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Rosetta Stone (or other language teacher)

FI and I have been talking about going to France for our honeymoon (both Paris and the south of France). I know that most people speak English (particularly in Paris), but we are both huge nerds who love to learn and have been talking about learning French in advance of our trip. We did a trial lesson with babel, and really liked it. A friend recommended Duolingo, and I've been using that, with some good results. However, it seems to skip around and has so far left basics out (gender pronouns, verb conjugations), but then expects me to know which one to use when.

So, has anyone used rosetta stone or another language teacher? Any recommendations?

Re: Rosetta Stone (or other language teacher)

  • I haven't used any but I'm interested to hear what others say. One of these days I'd like to learn Spanish.  7 years and a college minor later I am worthless with French since I never hear it but think Spanish would be nice to know since I do hear it semi-regularly.

  • I'm doing Duolingo with Spanish, but I took 3 years of Spanish in high school and still remember some of it. I know what you mean by skipping around, I feel like I'd be lost if I didn't remember anything from high school.

    I'm not sure which languages they have, but sometimes websites like Coursera and ALISON will have free online courses for languages. They had an intro to Mandarin that I had started before going to China that I never finished.
  • I got the French Rosetta stone from the library for free and installed it on my computer. I returned the disks but it's still running just fine..not sure if that's a fluke? Either way I have French levels 1-5.

    I took French in middle school and high school, I had very basic general skills on our honeymoon in French Polynesia. We are considering going to Europe, so I wanted to learn.

    Anyway- my experience with it- you can't binge. Aim to do 1 or 2 sessions a day, but if you just sit and blow through a whole unit you won't retain anything.

    It teaches a language much more naturally than I experienced in school. Similar to the way a child learns- you see an object or behavior and then learn a world for it.

    The only problem: is it's my understanding you would be fluent (or nearly there) by level 5. But unfortunately at the end of level 1, I'd say I know a lot of words and descriptions about colors, some foods, and relationships (aunt, uncle, husband) but relatively no conversational social skills. I don't currently feel confident having the most basic of conversations with someone in French, and I already had some knowledge before starting this program. 

    Sum: if you have the program for free, or you have the money,  and you also have a lot of time- it's a really nice way to learn a language. 

    Hope that helps..if you have any other questions I can try to answer them :)


  • I used Rosetta Stone - it is expensive and I had continual problems with their on line service. I think Duolingo, which is free, is comparable in content. I also use a site called iTalki. You can find native speaking tutors on there or "friends" like on FB so that you can talk via Skype. You pay the tutors through the website (sort of like a clearing house) so that you don't pay the tutors directly. Also, you have to verify that the tutoring session occurred before they get paid. I have been learning Italian this way for around 2 1/2 years and would be considered intermediate. I can carry on a conversation if my partner is forgiving. I meet with my tutor once a week. Rates for tutors vary from $12/hour to $20/hour. I find their rates very reasonable compared to hiring tutors in my area. I was meeting with two people every week prior to the holidays but haven't done it since then. I plan on getting back into the swing of it. I also belong to an Italian learning private group on FB. Native speakers help learners with written Italian.
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