the rosetta stone

bat stafuny

i really wanna buy the spanish version.  it's $450.

anyone used it?

jrandv

I know of people who have gotten it but never did the ful program. We have talked about getting it. Let us know if you get it and it works!

skinnursemandee

The army uses it for all their linguists.  My husband used it to learn russian and arabic.  He said it was really easy.  I have never used it but would love to know how you like the spanish version

bat stafuny

skinnursemandee:

The army uses it for all their linguists.  My husband used it to learn russian and arabic.  He said it was really easy.  I have never used it but would love to know how you like the spanish version

is he able to converse now in russian and arabic?  that's my thing.. i want to be able to converse.

skinnursemandee

Absolutely! The army had his whole unit use the Arabic one before they went on their last deployment.  They had to learn because they were going to be interrogating prisioners.  So he can converse well however he cant write it but he  can read some of arabic.

The russian part, he decided he wanted to learn since it was free to him so he did and he  can read ,write and speak russian very well.

He is now learning how to speak Korean because he wants to spend 18 months there for his next tour.

I am not as dedicated but I would love to learn spanish however I am holding out until he gets it free for him to learn it, then I will use it too.

bat stafuny

skinnursemandee:

Absolutely! The army had his whole unit use the Arabic one before they went on their last deployment.  They had to learn because they were going to be interrogating prisioners.  So he can converse well however he cant write it but he  can read some of arabic.

The russian part, he decided he wanted to learn since it was free to him so he did and he  can read ,write and speak russian very well.

He is now learning how to speak Korean because he wants to spend 18 months there for his next tour.

I am not as dedicated but I would love to learn spanish however I am holding out until he gets it free for him to learn it, then I will use it too.

how long do the programs generally take?

maltwin1

I have used it! It took me a little while to get used to because I have studied several languages in school and was used to the traditional way of learning it (i.e. you get a vocab list and then use those words). With Rosetta Stone they never use English words, so sometimes I was a little confused about what they were asking me to do some times.

Other than that it worked really well! Once I got used to the new way of learning I did find myself really absorbing what they were teaching me. I haven't used it in a while because we got really busy with moving and such, but I have really enjoyed it. I like that you speak in to a microphone and they help you pronounce things correctly.

charo1111

I teach Spanish and did an in-service with Rosetta Stone.  I think the program is good but without actually using it in real life, I'm not sure how much retention there would be.  I tried the Swedish one because we were to choose a language we didn't already know.  It was cool but if I had to choose between a class and Rosetta Stone, I would pick the class.  Practicing with people is what helps you retain the language.  Spanish is a language that you can easily find a community college class on.  I don't mean to bash Rosetta Stone.  It's a great program but I find that nothing can replace that person to person communication.  Of course, I could just be biased:)

bat stafuny

charo1111:

I teach Spanish and did an in-service with Rosetta Stone.  I think the program is good but without actually using it in real life, I'm not sure how much retention there would be.  I tried the Swedish one because we were to choose a language we didn't already know.  It was cool but if I had to choose between a class and Rosetta Stone, I would pick the class.  Practicing with people is what helps you retain the language.  Spanish is a language that you can easily find a community college class on.  I don't mean to bash Rosetta Stone.  It's a great program but I find that nothing can replace that person to person communication.  Of course, I could just be biased:)

i agree that personal interaction is key!  i use my students to practice   i have several spanish speaking 1st graders.  i took 3 years of spanish in college, and retained much vocab, but am unable to converse..   what are your suggestions for me, charo?

bbin09

Just a PSA- our public library allows us to use Rosetta Stone online for free. You might want to check to see if yours does too.

bat stafuny

bbin09:

Just a PSA- our public library allows us to use Rosetta Stone online for free. You might want to check to see if yours does too.

urgh.  i checked.  and they do.  the english version.

well, i know english!

sawyer2

https://www.livemocha.com/

this is the same thing as rosetta stone but its free

epona3

I'm a French teacher, so I've played around with some trials of it.  Our school district really wants to buy it.  Personally, I think it's way too expensive for what it is.  I think you'd do just as well with livemocha.com (which is very similar in style and free), and/or the Berlitz program that is $35.  Berlitz is a language company that has been around forever and very well established.