Learning another language through Rosetta Stone?

[Adore]

I have been thinking of doing this just for me, just a skill to have. I only speak English but I was thinking of learning to speak Italian since it's part of my nationality. Although to be honest I haven't a clue who I'd speak it with other than my grandmother who fully speaks English also and only know bits and pieces of Italian. But like I said, I think it would be something to accomplish and a skill to have.

Has anyone ever used Rosetta Stone? How long does it take to learn a language...? I mean to learn it enough to hold a -real- conversation? I'm hoping someone who's used it can let me know how they went about it and what it was like for them, if it was easy or fun, etc.

[Sternchen]

I think Rosetta Stone is good for learning phrases in a certain language (enough to get by) but I don't think it's supposed to be used if you want to learn to speak the language fluently since I don't think they have exercises that teach you the concrete grammar rules.

The best way to learn a language is to submerge yourself into it (by going to Italy and not speaking english), but that might be impractical for most people

My main language was English but I spoke a bit of German and took a few semesters in college, but those few years in college don't even come close to what I have learned about the language since I came here!!

R.S. is also relatively expensive...you may be able to get a class at your local CC for cheaper, and then you can interact with others and ask your professor questions if you have any

[ash14vwb]

Rosetta Stone is an excellent way to acquire a language. However, as the above poster said, you will not become fluent in the language without some sort of immersion (you need interaction with the culture & real people). That said, if you want to pick up phrases and truly *begin* to acquire the language, RS is an excellent choice. Their way of presenting a 2nd language is through acquisition, which is what we do with our first language (acquire, not learn), which is more successful than traditional classroom instruction with grammar rules and memorization.

The only problem with the software is that if you choose an incorrect answer, it either doesn't tell you why it's wrong (grammatically or content-wise) or it doesn't tell you what the right answer is (my Methods of Teaching A Foreign Language professor told us this, sorry if it's fuzzy).

Best of luck! Definitely pursue it!

[ash14vwb]

Another suggestion!!!

I am thinking of learning Italian, too. I teach Spanish & am Italian, so I feel like it would be really fun & useful. Anyway - I'm going to look at my Community College and see if they offer a night course in Italian 1 just to get my feet wet!! If you think this would be a good option, too, I would just check out the professors & see what their teaching methods are (they wouldn't be offended, FL teachers are usually open to explaining their theory on teaching). You can do this by looking at the school's website, checking the professors out at VirtualRatings.com or PickAProf, or even e-mailing them & asking their belief on teaching a FL- whether they utilize traditional or modern based approaches (you want modern, although you can learn through traditional as well if you apply yourself very much). Taking a comm. college course would probably only cost you a little more than Rosetta Stone, anyway, and you could interact with people in the class!!

[NY_fashionista]

I spend about two to three months a year in Italy, in trips that are usually ten days to two weeks. I've used all sorts of learning tools: Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur and I spent a couple of weeks in Florence at language school, which was the most helpful. As others have posted, RS is a good start but not comprehensive enough for you to achieve real fluency.

Originally Posted by Adore

Although to be honest I haven't a clue who I'd speak it with other than my grandmother who fully speaks English also and only know bits and pieces of Italian.

What I find is that when I'm not in Italy - and not using the language - for a while, I get rusty and when I return, it takes me a day to get back into the flow of the language, which is very different from English in every way (sentence structure, conjugation, etc) but by the end of the trip, I'm back to my usual level of fluency. So if you don't plan on using the language, you might have trouble retaining it, unless you have a mind that memorizes well.

[candace117]

I only use Rosetta Stone because it's free to servicemembers - I am going to brush up my Spanish and German (it has been awhile since I was over there or even in a classroom), and I have to take some Arabic before we deploy (we have to learn enough to interact with the local nationals).

Even if you don't get the perfect grammar understanding that you do in a regular classroom, getting enough out of the class to communicate is what REALLY matters. Trust me, most people that have the language you are learning as their native tongue are happy that you are even trying and making an honest effort to be on their level. I got that both in Spain and in Germany, although in both instances my Spanish grammar was completely more impeccable than my German. My husband took 4 years of German in high school and then got stationed in Germany, and while his grammar is not the best, he has an extensive vocabulary and can express himself really well...so people took to him very well and said he sounded like a native German. Think about it from the opposite perspective: when someone from another country is visiting America and they are talking to you in English, a lot of times if they are not fluent they will speak English but in the grammatical structure of their native language - so to Americans it may sound different or incorrect. But you don't sit there thinking "what a moron!!!! why are they even trying!!!???", right? I bet you understand what they mean and you are able to communicate with them, and they probably learned something from your conversation. So not everyone is going to judge you based on grammar if you are a foreigner to them, they will just be super impressed if you have the vocab AND grammar nailed down!

In your case, the thing to remember is that you want to take the language to interact with people - who are not always so stuck on perfect grammar. If you aren't planning on teaching or doing research or other academic things related to that language, you probably don't need to worry as much as those who are do.

[Leelee]

I've seen the ads on tv, but I don't know anything about it. Good for you, though, for wanting to increase your knowledge. That's always a good thing!

[fatefullotus]

Immersion is fantastic, but if you're like me, you wouldn't feel comfortable in a total immersion technique until you have basic vocab and grammar. For that, Rosetta Stone is great.

[Zophie]

I have it and it seems like it's set up pretty well to help you learn, but I'm lazy and haven't gotten too far into it.

[Adore]

Hmmm well I looked into classes and found one for only $175 but it's 3 hours on Mondays for a couple months. I don't know how that's going to be! Mentions using songs and different parts of the culture, not just repeating the words etc. Hmmm... it's starting in under a month, I'm thinking about it though! I have until September 2nd to enroll. It's right by my house too... hmmm! I'm curious if anyone has anything to say about classes. I'm wondering if I could find something that's 2 nights a week for like an hour and a half or something each, hehe.

[ash14vwb]

Adore ^^ Songs & cultural aspects are good! Songs are great for acquistion (for Spanish - the alphabet song is the same basically, for the days of the week you can memorize them with the Jeopardy theme song, and for the months of the year, the macarena, hehe). Repeating words without context and significance is meaningless, so it's good if the class isn't just grammar drills and repeating words!! Like Candance said, it's about communication- and an Italian will understand what you are saying even if your grammar is a bit off but the meaning is still there!!

Definitely find something that fits your schedule, though! PM me if you ever want - I love this sort of stuff being an English & Spanish teacher. I hope it works out!

[Leelee]

I took French classes at our community college a few years ago. The class met twice a week in the evenings for about two hours each. It was a good basis for learning the language, although we didn't get much opportunity to actually use what we learned in conversation. It was more grammar rules and such. Still, I enjoyed it.

[boxermom]

My husband has learned some Chinese (Mandarin) with RS. He's certainly not fluent but he knows enough phrases to get along on his own in China.

I've thought about getting one for Italian if I ever go to Italy again. I agree that immersion is probably the only way to develop any degree of fluency or confidence.

[rainrowan]

Learning to speak Italian is on the list of things I'd like to accomplish before I die. And I'd prob do it with Rosetta Stone.

I would like for ds to learn Cantonese and be able to converse with his grandparents. I wouldn't mind if dh learned it too even after all these years as a "non-participant" (shocking, I know). Rosetta Stone has Chinese Mandarin, I hope there is a Cantonese version that follows soon.

[cola262]

Why not use livemocha.com? They have hundreds of hours of lessons for free and you can talk online with native speakers.