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Anyone tried the Rosetta Stone Language software?
Samstag:
--- Quote from: clanggedin on February 02, 2007, 02:02:28 pm ---I took an 8 week Spanish course and then went to Argentina for 2 years. I found out the first week I was there that what I learned in my course was Mexican Spanish and not Argentine Spansh (Castellano). They have a totally different vocabulary.
Don't ask for a piņa in Argentina. You won't get a pineapple, that's for sure.
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Heh. I took high school Spanish with a Castellen guy. He really tried to teach us "proper" Spanish from the book but we learned (or more like didn't learn) a really mixed up version. The vocabulary seemed similar enough for common words, at least, but the pronunciation really threw us off.
KenToad:
--- Quote from: shmokes on February 01, 2007, 01:22:06 am ---That's the next step for me, though it's only four weeks. Nine weeks is out of the question financially, and leaving my family for that long would be over twice as hard as the 4-week program I'm going to do. But I'll be studying in a language institution for four hours a day with students from all over the world, so the only common language is French. Plus, I'll be living with and having dinner every night with a French family and they are not supposed to speak any English to me (and won't even be able English, for all I know).
I'm hoping that seeing as I'm already getting quite good at French, having completed a bachelor's degree in the subject, that four-weeks will be enough to push me into what would be described as fluency.
I'll tell you one thing: my daughter will speak French from the moment she can talk. Good god, I have worked ---my bottom--- off to acquire what limited French skills I have. Four years of studying, and doing exercises and reading books and listening to CDs, and attending French tables religiously (that I don't get any school credit for). I look at my nieces who were just raised bilingual to begin with (English/Spanish) and they have always simply spoken each language with equal ease. They have never had to work at being bilingual. It's SOOO much easier to pick up a language as a child. If it's not already too late, get your toddler speaking another language! If you can't teach it to them, pay someone to do it. It's an opportunity that you can never get back once you've missed it.
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Of course it may be different for you, but I've found that even among a group of internationals in France, the only common language is still English, at least in our generation and younger. You will learn more from people over 30, and I would say even over 40 would be ideal, since their fluency, confidence and willingness to learn English is decreased and thus makes them less likely to try to use you to improve their English.
I agree with what you say about babies learning faster and I know that the window of learning or whatever is a pretty commonly accepted theory, but I believe that children learn faster in an environment where they see it as necessary. I think adults are too smart for their own good and learn a language until they lose interest or genuinely don't see a need for it. I think our brains and learning are related to our survival instincts, basically.
In other words, I believe adult brains are as flexible as baby brains, but adults are just not naive enough (or maybe just too lazy) to put the kind of necessary focus on learning extra languages after they know that they can flourish without them. Also, I don't believe you can force a child to learn a language without giving it some sort of reason and I wouldn't suggest teaching a language to an infant unless you are fluent.
To end the rant, my wife is German and we :) are pregnant, so we will have first-hand experience soon. She will speak German to our new baby and I will speak English.
Oh, and I really love the Rosetta Stone, but definitely wouldn't say that it can inspire fluency or put the determination to learn into a person who doesn't have a daily need to use the language.
ChadTower:
So, how long until someone comes out with Speak Speak Revolution for the PS3?
DrewKaree:
--- Quote from: clanggedin on February 02, 2007, 02:02:28 pm ---I took an 8 week Spanish course and then went to Argentina for 2 years. I found out the first week I was there that what I learned in my course was Mexican Spanish and not Argentine Spansh (Castellano). They have a totally different vocabulary.
Don't ask for a piņa in Argentina. You won't get a pineapple, that's for sure.
--- End quote ---
I'm not certain, but the Pimsleur courses refer to Castellano. To say that the people I worked with had a totally different vocabulary would be a misstatement, IMO. They understood what I would say, and therefore knew what I was trying to say, but preferred to use different terminology.
It's more like the difference people have with "English" as it's used in the States here, and "The Queen's English", as used in Britain. Same language, same words (for the most part), but far different usage in many areas.
I believe if they had a totally different vocabulary, they'd have had quite a difficult time understanding me.
jbox:
--- Quote from: DrewKaree on February 02, 2007, 11:50:16 pm ---It's more like the difference people have with "English" as it's used in the States here, and "The Queen's English", as used in Britain. Same language, same words (for the most part), but far different usage in many areas.
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You forgot Godsown English, as used in Godsown Country. Similar to the two (and more) lesser versions of English, but with important words like strewth, crickey, shelia and shellberight added to the vocabulary.