Learning a language: Rosetta Stone vs Pimsleur vs Fluenz
travathian
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Registered User regular
First off, I'm not going to take a class locally or take a trip to a foreign country to immerse myself in the language. I need to be able to sit myself down in front of the computer, on my schedule, and learn it over time.
I've already checked each of their websites and they each seem to approach learning a new language in a different way. So I am curious if anyone has actually used any of these products and if you would be so kind as to share your experience. A single language pack is about $500, so needless to say I am trying to ensure I purchase something that will work.
Help me pick one of these!
I've already checked each of their websites and they each seem to approach learning a new language in a different way. So I am curious if anyone has actually used any of these products and if you would be so kind as to share your experience. A single language pack is about $500, so needless to say I am trying to ensure I purchase something that will work.
Help me pick one of these!
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I found Rosetta Stone to be the best hands down for languages that have similar structure to English, but when I tried to use it for Mandarin, I was horribly lost. Rosetta Stone uses a format that is supposedly similar to how we learn to speak. Pictures with reinforced pronunciation. Pimsleur seems to be a less intuitive way to learn, and more structured like a classroom, so it helped with Mandarin since I really didn't understand measure words or lack of verb tense.
I've used Rosetta for Spanish, Mandarin and to brush up on French. I've used Pimsleur for Spanish and Mandarin. I've never used Fluenz.
Good luck learning a language from scratch from a computer. If you actually want to put effort into it, there are lots of resources out there.
Until then, though..
That said, you don't necessarily have to follow a program. There's a ton of great stuff (depending on the language) on Youtube or just random websites. Just look up something you are interested in talking about with "language_X lesson" and see what you get.
DO NOT get something without an audio component (like a set of only books.) You need to hear and repeat often to develop the correct accent. Even if the rules of pronunciation are simple, you still need to hear it.
For example, I know there are a lot of websites out there that offer free lessons for learning Japanese.
I would also highly recommend trying to find a person who already speaks the language you're trying to learn so that they can answer questions and help you practice via talking/email/IM/whatever. This forum might actually be a good resource for that, too.
Edit: Also, I know it's not what you want to hear but the best way to learn a language is to speak to someone in that language. Classes are much better than computer programs, partly because of that, and partly because the program can't give you corrections on accent and things like that.
The only computer program which I think is useful is Anki.
ED: Oh yes, and if you live in a city, try and find somebody to do a language exchange, or spend the $20 to get a college student to teach you.
Depending on the language you choose, and what part of languages is most challenging to you I'd choose the software that fits your need.
So, what language are you interested in?
Edit:
Though I value a real teacher more than a computer, I won't say that software is a complete waste. It can help you build confidence and it can take you at your own pace... how ever, its only good to get the swing of the language, to truly master it you'll eventually need to step away from the PC.
you CAN get the CDs at librarys and whatnot, or at least i've seen them at some libraries
that is perfectly legal and also free
Remember to write that off on your taxes.
Well, it is highly suggested that I learn Spanish. Still count?
I mean, I'm not a tax lawyer or anything, but yes I believe that would count.
Just like how appropriate workplace attire and transportation to and from work are deductible, right?
Oh, and W2-receiving employees? You don't get to write anything off. (with some small exceptions)
I've been taking Korean lessons once a week for an hour and a half with a native Korean speaker and I've learned so much. If you can take some actual lessons then I recommend that much more than books. However, I have poor studying skills so that's probably a big reason why I couldn't do it.
I don't know anything about those three systems you are asking about but I can put in an anti recommendation for the Korean language book Teach Yourself Korean. Other language books in this series may or may not be equally bad.
It's actually a more exhaustive system than I expected since I worked with Rosetta Stone a little about 8 years ago and wasn't impressed.
I'm not sure how well it would work for languages that don't use a Latin alphabet though since I don't know how it goes about teaching how to read things like kanji.
PSN: Beltaine-77 | Steam: beltane77 | Battle.net BadHaggis#1433
And the languages are Spanish and Mandarin being the top two I am thinking of.
Yea I mucked aorund with Rosetta stone after my employer picked it up for some overseas stuff.
The newer versions have a speech component that say the words and you can repeat it back to see how well yours matches what is being said.
Doesn't change the fact that the basic idea of Rosetta Stone- learning a bunch of random words as opposed to grammar and conjugation- is not going to teach you how to actually speak a language.
But on the plus side you might be able to read a menu in that language.
That's like lessons 1-4. They get more advanced.
Example: In early lessons they'll show you a picture and the word will be 'boy'
In later lessons they'll show you that same picture but the sentence will be "The boy in the blue hat and a dirty jeans is face raping that sandwich, yo!'
Honestly, the best way is a lot of different study exercises per day, followed by having a friend who is a native speaker whom you try to speak with the rest of the day. Using that method I was able to speak proficiently within 1 month and completely fluent within 2.
Mmmmm, what language did you study? I find it hard to believe that one can go from zero to fluent in 2 months.
But you didn't learn it from a book or CD. You forced yourself to speak it everyday with a fluent speaker. You can definitely gain proficiently that quickly.
That's how I learned Spanish.. by dropping my ass into South America knowing about 5 words.
I spent hours with Rosetta Stone trying to improve my Spanish. I gave up, it was worthless. IMO....
I've tried Rosetta stone and found it, ultimatly, frustrating. They claim Rosetta stone teaches a language the way a child would learn it but do they expect a consumer to use their product for 5+ years? Adults are much faster at learning languages than children even if not as good. This quick fix garbage really annoys me sometimes. (Sorry for the off topic rant)
There are a ton of resources on the web for learning European languages and select World languages. Depending on where you live, you might be able to do a language exchange. They teach you "x" language and you teach them English or whatever language you can offer. These way of doing things give you the exposure and practice with the language you need.
Even better if you create your own decks and fill them with vocabulary in context, rather than just single words. So you can practice reading "The dog is running down the street," rather than "dog," "run," and "street" as separate entities.