although it uses this same method -- sort of immersing you within a conversational environment, while providing you only with environmental clues as to the meaning of the conversation -- it is an organized, step-by-step method.

[dwilliams35]

I'm in the middle of the spanish version right now: been taking way too long (my fault, not theirs'), and it's definitely "sink or swim" as mentioned; you can get into a new "lesson" and feel utterly stupid and incompetent, then a day or two later you realize that you actually did learn it. My employer bought version 1 for me: I'll buy the second part on my own if they don't want to... From what I've heard about it, the third may be overkill for my needs. I don't need to be able to carry on a conversation at the Mexico City fine art museum, I just need to be able to vaguely talk to some folks in Texas and at the border....Good program, though..

[iCe]

I like it... It's probably one of the best that I've used, when I use it...

[z-monster]

Ah, if only RS were in my language. Russian is more popular than Serbian.

[cooltouch]

Yeah, I wish they had one for Taiwanese, far as that goes. Maybe someday.