Main > Everything Else
Anyone tried the Rosetta Stone Language software?
ChadTower:
My wife is a linguist and she generally calls those apps the same thing as watching the movie to get out of reading the book. You're not going to learn the language but you may learn enough to find the bathroom, the police station, or end up in a motel bathroom full of ice with stitches in your lower back.
patrickl:
Oh right, I tried the pimsleur course too. I thought that was the worst of them all. I didn't finish it.
patrickl:
--- Quote from: shmokes on January 31, 2007, 03:30:02 pm ---They're bloody expensive, though. I stole mine, which is good, cos they're like $300 apiece.
--- End quote ---
I have to admit I only bought the rosetta stone CD's. I think the set was something like $300 too. The other courses I downloaded the "trial versions". Oh and I bough the eurotalk CD, but it was only a few bucks in a bargain bin.
shmokes:
--- Quote from: ChadTower on January 31, 2007, 03:42:00 pm ---
My wife is a linguist and she generally calls those apps the same thing as watching the movie to get out of reading the book. You're not going to learn the language but you may learn enough to find the bathroom, the police station, or end up in a motel bathroom full of ice with stitches in your lower back.
--- End quote ---
I wholeheartedly agree. There's just no way that any system like that could give you fluency in a language. Hell, this summer I will have a bachelor's degree in French and I still don't consider myself fluent. I've gone through the Pimsleur courses to supplement my classwork because every little bit helps and I commute about ten hours a week for work, so it gives me a way to put that time to use a little bit. But, yeah, I think that most people who buy those types of programs do so while convincing themselves that it will make them fluent in another language. No such product exists.
Samstag:
If you're willing to spend hundreds of dollars (or more) and you're serious about learning the language, look into immersive schools where you don't speak any English at all during your stay. You'll find a wide range of prices and services from a few hundred to thousands.
My wife decided she wanted to teach German so she took a 9-week course in Germany that cost about $3500 (airfare included, she thinks). She started with a tiny vocabulary and came out of there fluent enough that she tested out of 4 years of college German and passed the certification exam on her first try (it's notoriously hard to pass the first time in Texas). In her case the $3500 was an excellent investment because she was back in a teaching job immediately and saved a ton of time and money in getting her German degree.
If you can use a second language to further your career, this is the way to go. Otherwise if you just like to travel and can spare a month or more, it's still worth considering.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version