Rosetta Stone and Online Learning

[Dreadnaught]

A few weeks ago I visited the Rosetta Stone Website to look into Hebrew courses. Not convinced I have the time/ability to learn like this online, I declined.

But those clever folks are using remarketing so I see the ads occasionally on other sites. And today my cousin sent over a scanned notebook from 1949 containing the notes and draft letters my great-aunt used to learn English when she immigrated from Afrika.

So now I'm all revved-up with the idea that I really should maintain some fluency in another language. But I've always been bad with language acquisition. Has anyone here ever tried/know anyone who tried learning a language (or something else difficult) via online learning?

[wiggin]

I know some people who've tried it, but they're generally not successful at maintaining fluency. They can get some level of understanding, of course, but fluency honestly requires the tried-and-true immersion method. If you just do, say, a few hours a week in an online learning environment, it's not going to help much. But if you're forced to speak (and listen to) the language day-in, day-out for everyday interaction, you'll pick up the rhythms/etc. of a language much faster, and your vocabulary will perforce grow much faster.

If you want to stop by Boston for a month, my wife and I can always use a refresher, and the sheer number of Israelis in our neighborhood means you'd get extra practice. Just sayin'.

[Ominous Gamer]

Our patrons would praise the Rosetta Stone system nonstop for how well it worked for them. It was by far our most popular database when we had it. I think it works to well, because Rosetta Stone no longer offers itself as a learning tool for public library consumption.

We use Mango Languages now, it appears to work, but it doesn't have the name recognition of Rosetta. If you're worried about it being a wasted investment, check your local library for what they offer; but that would open you up to admitting your taxes aren't all being wasted.

[Dreadnaught]

I agree, the only time I ever was able to really learn well was when I was in the Zionist Entity. So I'm concerned this may work for some people, but probably not me.

You're in Boston now? I was there last week. But just for a night.

[wiggin]

My home is in Boston, but I'm currently in Bmore for a couple of weeks tying things up, and I'm traveling quite a bit (Chicago, London, SA) in the next month or so. But in principle, yes.

My boss' boyfriend is Italian, and she's been trying to learn Italian using Rosetta for ages, but she just doesn't have serious success because she's never forced to use it.

[Loki]

http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php

I've been told that the State Department uses these guides to train their diplomats, so I would think they're more effective than Rosetta Stone. Regarding your initial point, I agree with wig: you can't get beyond a certain level of proficiency without regularly listening and speaking in the given language.