Rosetta Stone

[Gonzai]

Anyone here ever use this to learn another language??

If so, how well does it work?? Is it worth the time, effort
and money??

Thanks.

[blueheaven]

I like it. I used it to expand my Latin. Very interactive, not just a bunch of tapes.

[Nene]

I wanted to try one of those but they don't do Finnish yet and that's the one language I've wanted to learn for ages.

Hopefully when they expand to more languages I can try it.

[Captain Haddock]

What are you thinking of learning Gonzai?

[Gonzai]

Well, first off - I am hoping to learn Japanese, however,
I would like to learn Spanish as well. I know very little
of each, but was hoping to expand my level of each. Just
looking for the best way to do that.

Also, I am hoping that my grandkids can use it to learn
as well. Any feedback is totally appreciated.

Wow Brian - Latin??!? Impressive.

Why Finnish Nene??

[Drac of the Sharp Smiles]

I've heard nothing but good things about the program. However, one thing you want to remember about it is that it covers only **spoken** language. Obviously, that's a fine place to start, but you'll need to look to outside sources to learn the written half of the language.

[cutiebunny]

I've used the Japanese Rosetta Stone. I purchased one of the older versions of the system (same thing, just with circa 1990s era pictures) and it works fine on newer operating systems.

Unlike a lot of language systems where they try to teach you the tourist basics first, this one does not. It teaches you basic words and then builds your sentence structure from there. The Japanese one gives you the option of reading the sentences in with Western characters(as how an English speaker would pronounce the words), hiragana/katakana and kanjii. I've basically tried to only do the hiragana/katakana. I picked up some kanjii primer books and have been working on those throughout the past year. I found that this was the best option for me, since I (often) have a lot of free time at work and thanks to the kanjii dictionary website, have been able to really utilize it. By the completion of the second book(that's about 200 characters), I find that it really makes a impact when in Japan and reading signs.

It does take a while to get through the software and some of the units, IMO, are more difficult that others, so, don't be surprised if you have to go through it a few times. My suggestion would be to pick up a used copy on E-bay and see how you like it. The packages are pretty pricey, but I think I only paid around $100 for a used older version on E-bay about 2 years ago.

I hope that helps.

[Captain Haddock]

From my own experiance I say to make sure whatever one you learn you actually have people you can activly go out and practice it with. I tried to learn Japanese once by taking lessons and in fairness I had a good stab at it. But because I didn't know any Japanese people at the time it was hard for me to practice it, thus when I did eventually come to use it people needless to say didn't stick to the script.

[Nene]

Why Finnish Nene??

I've been into Finnish metal music since my teen years and I've always wanted to understand what people are saying without having to translate everything lol. I'd love to go on a Scandinavian cruise, too. The country looks beautiful in winter.

I've never been good with languages but I considered Rosetta Stone as it looks like a decent way to learn, unlike at school where none of it sunk in for me. It's good to read what everything thinks of it though as it's advertised quite alot.

[duotrouble]

Unlike a lot of language systems where they try to teach you the tourist basics first, this one does not. It teaches you basic words and then builds your sentence structure from there. The Japanese one gives you the option of reading the sentences in with Western characters(as how an English speaker would pronounce the words), hiragana/katakana and kanjii.

Okay, you've just sold me. I almost bought Rosetta Stone when it was on sale a few weeks ago. I've been debating between Spanish and Japanese. Spanish because I used to be fluent and figured it would be the easiest way to get me back up to speed since I'm now working very closely with people in Argentina. Japanese because of all the anime I watch and travelling to Japan that I like to do.

But learning that I can stick with Romanji for the entire first run-thru, I'm sold. The other Japanese programs I've tried using have made me switch to Hiragana almost immediately while trying to get me grammatically correct. It was too much for me to take at once. Let me learn one and switch over later when I'm comfortable. It's the way I learn. Knowing Rosetta Stone factored this in, yeah, you sold me.

[Captain Haddock]

Nene wrote:

I've been into Finnish metal music since my teen years and I've always wanted to understand what people are saying without having to translate everything lol.

He he I also have always had a soft spot for the Swedish branch of things Entombed, Meshuggah that kind of thing.

[Nene]

He he I also have always had a soft spot for the Swedish branch of things Entombed, Meshuggah that kind of thing.

I'll look into those, can't say I've heard of them before but I may find another band to like lol.

I'm actually off to London in a couple of hours to see Korpiklaani tonight, can't wait. n.n

I thought about dropping into London Expo on Saturday but I'm not sure if I'll find a con without cels much fun.

[Captain Haddock]

They're more the Death end of things, Meshuggah are on a weird ultra heavy plain of their own though.

Yeah cons without cels, if that's the reason you'd primarily go wouldn't be alot of fun. Have fun in London though!

[Nene]

Sorry for making this so off-topic.

Had a great time at the gig, way too many rowdy and drunk guys lol. Was all fun though.

Probably won't be going to Expo now but I have a couple of days of London time left (London Dungeon here I come!).

I got your message too, Gonzai. I'll see if I get any (positive) inspiration from London otherwise I'll think about it when I get back home.