Rosetta Stone or Babbel

[Nole Daddy]

I know there have been threads here before, but what the hell here is another. Has anyone used this system and was it successful? I live South Florida and have a better handle of Spanish than most that don’t speak the language. I would like to take it to another level, but don’t want to waste my time of this doesn’t work. My company will pay for it, so I have that flight for me. Anybody have any idea if it works? Thanks.

 

[nynole1]

Si.

 

[ggmike1992]

No bueno.

 

[billyfsu76]

I am fairly conversational in French after taking approx. four years of it. Have some relatives that live there and, when some were coming to visit, I did Rosetta Stone to brush up so communication wouldn't be awkward with some of the oldies (the 40 and younger group all speak English at least as well as I do French and usually better).

I would certainly say it helped as a review. It's not comprehensive and I found myself getting a little frustrated at times because it's geared toward speaking in certain situations, but there's no underlying lessons or explanations about why you're saying something (from the grammar standpoint). I really like to know those details and feel that it helps me become a better speaker.

I'm ultimately glad I did it I suppose (and do sometimes use it before trips over there - again only as a quick review). Just recently actually I found an organization (L'Alliance Francaise) which provides classes at night in a more traditional method and I've been enjoying those. I think I'm just someone who likes to have the details all ironed out and for me, personally, it's nicer having a "teacher" standing there in front of dry erase board explaining things as questions come up.

 

[EveryoneBleedsGarnet]

It works if you are disciplined enough to stick to it... I got it for Portuguese (Brasil) since literally none of my girlfriend's family speak English.

 

[Nolomite]

I tried learning Russian with Rosetta Stone and it did not work well - the problem was that they do not reach you to read. They show a picture of a boy, they say the word for boy ( "mal-chik" ) and they have it written in small print on the screen - мальчик. When arrived abroad I could understand the words I memorized and nothing else - I was also 100% illiterate. Hard to do business that way.

Russian presents a unique problem - 29 letters in the alphabet, about 1/3rd of the alphabet are Greek letters. Others (but not all others) have that "mis-substitution" (from English) where P's are R's and C's are S's (picture the hockey jersey that reads "CCCP"). Then the issue of the Russian-speakers not following the written rules on a huge number of words when speaking - "spasibo" (thank you) is pronounced "spasiba"

So, Rosetta Stone lessons taught me a bit of basic vocab and gave me a perfect Moscow accent - but failed to teach me the language. I bought Level 1-5 but did not complete them once I realized I was wasting a lot of time.

If you are wanting to improve your skill in a Romance language then I think Rosetta Stone could work nicely - but I would not bother with it for the more divergent language that have origins other than Latin. Maybe it's fine for basic Japanese or Bulgarian...*shrugs*

 

[Nole Daddy]

Has anyone used Babbel?

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

No, but the commercials say Babbel is the reason Europeans can speak multiple languages.

 

[ericram]

I think the only way to really learn a language is to do one of those emersion courses.

 

[MIKE_G]

I think the only way to really learn a language is to do one of those emersion courses.

Immersion courses work even better.

 

[ericram]

Immersion courses work even better.

I like my Sous Vide? got it.

 

[Nole Daddy]

I think the only way to really learn a language is to do one of those emersion courses.

Yes that would be great, but there is no way I can take time off to be in another country in a total immersion class. I would really like to get more of a handle on Spanish since I have so many clients that speak very little English.

 

[nynole1]

It works if you are disciplined enough to stick to it... I got it for Portuguese (Brasil) since literally none of my girlfriend's family speak English.

Are you out of your mind?!?

 

[EveryoneBleedsGarnet]

Are you out of your mind?!?

Probably, but which part of my post are you referring to specifically?

 

[GoNolesTX]

Or, if you have a Pixel 3, let these bad boys translate for you.

https://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-usb-c-earbuds-review-912905/

 

[nynole1]

Probably, but which part of my post are you referring to specifically?

Learning another language so you can communicate with your gfs family INTENTIONALLY.

 

[EveryoneBleedsGarnet]

Learning another language so you can communicate with your gfs family INTENTIONALLY.

Fair point, but I've always wanted to learn another language and I can still play ignorant and not let on how much Portuguese I know.

 

[FSU0409]

It works if you are disciplined enough to stick to it... I got it for Portuguese (Brasil) since literally none of my girlfriend's family speak English.

you used Rosetta? I've been meaning to get around to learning Portuguese for last 8 years now.

Oi, tudo bem? Tchau!

 

[EveryoneBleedsGarnet]

you used Rosetta? I've been meaning to get around to learning Portuguese for last 8 years now.

Oi, tudo bem? Tchau!

Haha yea I have it, but fell out of the habit of using it. I am starting again very soon since the plan is to go to Brasil this Christmas.

I don't know of a better place to start than Rosetta Stone.

I guess if you're really serious you could hire private lessons, I've heard of people becoming fluent in 6 months with private lessons.

 

[ericram]

We need Google to hurry up and get the universal translator up and running.

 

[Nole Daddy]

I want to hear more from anyone that has a system that works. I went ahead and got Babbel to start because it is very cheap, but I don’t see myself learning Spanish from this. I ask don’t like that it only has true Spanish and not the Latin American version. It uses borh, but I don’t want to learn about Vosotros since it is not used down here and is just confusing. Thanks for all the ideas.

 

[Godzillaaa]

I have taken French, Spanish, and Russian, all in college and they were all hard. I also took Russian language classes in Russian and also from a private tutor. Do not underestimate how hard it is to really learn any language. Especially as an adult. You have to really commit and totally dive in if you want to be able to say anything beyond “My name is >>" and "I am from America” and "Where is the library?"

I have had many personal classes and online classes, but not Rosetta stone. I spent years studying Russian in college and it was still difficult to speak. One thing you'll learn is that comprehension will come first. After lots of studying, you'll be vaguely able to understand a few words someone is speaking to you, and remember that natives speak FAST, not slow like they do on most apps and classes.

I recommend whatever system, app, etc you go with, you use a combination of things to REALLY learn. Watch and repeatedly listen to any Spanish tv shows, radio programs, songs, and newscasts, so you will hear real speakers, speaking actual-speed Spanish. Doesn’t matter if you don’t understand what they are saying, your brain is soaking it in to some degree. At the same time, start drilling vocabulary such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. Rinse and repeat. It is quite the commitment and most people get discouraged after just a few hours of studying. Believe me. Really speaking a language takes years of practice, but is well-worth it IMO and a very rewarding experience. I always laugh when people say they speak 4 languages, but only speak about 10 words of each. Just practice, practice, practice, then practice some more. Google the top 100 - to 1000 words used and focus on those. You really don't need to learn the Spanish word for elephant or lightning, etc. Find the words you will really need. Currently I am using two apps to brush up on my Russian, Duolingo and Polly Lingual. Good luck!!!

9 Godzillaaa, Jul 12, 2018