Job Discussion Forums

[MrCAPiTUL]

Anybody ever tried using this product in any capacity?

[Khyron]

Absolutely, some people have!!!

Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics can now be studied and read because of this very stone!

[Gordon]

I saw it in the British Museum, very cool. Much larger than I thought it would be.

[JaredW]

Some funny responses. But, I think you're question is trying to elicit some repsonses to learning a language like your other thread. I personally have not tried Rosetta Stone beyond the trial version.

In my opinion, the technological and linguistic value of the current language software are still in their infancy. If you have $200 to blow, by all means have some fun. Otherwise, I think a lot of people have given you good advice in your other thread.

[whatthefunk]

Worthless. Anything that offers you a short cut to becoming fluent in a language is to be approached with caution. Buckle down, study, and use every chance you have to speak and listen. Much better than listening to audio tapes of selected phrases in your bedroom alone.

[Ballsrud]

I've decided to revive this topic to get some new thoughts on the subject. I recently found out that my county library system offers the online version of the Rosetta Stone software for free to all their library card holders. I've done a few of the exercises and decided that I should inquire about how well the software works before I continue too far.

So, what have people heard about using this software? I'm pretty much starting the language from the very beginning.

[JaredW]

Thanks for reviving the topic. I have had experience with the Rosetta Stone language software when I received it for Xmas this last year.

Before I give my review, my personal experiences with learning a language have been to live in Japan for two years as a Mormon missionary and the stereotypical classroom setting. When I was a missionary, I was able to learn the language pretty well. My reading and writing suffered because I didn't bother to study, but I was told that my communicative ability excelled. That being said, I always think that being able to live and interact in the target language's country is the optimum choice. And, if you have a chance to live in the target language's country along with an immersion program offered by a university, language will be acquired at a faster pace. I know Krashen says that total language competence doesn't occur until after 5-7 years, and while I agree, you will be able to communicate well by living in that country.

Now, not everyone has the opportunity to live in the country of their choice, but they still desire to learn language. Take me for example. I wanted to learn Spanish because I teach at a comprehensive high school where a significant portion of our population speak Spanish as their native or home language. So, learning Spanish would be beneficial. Plus, learning languages is really cool.

But, I don't have the money to spend to go down to Mexico or S. America or the Spanish Riviera. So, I bought the Rosetta Stone Level 1 of Spanish. It cost a lot, like $130. But, that was my Xmas present, so ce la ve. I tried it, and then experimented with my Spanish-speaking students at school who got a kick out of their teacher trying Spanish. They were commenting that after two weeks, I had learned more than some had learned in two years of high school Spanish. That may not say much. But, it was only two weeks as well. After a month, they said I was speaking better than some of the non-native Spanish speakers on campus.

So, take that for what it's worth. I am going to purchase the Level 2 here pretty soon. And, maybe next year, I will by the Japanese level 2 to see how much of my language has attrited. My personal advice is to buy one level at a time, and don't buy it online from Ebay or something like that. I have heard of many people getting duped. Plus, if it doesn't work for you, you saved a $100 and you can always sell it.

In a word, while language software is still in it's infancy as someone correctly pointed out, IMNSHO, Rosetta Stone is the next best thing to living in the country.

IM me with any questions.

[The_Hanged_Man]

I've used the Japanese language version of Rosetta Stone. Some aspects of the program are better than others. I really liked the listening part of the program, and I thought it did a good job in developing comprehension and vocabulary. On the other hand, I thought the speaking/fluency part of the program needs some work. It involves speaking into a microphone and watching the screen to match your speech patterns to the native speaker, but I could never quite get it right.

Why don't you try the demo? You can download it from their website, and is a good representation of the program as a whole.

[Ballsrud]

I was mostly trying to find out how well it worked. I have free access to to both levels 1 and 2 through my library. If there are only two levels then I guess that's everything. The only thing I'm not sure of is that they seemed to have entered an ending date of October 30th for the "class".

[Henry_Cowell]

[sinsofangels]

I really didn't like the fact that they don't teach grammar in the program at all. You've got to deduce it from the sentences they give you, which could be good if puzzling it out means you remember the grammar better, but could be bad if you get it wrong. And while the pictures are pretty good at getting the meaning across, as a linguistics major, I can't help but wonder if what I'm saying is "The girl is riding a horse." or "The girl rides a horse." or something else I hadn't even thought of. It's probably better to practice with the program but read up a little on grammar online or something.

I do like how they have practice sections for all four skills - reading, writing, listening and speaking. Depending on what you need, it's very important to practice. Just because you can listen doesn't mean you can speak. But, don't worry too much about your scores in the speaking sections. I got a hold of the English lessons, and it said I couldn't speak English. The Arabic version, however, told me I spoke nearly perfect Arabic, which I'm pretty sure is a lie, as I have no idea how to pronounce a third of their sounds.

But really, the best way to figure out is to use it yourself. The best method of learning is the one that you stick to. At least at the library, you won't be dropping $100 for it.

[Ballsrud]

I was mostly just concerned because of how some of the things are spelled in the program. I'll go over some of the vocabulary from the first lesson.

girl - onnanoko(but according to an online dictionary it should be "onna no ko")
boy - otokonoko(once again, otoko no ko)
woman - onnanohito (onna no hito)
man - otokonohito (otoko no hito)
dog - inu
cat - neko
car - kuruma
plane - hikooki
horse - uma
ball - booru
elephant - zoo
table - teeburu

I buess most of them are fine, but the first four are definitely split differently than how they appear in an online dictionary. Does it really matter this early in the learning if it means you can get the rhythm of the language?

[sinsofangels]

I suggest you switch to the kana or the kanji if you're at all interested in learning how to read and write. There's an option somewhere on the right of the screen, IIRC.

[Ballsrud]

[Wasabi Bomb]

I used the Indonesian program (I downloaded it for free! bittorrent, baby!) and it seemed fairly helpful. But I don't know if it was any more helpful than a regular book/cd course. I think it had most of the same limitations, which you should take into account if you are going to pay that much money.

Or you can download it.