BajaNomad - Anyone have experience with Rosetta Stone?

Anyone have experience with Rosetta Stone?

Jaybo - 12-28-2009 at 11:08 PM

OK, First post after lurking for a couple weeks, watching the umm.. interesting.. exchanges in the various threads so all of you grizzled veterans please don't be too rough on me

I am looking to learn the Spanish language and there are several programs out there one of them being Rosetta Stone for immersion type of Spanish instruction. I would love to be able to just move down to Baja and immerse myself that way, but that isn't going to happen for a few years. In the meantime I would like to have a grasp of the language to help me out on our travels down there in the meantime. Does anyone have any experience with these programs or have some advice on choosing one?

..Jay

tjBill - 12-29-2009 at 12:43 AM

I liked Rosetta Stone because I found it fun. :yes:

So made it easy to spend time studying.

jeans - 12-29-2009 at 12:58 AM

I saw it in the British Museum :tumble:

Jaybo

Loretana - 12-29-2009 at 01:59 AM

Bienvenidos a Baja Nomad.

I don't know about Rosetta Stone......

But if you are in the Portland area, I strongly suggest you check out adult ed classes at Portland Community College. For a little over $100 you can take a semester (12 weeks) of evening classes.

And if you are really serious about learning Spanish, you can enroll at PCC Sylvania (or a campus near your NW Oregon location) and take entry level college credit Spanish 1 with day or night classes and in two or three semesters I guarantee you will be speaking intelligible, correct Spanish.

Here's a link. <<http://www.pcc.edu/>>

These classes are not only fun, but you will find a lot of older folks who are trying to get their language skills up and going. It's easier to learn in a classroom with a great instructor than sitting in front of a computer by yourself. The camaraderie with other students and homework make it all come together.

Buena suerte!

[Edited on 12-29-2009 by Loretana]

DENNIS - 12-29-2009 at 07:16 AM

Welcome to BajaNomad, Jaybo. Rosetta Stone is a good program....if you do the work. "No free lunches" and all that stuff. Good luck.

abreojos - 12-29-2009 at 07:18 AM

Best language program out there. Get it!

woody with a view - 12-29-2009 at 07:21 AM

J

i gotta ripped, ahem, backup copy that i'll copy for you WHEN FdT tells me you sent $50 to the Dia de los Reyes toy drive. look at the bottom of every page for details....

Iflyfish - 12-29-2009 at 01:02 PM

Welcome aboard.

Iflyfish

caboguy - 12-29-2009 at 01:05 PM

My wife and I are working through it. I think they are on to something, but I wouldn't recommend it to someone without any spanish at all. It is fairly difficult pretty quickly. I have to say that I think it is a very good program and I am impressed so far, about halfway through disc #1. We bought all 5 discs and I may not ever install the last one.

Jaybo - 12-29-2009 at 01:10 PM

Thanks for the feedback everyone

Loretana - Too far from Portland, I'm down around hte Monmouth area - and I don't have time to devote to taking classes, I can do language software at work in my slack times and boss would be fine with that as it would help me out in my job as well.

Woody, sent you a U2U

Thanks everyone!

..Jay

bajalera - 12-29-2009 at 02:59 PM

My daughter, who has taught college courses in Advanced Spanish, considers Rosetta Stone by far the best course of its type.

arrowhead - 12-29-2009 at 03:03 PM

There is a program on Public Television that comes on most every night. It is called "Destinos". It was designed by a university prosessor to teach Spanish (really Castillian, the way they talk) to Gringos. It is set up as a series of half-hour soap operas where a woman lawyer from Los Angeles travels through several Latin American countries and Spain on an assignment.

I highly recommend it. It is all in Spanish, but designed for Gringos to follow the story and learn Spanish from the context. They even stop and review key words learned during the story. You should find it in your local TV listings.

Debra - 12-29-2009 at 03:10 PM

The problem I've heard with Rosetta Stone isn't that it isn't concidered the best, but, it teachs Castillian (Spanish, Spanish, as I was taught in grade school in California), not Mexican, but, once you get the grasp it shouldn't be too hard to convert?

Arrowhead's idea is great, I have a friend from Chile who didn't speak a word of English when he came here in 1974, when I asked him how he learned, he told me TV!

[Edited on 12-29-2009 by Debra]

Scorpimon - 12-29-2009 at 04:36 PM

Rosetta Stone makes two versions of Spanish lessons, "Spain" Spanish and "Latin American" Spanish, so make sure you order the right one. I ordered mine 2 weeks ago and am still waiting for it to show up.

DENNIS - 12-29-2009 at 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Scorpimon
I ordered mine 2 weeks ago and am still waiting for it to show up.

Messssican Time.
No joke, amigo. Hope it gets there.

Bajahowodd - 12-29-2009 at 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by arrowhead
There is a program on Public Television that comes on most every night. It is called "Destinos". It was designed by a university prosessor to teach Spanish (really Castillian, the way they talk) to Gringos. It is set up as a series of half-hour soap operas where a woman lawyer from Los Angeles travels through several Latin American countries and Spain on an assignment.

I highly recommend it. It is all in Spanish, but designed for Gringos to follow the story and learn Spanish from the context. They even stop and review key words learned during the story. You should find it in your local TV listings.

That is an excellent recommendation. My problem with Rosetta Stone is the price. If you're going to buy it, look for used copies. Buying it new retail is outrageous.

Debra - 12-29-2009 at 04:57 PM

Scorpimom......didn't know there was a Latin version, Thanks!

Woooosh - 12-29-2009 at 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

Originally posted by Scorpimon
I ordered mine 2 weeks ago and am still waiting for it to show up.

Messssican Time.
No joke, amigo. Hope it gets there.

They have an on-line only subscription option by the month if you want to test-drive a language before investing.

DENNIS - 12-29-2009 at 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajahowodd
]

That is an excellent recommendation. My problem with Rosetta Stone is the price. If you're going to buy it, look for used copies. Buying it new retail is outrageous.

Absolute bulllchit unless cost saving is your objective rather than language assimilation.
If one wants to learn a language, that objective should be the first and foremost consideration. Not cost.

What do you want? To be be frugal or multi-lingual?
Take your pick.

ELINVESTIG8R - 12-29-2009 at 05:11 PM

Jaybo, I have a cousin who owns and runs a Spanish Language School in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. u2u me if you want the website. I have no affiliation with this school so I don't know all the bells whistles he has but I will give you the web info so you can investigate.

David

capt. mike - 12-29-2009 at 05:11 PM

we watched Destinos on video in my comm college conversational Spanish 101 for adults - continuing education program.
it is a great teaching aid as you infer what you can't understand to fill in the blanks.

also a trick i learned - when you rent DVDs they all have a Spanish track or subtitles - so watch it in English, then watch it in spanish - free lesson! if
it is an R movie you get all the idiomatic blue lingo too. :saint:

You Think?

Bajahowodd - 12-29-2009 at 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

These people spend millions on advertising, yet once their program was completed, the discs were there to use. They are trying to rely on some sort of artificial aura by citing the pentagon, Etc. The program is good. But, that does not mean they have an unfettered ability to gouge the consumer. Plus, any Rosetta Stone purchaser who has been successful in learning the language has the ability to resell their discs thereby reducing the costs to them. I look at it like old DVDs. Just how many times are you going to watch American Pie?

Woooosh - 12-29-2009 at 05:47 PM

I liked the video portions of Rosetta Stone- but got lost in the grammar workbooks.

DENNIS - 12-29-2009 at 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajahowodd
These people spend millions on advertising, yet once their program was completed, the discs were there to use.

There's more to the program than discs. Text and workbooks.

Quote:

They are trying to rely on some sort of artificial aura by citing the pentagon, Etc.

Shame on them for advertising their product. Should be free?

Quote:

The program is good. But, that does not mean they have an unfettered ability to gouge the consumer.

Show just one instance of price gouging. You can't.

Quote:

Plus, any Rosetta Stone purchaser who has been successful in learning the language has the ability to resell their discs thereby reducing the costs to them.

The printed material is still there to be dealt with.
What's more important to deal with is your sense of ethics. You feel it's ethical to take property, copy it and dispose of it like it's yours. Is this an acceptable practice in your opinion? Is plaigerism your method of development and commerce?
Very Chinese..isn't it. I guess it beats going to school and developing self reliance and creative thought. Let others do that for you.

[Edited on 12-30-2009 by DENNIS]

CortezBlue - 12-29-2009 at 08:06 PM

Yes, I bought Rosettastone and like it. It is so easy a 5 year old could learn spanish. It is also very inteligent. If you miss any of the words or pronunciations. the program will rework this missed items back into the program.

Tano - 12-30-2009 at 12:54 AM

Ahhhh, the American way: take a pill, solve a problem. Want to learn a language, get a course.

I came to the States as an adult and did not speak any English. Eventually, I became a certified interpreter, and today I can retire without even having reached retirement age—and it wasn’t even work.

On learning a language as an adult: First, you have to get it in your head that it is much like learning to play a musical instrument. You need dedication and patience. There are absolutely no shortcuts. The human brain does work that way. Spanish needs lots of assimilation because, unlike English, its grammar is somewhat convoluted. Luckily, pronunciation is much easier inasmuch as all the sounds you need already exist in English.

Today, with the number of Spanish channels, you have an easy way to assimilate the language, particularly the brand of Spanish you want to learn. And with the advantage of computers to process digital sound, you can manage to design a learning system of your own. That’s how I did it. My girlfriend, who was born and raised here, still doesn’t believe it.

Don’t waste your money on empty promises, self-serving commercialism and hype. Use TV to make it bearable and a computer for repetition to help assimilation.

BTW, Destinos can be confusing as heck, as she speaks with a Mexican accent and he with an Argentinian one, which is more than an accent. it is full of variations in the way you address people, something you do not need in Mexico.

Dedicación y paciencia. Remember that.

woody with a view - 12-30-2009 at 07:19 AM

i've been in trouble with the law since my early days.... maybe Jbo works for rosetta and is trolling on this site. i doubt it, tho! either way the kids win. you don't like it? kiss me where i poop!

trading a commodity for a donation to a 3rd party seems equitable to me....

Jaybo - 12-30-2009 at 08:57 AM

LOL! No, not a troll! I just need to get a grasp of the language and make my travels down there a bit simpler, and help out on my job.

Quote:

Originally posted by woody in ob
i've been in trouble with the law since my early days.... maybe Jbo works for rosetta and is trolling on this site. i doubt it, tho! either way the kids win. you don't like it? kiss me where i poop!

trading a commodity for a donation to a 3rd party seems equitable to me....

the cost? worth it

JaraHurd - 12-30-2009 at 09:27 AM

I bought all three levels of R.S. and it was pricey..and well worth it. I have spent too much money on various programs throughout the years and R.S. is superior to them all. Like mentioned above I also watch Spanish tv (El Ticketero!) and use it at work. In this case, you get what you pay for....

DENNIS - 12-30-2009 at 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by woody in ob
kiss me where i poop!

Can anybody say it better than that? :lol:

I may need to borrow that one of these days, Woody. Hope you don't mind. :biggrin:

The Gull - 12-30-2009 at 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Debra
Scorpimom......didn't know there was a Latin version, Thanks!

Who speaks Latin anymore?

The Gull - 12-30-2009 at 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tano
Ahhhh, the American way: take a pill, solve a problem.

Classic generalization - true, but still a generalization.

Jaybo - 12-30-2009 at 10:54 AM

You mean I can take a pill and learn the language? I'm in! :lol:

woody with a view - 12-30-2009 at 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

Originally posted by woody in ob
kiss me where i poop!

Can anybody say it better than that? :lol:

I may need to borrow that one of these days, Woody. Hope you don't mind. :biggrin:

use it like it was yours Dennis. i'm sure you won't wear it out! :rolleyes:

!

[Edited on 12-31-2009 by woody in ob]

Bugman - 12-31-2009 at 08:43 AM

Of course, the other option nobody here has mentioned is to get a Mexican girlfriend or wife. Every time you screw up you will get a Spanish lesson you will never forget!

I can say this as it happens to be my situation. Heck, after this post I think there is another Spanish lesson in my very near future!

JaraHurd - 12-31-2009 at 08:56 AM

Bugman..great point!! I did that too...it helps a lot as well!!

The Gull - 12-31-2009 at 08:58 AM

I had one of each and neither spoke Spanish. Might have been a bad lot.

bajalera - 1-2-2010 at 04:38 PM

English doesn't have a rolled rr, or an interchangable b and v.

Skeet/Loreto - 1-3-2010 at 08:42 AM

Oh! Wow!
I went out with Rosetta Oonly One Time and had an Experience that you would not Beleive!!!

Skeet/Loreto

wessongroup - 1-3-2010 at 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bugman
Of course, the other option nobody here has mentioned is to get a Mexican girlfriend or wife. Every time you screw up you will get a Spanish lesson you will never forget!

I can say this as it happens to be my situation. Heck, after this post I think there is another Spanish lesson in my very near future!