[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]

Originally Posted by 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.

Boomer, all better now

[Yoda]

Originally Posted by 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

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...

[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 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. 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.


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

[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]

Originally Posted by Boomer

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!

Originally Posted by Boomer

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!

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

[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