Rosetta Stone????

LMC · 10-13-2009, 09:24 AM

Hey,

Anyone use this software to learn a different language and was successful.

A decent price tag? Just wondering about the quality.

vagabondette · 10-13-2009, 09:59 AM

I've used it for French, Spanish and Arabic. It's a great program if you want to become fluent but if you want to be conversational soon it's not as good. It doesn't teach you useful phrases (Where's the bathroom? Can you tell me how to get to X?, etc.) but it focuses a lot on vocabulary. If you want to be fluent you need to learn the words for cat, girl, boy, car, etc. but they won't help you converse for a long time.

If you want the best of both worlds use it in conjunction with a travelers phrase book so you can get the basic nice words down while learning the long-term stuff.

Cynthia A. · 10-14-2009, 08:27 PM

I haven't used Rosetta Stone (but on TV it looks pretty good).

Quote:

Originally Posted by vagabondette

It's a great program if you want to become fluent but if you want to be conversational soon it's not as good. It doesn't teach you useful phrases (Where's the bathroom? Can you tell me how to get to X?, etc.) but it focuses a lot on vocabulary.

Who would have thought it didn't cover basic conversation?

A friend has used & pointed me to Language Learning with Livemocha | Learn a Language Online - Free! - It blends engaging online lessons and the world's largest language learning community to create the most natural way to learn a language. (The basic version is free.)

Cynthia

pearsonbrown · 10-15-2009, 12:17 AM

"The most natural way to learn a language" is by talking to people ;-) As somebody who makes a good living from teaching English online, I'd be the first to say that you should use these activities as a supplement to one-to-one or group classes with a teacher.

I haven't seen the Rosetta Stone software for a couple of years but the version I saw concentrated on 'teaching' nouns. Good for your vocabulary but not enough to learn to communicate in a language.

Pearson

10-13-2009, 09:24 AM	#1
LMC 520+ sites and counting War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Brooklyn, New York Posts: 1,582 Blog Entries: 16 Thanks: 324 Thanked 1,472 Times in 316 Posts Contact Info	Rosetta Stone???? Hey, Anyone use this software to learn a different language and was successful. A decent price tag? Just wondering about the quality.

10-13-2009, 09:59 AM	#2
vagabondette HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Currently in Mexico Posts: 273 Thanks: 50 Thanked 43 Times in 30 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Rosetta Stone???? I've used it for French, Spanish and Arabic. It's a great program if you want to become fluent but if you want to be conversational soon it's not as good. It doesn't teach you useful phrases (Where's the bathroom? Can you tell me how to get to X?, etc.) but it focuses a lot on vocabulary. If you want to be fluent you need to learn the words for cat, girl, boy, car, etc. but they won't help you converse for a long time. If you want the best of both worlds use it in conjunction with a travelers phrase book so you can get the basic nice words down while learning the long-term stuff.

10-15-2009, 12:17 AM	#4
pearsonbrown Grumpy Old Moderator War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Spending the winter in France Posts: 1,091 Thanks: 716 Thanked 352 Times in 157 Posts	Re: Rosetta Stone???? "The most natural way to learn a language" is by talking to people ;-) As somebody who makes a good living from teaching English online, I'd be the first to say that you should use these activities as a supplement to one-to-one or group classes with a teacher. I haven't seen the Rosetta Stone software for a couple of years but the version I saw concentrated on 'teaching' nouns. Good for your vocabulary but not enough to learn to communicate in a language. Pearson