Anyone Use Rosetta Stone To Learn A Language? Is There A Better Way?

[Andrew Michaels]

I'm interested in learning Spanish, but I've never had a knack for languages. I'm looking for a new way to learn. Anyone have experience with Rosetta Stone? Did it help? Any other thoughts about learning Languages? Good books/audio programs/ whatever?

Thanks.

[dpvtank]

I've never tried it.

However, I've tried Pimsleur's Audio Program to learn Spanish (I've finished Spanish I, now onto section II) and they have been incredible. I can recommend them without feeling the least bit hesitant. I also found a few native speakers to talk with on Skype once in a while. I recommend you try and do the same.

To immerse yourself in the language, watch many movies, and perhaps read a blog or two (or a newspaper online) in spanish. I love The Joys of Tech online comic, so I read that in Spanish. Joy of Tech : planetamac

I also recently got a Harry Potter book in Spanish and I've been reading that bit by bit to improve my skills.

This might sound a lot, but unfortunately, I have been able to balance all this only sometimes in life, but it has definitely helped.

I too am not great at learning new languages. I've been taking Spanish classes in high school for three years all the way to Grade 12, and I still feel unsatisfied to my skill level and my marks. But what's kept me going is a positive attitude: I'm here to learn, and the mark doesn't matter.

Don't worry if you fail a lot many times. The curve is steep, but once you're up there, I doubt you'll regret it. I've never heard anyone complain about knowing too many languages.

[mentalmosaic]

Hi Andrew,

I'm currently using Rosetta Stone to learn Italian. It's pricey, so I'd suggest seeing if you can check it out at your library or (as I am doing) use it for free online via your local library system. (I love libraries!!!)

What I like about Rosetta Stone is that they only speak to you in the language you are learning. You have to figure things out using context clues, which is a valuable skill. I find Rosetta Stone to be really fun and immersive. I'd go so far as to call it relaxing, like a game! Whoever created it did a great job.

I don't think I'll become fluent solely via the Rosetta Stone, however, so I also bought a book/cd combo to help me with grammar. I carry another small phrasebook to look at during breaks and downtime, waiting in line or whatever...

And, I also have a small notebook that fits in my purse in which I write down new vocabulary words & phrases to study. I find this really helpful and tidier than making flashcards.

Ummm... oh - I also watch an Italian newscast every morning. It really helps! At first it seemed like all the words just ran together, but now I can pick out phrases. (Kinda cracks me up, too, how the Pope makes the news every single day...)

One thing that helps, but that I haven't been doing every day, is to read Italian newspapers. Or rather, to choose one article and read through it, writing down every word I don't understand as I go along and then going back and looking up each of those words.

And finally, my fiance is Italian, so I pick up plenty of curse words when he doesn't like other people's driving! Seriously, though, he is very helpful with teaching me the way people actually speak versus the way the books tell you to speak.

Have fun!
Tui

[benko]

Regardless of the programs/books you use to learn a language, you'll improve a lot if you actually get "dirty" and start listening to music in Spanish, watching movies, reading books/blogs/newspapers, etc.

I learnt English thanks to videogames, comics and rock music

PS: I'm Spanish, so if you tell me which is your favorite music style/bands I can recommend you some bands/songs you may enjoy listen to.

[Brutha]

I would recommend the Linkwords Language Courses.

[Andrew Michaels]

Originally Posted by benko

PS: I'm Spanish, so if you tell me which is your favorite music style/bands I can recommend you some bands/songs you may enjoy listen to.

I like a lot of Spanish guitar type music. Stuff like the Gypsy Kings. In English I usually listen to Rock/alternative, classical, and a bit of punk/ska.

[Matthew4682]

I just find that "absorbing" the language whether it be through TV or tapes does wonders. Conversing everyday with people who speak the language you're trying to learn helps a great deal too.

[HappyBee]

I very much recommend the Michael Thomas tapes - I learnt more in eight hours listening to them that three years of French in High School.

He also does them in Spanish and German.

[Lauxa]

I used Rosetta Stone for Spanish for a while. I got good vocab lessons in the beginning but lost steam after a while before gaining any real proficiency.

I have been teaching myself Spanish for about 3.5 years now and would reccomend Complete Musical Spanish as one of the best (most fun) commercial products. You'll also need a reference book of verb conjugations, like Spanish Verb Manual by Alfredo Gonzalez Hermoso.

I agree that you need to hear and read lots of Spanish to gain proficiency. For video without subtitles, I like Dora the Explorer and Blues Clues dubbed in Spanish. Yes, they're preschool shows (I watch with my kids), therefore they speak slowly and repeat a lot and give lots of clues to what they are talking about. You can find Blues Clues VHS tapes on eBay for about $10 each; some of the newer Dora DVDs are multi-language. For video with subtitles, I reccommend anything with Cantinflas, a very funny Spanish comedian, or dubbed Disney movies. Get Spanish childrens' books from the library or Half Price Books and read them aloud. See if you can find a Spanish-speaking barber who will practice with you.

[benko]

Originally Posted by Andrew Michaels

I like a lot of Spanish guitar type music. Stuff like the Gypsy Kings. In English I usually listen to Rock/alternative, classical, and a bit of punk/ska.

Spanish rock is quite characteristic, you may love it or you may hate it :P Most famous rock bands are:

* Extremoduro
* Héroes del Silencio
* Marea
* Platero y tú (dissapeared, now Fito y los Fitipaldis)
* Mägo de Oz

I like Despistaos, La Fuga, Maná, Carlos Chaouen and Albertucho, too. If you are looking for punk/ska, try with SKA-P or Boikot.

Anyway, I think you should listen to Mecano (most relevant pop band in Spain's history). It's pop music but the singer (Ana Torroja) has a clean voice very easy to understand.

[Michael Tipper]

Hi Andrew,

Wow there is some really great advice here already for you to get your teeth into Spanish.

I'd echo the thoughts of the other replies about "getting dirty" with the language. Immerse yourself as much as you can - listening to Spanish Music, watching Spanish television, reading Spanish websites (especially the news because if you are aware of what is going on anyway, you will start to make connections and begin to understand).

I am learning German and Russian and for German in particular I got hold of some Kids songs - nursery rhymes - in German - it is like a German version of Sesame street in my car every morning :-).

IN fact if you can get hold of some "Seasame Street" type kids progammes in Spanish that will help too (will get you in touch with your inner child as well - :-))

As for which programme to use, I am using the Pimsleur method for bot Russian and German and find the tapes amazing. One very useful tip is to run two programmes in parallel as you will find you will pick up stuff from both and get two different approaches to the same material. You will also find your confidence growing as you start to hear expressions and words you have learnt in one programme being taught in another.

You will also need to be aware that you will have to go over the tapes several times until you get it. I tend to take 4-6 lessons (usually about 30 minutes each) and over a few days I will go through each lesson in turn. If I haven't completely got everything in a particular lesson, I still move on. The beauty of the Pimsleur method is that the first 1/2 of each lesson pretty much reviews what you learnt in the previous lesson.

And my final suggestion is to realise that you will have two language "channels" - you will find initially that you will be able to say quite a few phrases but will find when those exact same phrases are told to you at a later time, maybe in a later lesson to review what you have learnt, you might find yourself struggling to understand them. This is because translating and understanding what you are hearing is different to thinking about what you want to say, translating it and then saying it - the pace of each is different. That is why immersion in the language through music, tv, and reading will really help you get the "music and rhythm" of Spanish so that it will be easier to translate.

Good luck and I hope this advice helps

Michael

[kat]

Originally Posted by Andrew Michaels

I'm interested in learning Spanish, but I've never had a knack for languages. I'm looking for a new way to learn. Anyone have experience with Rosetta Stone? Did it help? Any other thoughts about learning Languages? Good books/audio programs/ whatever?

I second other people's advice to use native materials (music, books, etc) and to talk to people. In terms of courses, I think the best ones are probably Assimil and the FSI courses.

A success story, via FSI, (posted by the guy who runs the how-to-learn-any language website) is at How I learned spanish in six months and how you can learn it too. As this course is developed by the American government, it's public domain; resultingly, some people have been digitizing the FSI courses and putting them online (which is legal). The Spanish FSI course can be found at FSI Spanish

I personally don't respond well to the drill method of FSI - getting an overview of the language from what's called "comprehensible input" (simple, but correct, language, which you can understand), with a few grammar notes, etc, works a lot better for me. My favorite courses are the Assimil ones - they're essentially bilingual readers (the language you're learning is on one side of the page, an English translation on the other), and they come with CDs, spoken by native speakers, with the contents of the lessons. I use the CDs by listening to them, plus using a technique called 'shadowing', where I speak at exactly the same time as the native speaker - this is extremely helpful for pronunciation, intonation, rhythm, etc.

Other language courses I've found decent are the Michael Thomas and Pimsleur ones. Pimsleur is hugely overpriced (unless your library has a copy), but it's a nice way to get a few phrases down quickly. It won't get you to fluency, and it's not the most effective use of your time if that's your aim, I think. The Michael Thomas courses provide a great overview of grammar, especially verb tenses, in a short amount of time; they're worth doing, but they're not going to get you anywhere near fluency.

[Desiderata]

Hi Andrew,

In regard to Rosetta Stone, it can be helpful with daily practice of a new language (which is very important.) I am using it right now for Portuguese and used it in the past for Italian. However, my best advise would be to study the grammatical side of the language then go somewhere where you can actually speak the language with the locals. That's how I learned Spanish. I actually have a degree in Spanish Language and Literature and even with all of those years of study I learned the most when I lived in Spain and Mexico. Even a two week trip would be beneficial. Hope this helps.