Value of foreign language classes? / Foreign Language tips?

[superseiyan]

Hello:

I have an interest in Italy and it's culture. I've been able to self-teach myself some Italian to a basic level...nothing fluent but it's good enough that when I was in Italy a few weeks ago, I could order a taxi or exchange clothing at a store in Italian.

Collegewise I'd say I was probably in the middle of a 102 (2nd beginners class) level.

I'm not impressed with college and high school langauge though as I've found they teach you how to pass foreing language tests, but not how to SPEAK foreign languages.

Needless to say, being in North America, and that it's not as common as French or Spanish, have you guys found value in classes? Will it be the same unhelpful style as college?

Should I go private tutor?

Has Rosetta Stone worked for you? (only challenge here is I'm working to reduce computer time).

[Brutha]

Needless to say, being in North America, and that it's not as common as French or Spanish, have you guys found value in classes? Will it be the same unhelpful style as college?

Should I go private tutor?

One of the problems with language classes are that language gets learned through hearing it.
When you are in a language class you have people around you who are make mistakes and as a result you pick up those mistakes as well.

If you can afford it getting a private tutor who is a native speaker is probably a good idea.

[cacheborn]

Hi superseiyan,

I have stayed in Italy for a couple of years and taught myself Italian. It was immersion and I had to speak Italian when I went outside. Later I also joined a class and that also helped a lot, especially reading and writing in Italian.
I am sorry I have no idea about the teaching in the US. I have not used Rosetta Stone but at the moment I am using Assimil to learn French. It has written and audio of everyday conversations and I am finding it quite useful You may want to have a look for Italian.

And you can send me a message anytime if you feel like having a 'discorso' in Italian.
Good Luck!

[newmark]

Classes can help, especially if you have a good teacher. But it's best to see them as only one of the ways you will learn the language, not the main one.
It is possible to teach yourself a lot using language courses such as pimsleur, michel thomas, hugo's etc which are available free in libraries (if you are lucky). And there are a lot of resources on the internet. Look at the podcasts available for free on the itunes library and elsewhere.
You need to try 3, 4 or 5 approaches to learning a language. And classes are only one of these. Classes can be motivating and give you people to practice speaking to, even if their accents aren't great.

[LifeFirst]

Best way to learn a foreign language is to go to that country and live there. And I don't mean hanging out with other Americans when you're there, you have to be surrounded by the local people.

[martinogg]

Obviously the best way is to immerse yourself into the language by living in a country which speaks it.

If thats not possible, having a partner who speaks the language you want to learn has worked best for me. I spent 3 years at uni studying Japanese to not be able to speak it at all, whereas I spent 1 year learning Cantonese with my girlfriend and now I can convince my Britsh Born Chinese friend on the phone that they are talking to a real Hong Kong person (only the first few words of course)

What about italian do you enjoy?

martin

[LaylaStar]

Well, I LOVED going my language classes, including Italian!

It depends what kind of a person you are, if you learn more easily by yourself or with others..

For me, going to classes was also about hanging out with other people & socializing.. We had a great teacher, she told us a lot about Italian culture etc too..
She did say it's no use to pay a lot of money for classes offered in my country (I am not from US), that it's better to go to Italy instead & take some classes there..

Personally, I learn better in a class than at home by myself (& I have a shelf of language products & books to prove it!)
There's the personal accountability, any homework or such, regular schedule & slight 'competition' with friends/other people at the course..

I've read it's recommended to go through the stuff at home first, so you have more clue in the class & actually learn more, cause the stuff is familiar to you already.. I'd quite agree with that..
So, a combination of home-study & classes could be great.. Depends on the classes too, though..

Even if other people pronounce lousy, listen to the teacher & write down notes on correct pronunciation. Also, listen to lots of audio & video stuff at home..

Maybe you could inform yourself about your options: any low-cost or free courses offered locally? (I got to go to both French & Italian for free!! ) or 'learning exchange programs' such as, you teach someone English or help them with pronunciation/conversation (or something else entirely), they teach you Italian or such.. Or just try to find any foreign students to hang out with?

Also, get informed about the options to study in Italy, how much that would cost - could you tie it in with some travelling around Europe or work experience ? etc.

Then see what's realistic & what you can do.. If travelling isn't doable at a time, immerse yourself in the language via audio, video, magazines, books... That's how I learnt English best! /school was just a small part of it!/