Rosetta stone (language course) Help plz

Thomo · 20 Jul 2006 at 00:57

Hi all this maybe a random place to post this but it is GD after all.

I was just looking for a bit of information about the rosetta stone Language courses. I was wondering if anyone on here had used them and if so how effective they found them

I only ask as they appear to be a little bit pricey and I didn't wish to shell my hard earned cash on something that I could potentially get similar results with using a text book and a little bit of effort.

http://www.therosettastone.co.uk

Link here if anyone interested.

Many thx

Thomo

Van Hellseek · 20 Jul 2006 at 00:58

imo, they are [excellent]. seriously the best language-learning resource i've spent money on. very clever and effective way of teaching.

Gilly · 20 Jul 2006 at 01:01

I agree with seek, I'm not far into Italian but I like the software

Van Hellseek · 20 Jul 2006 at 01:04

although on a side note, it's not the kind of thing that would be good for learning a few phrases for a two-week holiday or something. but if you're serious about learning the language, it well worth a look.

ballistic · 20 Jul 2006 at 01:11

it's very good, i have the spanish one

Thomo · 20 Jul 2006 at 01:28

Thankyou mentalgents for you swift replys, on your recommendations I will be making a purchase.

Hopefully it will be able to "reignite" my french that has become a little bit Stagnant.

Thanks again

Goodnight

Thomo

daven1986 · 20 Jul 2006 at 01:44

yeah they are good. is a good way to teach and you can choose what to learn etc.

im on lesson 4 of hindi

how long did it take people on here to get through the course, and how good were your language skills in the end?

thanks

daven

Jumpingmedic · 20 Jul 2006 at 05:45

# English (US)
# English (UK)

:rolleyes:

I can't believe you have to learn them seperately already lol. Thought it'd be at least a few more centuries till the languages diverged that much.

Pity they don't do an Icelandic one, the one language that I'd be interested in, heh.

RetiredGreyFox · 20 Jul 2006 at 06:52

I've got both Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur for Italian and Pimsleur is the easiest way to learn.

theleg · 20 Jul 2006 at 07:13

Jumpingmedic said:
# English (US)
# English (UK)

I can't believe you have to learn them seperately already lol. Thought it'd be at least a few more centuries till the languages diverged that much.

Pity they don't do an Icelandic one, the one language that I'd be interested in, heh.

youd be surprised....the pronunciation is very different and can be very hard for people learning the language.

Slogan · 20 Jul 2006 at 07:15

Everyone should just learn English.

RetiredGreyFox · 20 Jul 2006 at 07:24

Balddog said:
youd be surprised....the pronunciation is very different and can be very hard for people learning the language.

Icelandic is supposed to be the hardest language in the world to learn.
Did you see that autistic lad who learnt it in a week (our Rain Man)?

kitten_caboodle · 20 Jul 2006 at 11:08

Michael Thomas is very good. They gave his French and Spanish CD's away in the Express a few weeks ago - we had the Spanish already and it's really good if you want to become a fluent speaker quickly.

theleg · 20 Jul 2006 at 11:15

kitten_caboodle said:
Michael Thomas is very good. They gave his French and Spanish CD's away in the Express a few weeks ago - we had the Spanish already and it's really good if you want to become a fluent speaker quickly.

I do question whether such things can make one fluent...but theyre definately a good starting stone...

ArmyofHarmony · 20 Jul 2006 at 11:25

damn, 140 quid...

I need to learn spanish...I have an audio book on my ipod... but it isn't helping that much

ArmyofHarmony · 20 Jul 2006 at 11:33

kitten_caboodle said:
Michael Thomas is very good. They gave his French and Spanish CD's away in the Express a few weeks ago - we had the Spanish already and it's really good if you want to become a fluent speaker quickly.

I got the michael thomas spanish audio book... i think

kitten_caboodle · 20 Jul 2006 at 11:36

Balddog said:
I do question whether such things can make one fluent...but theyre definately a good starting stone...

I'm certainly getting there with it. I can hold a decent conversation in Spanish which I couldn't do before. He starts off with sentences and breaks them down and you sort of learn it without realising you're doing it.

It's hard without seeing the words sometimes though, so I have a book that I picked up in the states which has been a godsend to me.

Freefaller · 20 Jul 2006 at 11:39

I've never used them, but from what I've heard they are very good. That combined with spending time in the country would be the best way of learning the language - practice and familiarity is the key. Also spending time in the countries you get to hear it in context, with accents and variations on style etc...

I need to brush up on my languages really - I'm not as fluent as I used to be... maybe this might help? I'm not sure how good they are for non european languages or less common european languages.

theleg · 20 Jul 2006 at 11:39

kitten_caboodle said:
I'm certainly getting there with it. I can hold a decent conversation in Spanish which I couldn't do before. He starts off with sentences and breaks them down and you sort of learn it without realising you're doing it.

It's hard without seeing the words sometimes though, so I have a book that I picked up in the states which has been a godsend to me.

Have you been to spain since you started using it? Who do you have the conversation wtih?

kitten_caboodle · 20 Jul 2006 at 11:55

Balddog said:
Have you been to spain since you started using it? Who do you have the conversation wtih?

I have a friend who is Mexican (Spanish is her first language/English is her second) and is over here teaching atm. We speak on the telephone/meet up for coffee, and chat daily on yahoo in Spanish and she tells me if I'm going wrong. She's quite impressed.

I'm more interested in the Latin American Spanish angle than European Spanish as I spend more time there, but it's very similar and easy to pick up on the changes.