<p>Anyone here try it? How did it compare to an actual class, in fun, effectiveness, etc.</p>
<p>I'm really interested in their "immersion" approach, but I have doubts about whether their courses are enough to take me up to a high enough level for effective communication with native speakers and also whether teaching grammar, like conjugations, would work effectiely within the "immersion" context. It just seems too good to be true.</p>
<p>After all, I've taken Spanish V in high school, and while I can read well, can write decently (I think), I just fail at having any kind of conversation. </p>
<p>I'm interested in learning a few different languages, so I'm really hoping that Rosetta Stone works.</p>
<p>Money isn't a factor at all, fun and effectiveness are the only major factors (that I can think of).</p>
<p>I’m not a fan. I will always prefer a class environment to a program that shows you a picture of a cat, makes you say the word five times, and expects you to remember it. It never taught me to string together a coherent sentence either, so although I was “learning” words I wasn’t learning how to apply them in a way that made sense. It’s impossible to sit down with the Rosetta Stone software and learn the different conjugations for present, past, future, etc. tenses. And if you’re doing a language that is heavily reliant on things like the subjunctive… forget it, you’ll never understand what you’re doing.</p>
<p>A class is always going to be better than a computer program. There’s a strange linearity and foolish idealism to Rosetta Stone that I’ve always hated. I wouldn’t recommend it personally, but a lot of people swear by it. <em>Shrugs</em></p>
<p>I’m not a fan of Rosetta Stone either. You learn some vocabulary, but you can’t speak the language. The “immersion” experience IS extremely useful for learning a language - after a year or three (depending on the difficulty of the language and the language learning capabilities of the student) of that language in a classroom setting. You can absorb a language in an immersion setting very well, but only with some background knowledge.</p>
<p>I didn’t like Rosetta Stone much either, but you might want to order a demo to see how you like it before you decide. Like MeijiMan said, some people swear by it. </p>
<p>I think the Pimsleur program is great for getting you started with a language, if you’re learning from scratch. It helped me get a really good grasp of Japanese before I started with the more “serious” learning. I’ve also used it a bit for German and have had a similar experience. It really helps with getting words and phrases to stick to your memory. It does very little (sometimes nothing depending on the language) with the writing side of things, but like I said, great for getting you started.</p>
<p>Classes suck and little gimmicky programs do as well. That’s why you always see people two years into some language major or another who are still very mediocre at their major through no fault of their own. They got As in their classes, did all the homework and junk, but still didn’t learn much. I am certifiably fluent in four different foreign languages and not a single one was learned in a classroom or through a program so I’m not just talking out of my ass. Buying a program and expecting that plus a stack of workbooks is going to do anything for you is about as much use as wanting to be a math major by buying ‘Algebra for Dummies’. Save your money, do some research, and develop a study plan that has a prayer of working.</p>
<p>Immersion, mainly. I wanted to learn German so for a couple of months I read, watched, and listened too anything German I could get my hands on. It started out as children’s books and TV shows and once I had a ‘Sprachgefuehl’ of the basic language, I moved on to more difficult material. Now I can read pretty much anything but technical manuals in German with no problem, and not those only because I have no interest in learning the jargon. Eventually, you’ll probably have to look up a couple grammar rules or such to clarify concepts but there is no need for the glut of rules and vocab lists that most language learners think they need. Language is learned in context, not on isolated flash cards.</p>
<p>^ What do you think about Fluenz’s argument that immersion doesn’t work so well after a certain age (they say 12ish)? And that while it is effective, immersion is less efficient than a combination of learning the grammar concepts and some immersion?</p>
<p>I agree with applicannot. Immersion is the best way to learn a foreign language - once you got the basic grammar rules down. I tried learning Spanish through immersion only. I got to a point where I can sort-of follow conversations and pick up on the meaning of simple texts, but I am missing a lot of subtleties and cannot string together a sentence to save my life. I never learned Spanish grammar and I am past the age where I can pick up on grammar rules intuitively. </p>
<p>Learning English through immersion worked a lot better for me. I think that’s because I had four years of classroom instruction (on a middle school-level) before I was thrown into an English-speaking environment.</p>
<p>Interesting. If I don’t get a job this summer, I guess I’ll teach myself spanish. I’d rather learn Russian, but it’s supposedly harder and a lot less useful.</p>
<p>A lot of this depends on the intelligence of the person, though. Most people are ■■■■■■■■.</p>
<p>I’m fluent in Italian but I want to learn Spanish. Spanish and Italian are very similar with the same type of syntax and grammar, so I don’t think it’ll be too hard. I was thinking of buying a Rosetta Stone for Spanish; has anyone tried this? I guess I can try listing to Spanish songs or watching movies to get a better feel for the language.</p>
<p>I can speak and read Arabic and Urdu too, but those languages are useless. Italian’s kind of useless too. Only 3/4 of Italian people speak mainsteam Italian and some Swiss people too, and in major cities English is common.</p>
<p>The only time knowing Arabic has come in handy is bargaining with the creepy Egyptian guy at the filafel stand :/</p>
<p>Is Rosetta Stone good for tourists who just want to learn conversational language to get by? I’m studying abroad in Italy next semester and I want to have a functional grasp of Italian before I go so I’m not totally clueless in daily situations.</p>
<p>^ When I went to Italy, I was disappointed to see everyone was speaking in English. But I went in August, during tourist season, and hung out in touristy-spots. My Italian did come in handy for flirting with that cute boy at the gelateria though
Not at all. I grew up in a tri-lingual house where we speak Arabic, Urdu and English. Unless you live in the middle east, Arabic is just about useless. I’m curious; do you speak Arabic, and if so, when has it ever been practical for you on a day to day basis?</p>
<p>I can see how it would be useful if you’re moving to an Arab country or trying for some random government job where you need to speak Arabic, but otherwise…not really. Spanish or Mandarin are way more useful.</p>
<p>I’ve taught myself Japanese to an intermediate/advanced level, and what worked was to ACTUALLY immerse myself, instead of using some simulation. With the internet, this is really easy - post on forums, find email penpals who are learning English too (there are whole websites for this), etc. An introductory textbook helps too, but you can find a lot of grammar stuff for free on the internet.</p>
<p>^what websites specifically did you use for email penpals? I’ve been thinking about doing this for spanish, but I’m scared I’ll end up exchanging emails with a fishy person, ahaha.</p>
