Rosetta Stone? Has anybody used it?

[Boomer]

I have been thinking about buying a Rosetta Stone program to teach myself a foreign language. But it is expensive and so when I look at the cost and see that mucho dinero would have to be spent, I have an attack of frugality. But the design of the program looks good. I really want to learn Italian because I think it is the most beautiful language in the entire world. I probably should learn German because...well I am one, sort of, along with a bunch of other things. And my practical side says to learn Spanish. (It has been a long time since those classes.)

Has anybody used Rosetta Stone? If so, I would very much like to know your opinion, if you do not mind sharing it. Is Rosetta Stone worth the money? But please share any answers in English. OK?

Gracias.

Boomer

Aaaauuuugh!!!! A curse! A curse! That typo is mocking me and I cannot fix it. There is a typo in the subject line of this post.

Why oh why do I not check the title line before I hit send????? It was supposed to say "Has anybody used it?" NOT "Has any used it?" Geez. I can't even type in English. Now I must beg an admin to fix the typo that mocks me as I helplessly stare at it from cyberspace. Geez. Why do I do this?

Ohhhhhh, Noooooooo -- I just noticed ------- Not only is it a typo, it is also a subject/verb agreement issue. This is awful! Help me, TH. Help me, Mr. Tony, Mr. Admin, Sir! Somebody, please make it say 'anybody.' I sit here helpless. Staring. I am starting to wince. Am I in English major hell or something? What?? Am I an English major??? I sure hope not. I write in sentence fragments all the time. How could I be an English major????? Ohhhh, nooooooo.

Boomer, Again

[Boomer]

I have been thinking about buying a Rosetta Stone program to teach myself a foreign language. But it is expensive and so when I look at the cost and see that mucho dinero would have to be spent, I have an attack of frugality. But the design of the program looks good. I really want to learn Italian because I think it is the most beautiful language in the entire world. I probably should learn German because...well I am one, sort of, along with a bunch of other things. And my practical side says to learn Spanish. (It has been a long time since those classes.)

Has anybody used Rosetta Stone? If so, I would very much like to know your opinion, if you do not mind sharing it. Is Rosetta Stone worth the money? But please share any answers in English. OK?

Gracias.

Boomer

Aaaauuuugh!!!! A curse! A curse! That typo is mocking me and I cannot fix it. There is a typo in the subject line of this post.

Why oh why do I not check the title line before I hit send????? It was supposed to say "Has anybody used it?" NOT "Has any used it?" Geez. I can't even type in English. Now I must beg an admin to fix the typo that mocks me as I helplessly stare at it from cyberspace. Geez. Why do I do this?

Ohhhhhh, Noooooooo -- I just noticed ------- Not only is it a typo, it is also a subject/verb agreement issue. This is awful! Help me, TH. Help me, Mr. Tony, Mr. Admin, Sir! Somebody, please make it say 'anybody.' I sit here helpless. Staring. I am starting to wince. Am I in English major hell or something? What?? Am I an English major??? I sure hope not. I write in sentence fragments all the time. How could I be an English major????? Ohhhh, nooooooo.

Boomer, Again



Ohhhhhh, thank you! Thank you, white knight in cyberspace. Whoever you are. You fixed my typo. :crap2:

Boomer, all better now

[Yoda]

I have been thinking about buying a Rosetta Stone program to teach myself a foreign language. But it is expensive and so when I look at the cost and see that mucho dinero would have to be spent, I have an attack of frugality. But the design of the program looks good. I really want to learn Italian because I think it is the most beautiful language in the entire world. I probably should learn German because...well I am one, sort of, along with a bunch of other things. And my practical side says to learn Spanish. (It has been a long time since those classes.)

Has anybody used Rosetta Stone? If so, I would very much like to know your opinion, if you do not mind sharing it. Is Rosetta Stone worth the money? But please share any answers in English. OK?

Gracias.

Boomer

Aaaauuuugh!!!! A curse! A curse! That typo is mocking me and I cannot fix it. There is a typo in the subject line of this post.

Why oh why do I not check the title line before I hit send????? It was supposed to say "Has anybody used it?" NOT "Has any used it?" Geez. I can't even type in English. Now I must beg an admin to fix the typo that mocks me as I helplessly stare at it from cyberspace. Geez. Why do I do this?

Ohhhhhh, Noooooooo -- I just noticed ------- Not only is it a typo, it is also a subject/verb agreement issue. This is awful! Help me, TH. Help me, Mr. Tony, Mr. Admin, Sir! Somebody, please make it say 'anybody.' I sit here helpless. Staring. I am starting to wince. Am I in English major hell or something? What?? Am I an English major??? I sure hope not. I write in sentence fragments all the time. How could I be an English major????? Ohhhh, nooooooo.

Boomer, Again



I have not used it and still cannot speak spanish. What does that tell you?

Yoda

[Don H]

I'm currently just starting Rosetta Stone (German) and I'm impressed with it. It's basically "total immersion" in that they don't translate. If you've visited their web site you know they use photos with the printed and spoken word in the language you are learning. Our son and his wife just moved to Germany and I thought I would give it a try. I don't think it will make me conversational in the language but you never know. I'd be happy just to be able to read it. As I said, I'm just starting with the level one course. My wife said that she read somewhere that learning a new language (even attempting it) is one of the best things you can do for your brain. Hmm...let's hope thats true. I can use all the help I can get. How I'll feel about it when I finish level one..who knows? But, so far I'm havin' fun with it. Auf Wiedersehen...:laugh:

[katezbox]

Merhaba Boomer!

Rosetta Stone Turkce coz guzel...

I agree with Don - my problem is that with this (as well as with exercise and forgoing chocolate) I lack discipline. It does take a lot of time - and I work a lot (still, sigh).

I do think it is a good program and helped immeasurable in communicating with my daughter's in laws who speak no English. It also helped in our hotel in Istanbul. One of the lovely people working at the breakfast area accidentally knocked a piece of bread onto the floor. When I picked it up and went to put it in the trash, he looked at me questioningly (wasteful Americans!). So I was able to tell him "Ekmek dusiyor." Literally that means "the bread crashed"- but got it, smiled, told me my Turkish was very good...

Try to see if you can find a copy on eBay or a tag sale. I would think with the more common/popular languages that you would be able to get one second hand.

Kate

PS - the first sentence says that the Turkish version of Rosetta Stone is very good.

[mgm4444]

I didn't care for the teaching technique. Like Don H said, there is no translation - only graphics. So if there was a cat and a dog in the picture, I didn't know if they were talking about the cat or the dog.... it reminded me of one of my spanish teachers in high school...he would only speak in spanish and I was always hunched down in my chair so he wouldn't call on me.... Rosetta Stone gave me the willies !!!

[mgm4444]

but it's just mho...

[linedancingdottie]

Si, I have tried Rosetta Stone and I like the approach taken in learning a new language. I have studied Spanish off/on over the years in a more formal setting and then I started up with Rosetta Stone before I retired (at my office they let us use the program). I just moved to the Villages and I knew that i couldn't pack everything on our first trip but I made sure my Level I Rosetta Stone material (CDs, printouts of quizzes, puzzles, etc.) made the trip with me because I am hoping to finally find more time to fit in some study time-- to become more proficient in Spanish and to challenge my brain in the process. You should try out a demo and check out the other materials that go along with the program. If you are interested, once I get settled here (I have only been here a week), I would be happy to show you how the program works to give you a better idea of how the program is meant to work. It may not be for everyone though. Hope this helps, Dottie

[another Linda]

Boomer, my youngest son used it for Korean before he went there for a year to teach English. He was really motivated and thought he was coming along wonderfully well until he went to get his first haircut. Apparently there was something lost in translation! He still has the picture to keep himself humble.

[Muncle]

Hey Boom, I know nothing about Rosetta Stone software except for two issues:

1. I think Lesley Ann Machado is super hot :MOJE_whot: and I would buy absolutely anything she sold. Not sure if it's the sexy nature of her outfits, the ever so slight hint of dimples, or just great looks, but if she were teaching the class, I'd be there.

2. Over a year ago, I asked the following question: "Y'all have seen the ads for Rosetta Stone on late night television. Early in the commercial, they talk about how the program is being used by various government agencies, including NASA, the State Department, and the Department of Defense. Has anyone else wondered what languages they are teaching NASA? Can you picture the contracting officer ordering 10 copies of Advanced Martian and 5 copies of Conversational Venusian?

NOBODY bit. chilout The only responses I got were about NASA being such a multinational organization and about the international space station. Of course I knew about that stuff and knew why NASA would be using Rosetta if they were, but where the heck is the humor in guys at the Cape learning Russian or Chinese when one could imagine Remedial Andromedan or Introductory Goa'uld. Then we got sidetracked talking about Machiavelli.

Life's too short to take it so seriously. :highfive:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm2Nec-NXUk

[Boomer]

Well, Munc, you just never know.

Years ago, at a company party, I had to be charming to a big deal boss of Mr. B's who was telling me all about how people from Venus lived among us, he was sure. Ohhh, the things company wives must endure. I chewed the inside of my mouth raw almost to keep from laughing hysterically and snorting my gin and tonic, the one and only I ever allowed myself at a company party, right out through my nose. But just think if Rosetta Stone had been available then and I could have begun speaking in fluent Venusian. Just think what a really charming company wife I could have been. Alas. No Rosetta Stone back then though.

And Linda, that is funny about the haircut. One of my friends was trying to ask a German visitor something that turned out to be, "Do you want to take a bath?" I do not know what she was trying to say, but it wasn't that. He must have thought American women to be extremely friendly.

I still haven't sprung for the thing. I am torn between Spanish and Italian, though most of my genes are screaming for German.

Oh my goodness, it is after midnight. I do not allow myself to type after midnight.

Goodnight.
Boomer

[another Linda]

Oh my goodness, it is after midnight. I do not allow myself to type after midnight.

Goodnight.
Boomer

But Boomer, after midnight is when you are really on a roll! Don't deprive us!

[Julie]

I still haven't sprung for the thing. I am torn between Spanish and Italian, though most of my genes are screaming for German.



Hey Boomer, this reminded me of a note my then 15 year old son tacked to his cork board upon return from a German exchange program. It was something similar to this:

wichsen werden Sie erblinden

When I learned what it meant, I told him it was true! :22yikes:

I'm not sure Rosetta Stone will teach you this exact phrase. Let me know once you've started your program. :girlneener:

[snitzel]

I teach high school Spanish in Rhode Island. I have a copy of the Rosetta Stone for Spanish, French and German. Of all the self teaching products on the market this is about the best. But don't expect to learn a language without some effort. The program is very extensive and requires a lot of discipline. Its biggest drawback is its lack of explanation. It is excellent at building vocabulary. If you have the daily self-discipline to make it to level II you will have learned a lot. But as with anything it's going to take practice, practice, practice. And it would be great if you had some outside support to answer your questions as they come up.

George

[Boomer]

In spite of my roots, well the largest percentage of my roots anyway, German scares me. I think I will have a better chance with Spanish or Italian. With either one of those, I could start out at least having some idea what I was saying, sometimes anyway. But with German.........

Remember when JFK was trying to speak German and he supposedly said, "I am a jelly doughnut."

Well, I never knew if that story was true or not, but I just don't think I would have any idea what I was saying in German. And I am so afraid I would say that I am a jelly doughnut and everybody would just say, "Yes, Boomer, we know."

Boomer

[Bettiboop]

Oh my goodness, it is after midnight. I do not allow myself to type after midnight.

Goodnight.
Boomer

Boomer, I agree with Linda!

I love ALL your posts...but especially the ones you do after midnight! :024: Often times when you mention you can't type after midnight I get this silly notion in my mind that maybe your computer turns into a pumpkin at the stroke of midnight! :1rotfl: :D I'm just sayin........

[Julie]

Boomer, I agree with Linda!

I love ALL your posts...but especially the ones you do after midnight! :024: Often times when you mention you can't type after midnight I get this silly notion in my mind that maybe your computer turns into a pumpkin at the stroke of midnight! :1rotfl: :D I'm just sayin........

Well isn't this just the truth. When I imagine meeting all of the TOTV people, Boomer is one of the members I have at the top of my list of people I'd like to meet. She is beyond clever.

In fact, Boomer is so clever I think she should take the time to go through all of her TOTV posts and put them in a book. It would definitely be a best seller in TV. What the heck? Perhaps it would even make the New York Times best seller list!

I just hope she never grades any of my posts for correct grammar usage. :icon_wink:

[Boomer]

Thanks everybody for joining me on my quest as I tried to decide about Rosetta Stone.

I just wanted to let you know that Italian won.

Today, at lunch, I said to Mr. Boomer, "Well, I have decided that I want the Italian."

And just now I was calling Rosetta Stone and Mr. Boomer heard me and he came in and said, "Are you talking to Rosetta Stone? I already ordered it for you."

And so it is written. Rosetta Stone Italian is in the mail and is supposed to be here in two days. Free shipping even. But still, that thing is mucho dinero. I sure hope I am worthy.

Boomer

[jojo]

Boomer, as with my colleagues on TOTV I too enjoy your posts. Since you are not down here you may not be aware that there are Italian language groups that meet as well as Italian classes in the learning college. I'm sorry I will miss this week's Italian fest but last year it was great fun.

[Muncle]

Boomer, I find your writing to be boring in the morning. I find your writing to be boring in the evening. :mornincoffee:
Boomer, I find your writing to be boring before midnight. I find your writing to be boring after midnight. :faint:

Boomer, I find your writing to be boring in English. So I will likely find your writing to be boring in the Italian, unless you can arrange for Lesley Ann to come over and read it to me. :22yikes:

As if it were not already PO (to the) mco, I am kidding about the boring part -- you're always interesting if sometimes a tad removed from the vertical room support and if I were feeling a bit better and didn't have an innate fear of Mr. Boomer, you'd have to check every time you threw the dish water out the back door for fear of hitting me. I was not, of course, kidding about Lesley Ann. :pepper2:

Now let's talk Italian. Cop out! Cop out! Cop out! Just an attempt to avoid the more difficult Eastern European languages to take one of those easy Romance things. This ain't German, Russian, or Polish. Just say it in English, wave your hands a bit, move the sentence structure around however you like it, and yell occasionally. They'll think you're a native.

Buona fortuna.





`

[another Linda]

Italian! Wonderful! and don't listen to that old Uncle Muncle. No yelling needed, just a few hand gestures while driving will do it.

[Boomer]

.........


Now let's talk Italian. Cop out! Cop out! Cop out! Just an attempt to avoid the more difficult Eastern European languages to take one of those easy Romance things. This ain't German, Russian, or Polish. Just say it in English, wave your hands a bit, move the sentence structure around however you like it, and yell occasionally. They'll think you're a native.

Buona fortuna.
`

Oh Munc,

Please do not guilt me over denying my mostly German heritage. The huge dose I have of it already makes me exceedingly, excruciatingly responsible. Actually, I have a few other things going on, too. English, of course. And then there was the Cherokee great-grandmother. And who knows what else. But mostly....German.

It's not that I don't like a beer now and then. And I have to admit that a good oom-pah-pah band speaks to me somewhere deep in my soul.

But Munc, I want to speak Italian. I want to sound like music. And I already wave my hands around when I talk. I always have. I used to get into trouble at the dinner table when I was a kid. My dad would have to yell sometimes, "BOOMER, PUT THAT FORK DOWN WHEN YOU TELL A STORY. YOU NEARLY POKED OUT MY EYE!"

Soooo, interesting but...."a tad removed from the vertical room support." Translation? "Off the wall" And I am glad you like it and right back at ya, Munc.

Boomer

PS: Hey Linda, I just saw your encouraging words. Thanks. And I already know those hand things you're talking about. Wow! I am off to a good start I think and the Rosetta Stone has not even arrived yet.

[Halle]

Hi Boomer,

I agree with Linda, a few hand gestures go a long way. I lived in Sicily for three years and by the time I returned to the US I couldn't drive without the various hand gestures.

Just make sure you know when to use them and what they mean.

Warning "Hook em Horns" sign does not mean you are a Texas fan.

Capice?

Halle

[Avista]

I too have been daydreaming about getting the Rosetta Stone, but agree it is i very pricey. I am half German and remember hearing German occasionally as a child. So, am interested in learning German. Don't know how I'd use it unless it might help with my German genealogy research.

Most of my family has learned French as a 2nd language. And then--of course there is Spanish. I keep daydreaming. Please post how you like it, once you start using it.

[Avista]

I've been doing some internet research. Years ago I got tapes for the Pimsleur Method which helped me a great deal when I lived in France a couple of months.

Found Pimsleur CD's (German) for $9.95. These are audio and I can download to me IPod, listen when I go to the fitness center etc. Will give it a try.

I used the French tapes 15 years ago and was quite pleased with them.

So will give this a chance.

[katezbox]

Boomer,

Maybe we can take a Mediterranean Cruise together - you translate while in Italy; I translate while in Turkey. And in between (I have to say it - my apologies in advance) it's all Greek to me.

[another Linda]

Kate, you will translate in Turkey? I'm impressed! But is it like my son's Korean? Maybe I won't go to any hair salons -- not that I don't trust you of course.

(ok. go to work Linda)

[katezbox]

Linda,

A hair salon in Turkey is called a Kuofur - put pronounced coiffure. Much Turkish has a French heritage. In fact the word "turquoise" in French is meant to denote a certain shade of blue found often in - Turkey!

I used the Turkish Rosetta Stone to prepare for my daughter's wedding (meeting the groom's parents and doing a toast in two languages) and our subsequent trip to Istanbul for a second reception.

With a lot of hand gestures I get by with the in laws - they have less English than I have Turkish. But if I really want to get better, I need to get back to the Rosetta Stone and finish it. (Somehow when your daughter is getting married you seem to lose all your free time - but I can't keep using that excuse for years).

Kendine iyi bak!

Kate

[tony]

I have secretly suspected that Boomer is an English major.

Now an Italian major, too?

I know a lot of Italian words I could teach Boomer if she really wants to learn the right way. Who knows? They could serve her if she were to ever visit Italy.

[Julie]

Boomer,

Maybe we can take a Mediterranean Cruise together - you translate while in Italy; I translate while in Turkey. And in between (I have to say it - my apologies in advance) it's all Greek to me.

Hi Kate,

I love the Mediterranean cruise idea. Everyone who wants to go should be required to purchase a Rosetta Stone in a different language. Each person who learned the language of the specific country could serve as a tour guide for the rest of the group. And just in case, if after not listening to my Rosetta Stone cds I don't learn the language (of course it will be my own fault). I will bring a handy dandy electronic language translator! :laugh:

[another Linda]

I used the Turkish Rosetta Stone to prepare for my daughter's wedding (meeting the groom's parents and doing a toast in two languages) and our subsequent trip to Istanbul for a second reception.



Ah, Kate, you are a much better person than I. To prepare to meet my son's soon-to-be-inlaws I used "Tagalog for Dummies." Of course they've lived in Alaska for 20 years and English is no problem.

[katezbox]

Ah, Kate, you are a much better person than I. To prepare to meet my son's soon-to-be-inlaws I used "Tagalog for Dummies." Of course they've lived in Alaska for 20 years and English is no problem.

Linda,

You make me laugh out loud. I must say that my daughter is fortunate in her in laws. They have only sons so treat her like she is a princess.

k

[jojo]

Halle, 10 or so messages ago - You said "Warning "Hook em Horns" sign does not mean you are a Texas fan." Please say more....

In the interest of continuing education.... An Amelia colleague

[Halle]

Hi JoJo,

When you use the "Hook em Horns" sign you are implying the man is a cuckold! :ohdear:

Of course this would really get the Italian men blood boiling mad so I used it frequently when driving. :icon_twisted:

Have you ever driven in Italy?:22yikes:

After three years I could drive with the best of them, of course my husband kept his eyes closed when I drove.:1rotfl:

[Muncle]

One thing that an American must remember when driving in Europe is the citizens' attitude toward traffic laws, signs, and lights. In Germany they are sacrosanct. Had Poland put stop signs and do not enter markings on the border in 1939, WW II would have never happened. In Italy, however, such things are merely suggestions. A stop sign or red light -- yeah, some folks might stop but it's no big deal. Makes crossing the intersection so much more exciting. One way arrows with a do not enter sign --- kinda clears traffic for you and, if you hurry, gives you a clear shot to the road or bldg you want. And my favorite, of course, are lane markings. You see 3 lanes clearly marked. 3 lanes? Doubtful. I'm guessing a minimum of 4, maybe 5 lanes of traffic. And if it gets a bit too crowded, there's aways that stretch of pavement where the people walk. It's right next to the street, so logically it too is available for cars. And then there's the pea soup fog on the packed autostrada around Padua/Verona where everyone drives 100+ kph 'cuz the tiny taillights ahead of them are going 100+ kph.

Scary as hell, but fun. :pepper2: I really was relieved to get back into Switzerland.




`

[Boomer]

One thing that an American must remember when driving in Europe is the citizens' attitude toward traffic laws, signs, and lights. In Germany they are sacrosanct. Had Poland put stop signs and do not enter markings on the border in 1939, WW II would have never happened. In Italy, however, such things are merely suggestions. A stop sign or red light -- yeah, some folks might stop but it's no big deal. Makes crossing the intersection so much more exciting. One way arrows with a do not enter sign --- kinda clears traffic for you and, if you hurry, gives you a clear shot to the road or bldg you want. And my favorite, of course, are lane markings. You see 3 lanes clearly marked. 3 lanes? Doubtful. I'm guessing a minimum of 4, maybe 5 lanes of traffic. And if it gets a bit too crowded, there's aways that stretch of pavement where the people walk. It's right next to the street, so logically it too is available for cars. And then there's the pea soup fog on the packed autostrada around Padua/Verona where everyone drives 100+ kph 'cuz the tiny taillights ahead of them are going 100+ kph.

Scary as hell, but fun. :pepper2: I really was relieved to get back into Switzerland.

`

Ohhhhh, Munc,

I have the perfect quote for you, after you besmirched my choice of languages to learn and now this Switzerland thing. Now, I ask you, could this quote be any more appropriate, from me to you, as I wait by the mailbox for the delivery of my Rosetta Stone Italian.

Here's the quote from Orson Wells.......


"In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love; they had five hundred years of democracy and peace and what did they produce? The cuckoo clock."



Now, c'mon, Munc, you have to admit, I know. It is a good one, under the circumstances.



And Halle, thank you. I did not know that sign meant cuckold.

And this is just getting to be such an interesting thread for transitions. The cuckold and the cuckoo clock and all those literary relationships between the two. Shakespeare used the cuckoo-cuckold connection from time to time in his plays. Oh my! If I were an English major, I would be getting a case of the vapors right now. (Probably from finding myself face down in the stream of consciousness.)

And jojo, I so very much agree about the need for continuing education. And we are all so helpful here on TOTV, making it an excellent place to seek continuing education. I remember one night a few months back when I explained what a tramp stamp is. I think everyone found the information to be quite enlightening.

Boomer

[tony]

Maybe I shouldn't ask, but why would Texans use a hand sign that I was told in my very young years to never use, to never even think about. I'm still afraid to ask about it. And now they call them Hook 'em horns? What? My grandma would not be happy about this.

[Carla B]

Supporters of the University of Texas Longhorns use it 'cause it looks like a Longhorn. Go Longhorns!

[another Linda]

What an exciting night! I've learned a new quote by Orsen Wells and I looked up the previous post about Tramp Stamp Barbie. Sigh. Life is good.

[Boomer]

My Rosetta Stone Italian has arrived.

And so far I know how to eat :icon_hungry: and drink :beer3: and read :read: and write :024: and run and swim and cook. I know how to do all these things in singular and in plural and in both sexes. And that is after only a half hour. (Well, I guess if you show me pictures that is.)

Boomer :2excited: