Rosetta Stone???

[LovesTimone]

DH and I are going to Europe next year with our Best Friends, and we are planning England, Scotland, Ireland and France. We have some friends that have been recently and suggest very strongly that at least one of us needs to be able speak French. They said it will help us out..

I have check out Rosetta Stone site and WOW was it pricey, I am interested in French 1 -5, with headset and access cards. But if I can learn in a year then it would be worth it, and then there is possibly a chance that DH could get transfered to that region. Sooo I am just thinkg ahead.

Anyone used Rosetta Stone?

Is it boring?

Did you learn? and were able to use what you learn in another country?

I am a stay at home Dog mom, so I have time. Any other suggestion for learning another language or where to get a good deal on Rosetta Stone.
Will be much appreciated.

 

[bumbershoot]

There are other, free programs. I believe one is called Mango, and some libraries have it for checkout. Since you're not looking to become fluent, but merely get some simple words and phrases for tourism purposes, I wouldn't buy anything.


That said, DS was looking at the French program on RS at the homeschool convention last week, and inside of 5 minutes he got the words for boy, girl, man, and woman, and had the basics of what "eat" and "drink" were in the language.

 

[DSNY4ever]

We traveled through France with nothing but a small English to French dictionary and were just fine. I have heard good things about Rosetta stone though so if your husband might be transferred there it could be a good investment. Try looking on Ebay to get one for cheaper.

 

[LovesTimone]

There are other, free programs. I believe one is called Mango, and some libraries have it for checkout. Since you're not looking to become fluent, but merely get some simple words and phrases for tourism purposes, I wouldn't buy anything.


That said, DS was looking at the French program on RS at the homeschool convention last week, and inside of 5 minutes he got the words for boy, girl, man, and woman, and had the basics of what "eat" and "drink" were in the language.

I need more than a few words, especially if we might be living abroad in the next year or two. So I need to be able to really understand and speak and possible read as well. I should have been clearer in my 1st post.
Thanks for the tip on Mango, I will check it out.

 

[Marionnette]

There are other, free programs. I believe one is called Mango, and some libraries have it for checkout. Since you're not looking to become fluent, but merely get some simple words and phrases for tourism purposes, I wouldn't buy anything.


That said, DS was looking at the French program on RS at the homeschool convention last week, and inside of 5 minutes he got the words for boy, girl, man, and woman, and had the basics of what "eat" and "drink" were in the language.

Unless the phrase she commits to memory is "Je ne parle pas francais", knowing a couple of phrases in French will do the OP no good. Because people have a tendency to answer in their native tongue when asked a question in it.

I have Rosetta Stone in French, Italian, German and Spanish. They have been great learning resources. But don't even try to buy them on ebay. You cannot sell the used software and Rosetta Stone is one of the most vigilant about closing down auctions that feature their products. Look for discount offers for the product thru Rosetta Stone's own ads. I found one for $100 off of the 5-level course thru a Facebook ad. They also allow the payment to be broken down into 4 installments. Since the OP may be relocating to France for a while, it might be a worthwhile investment.

 

[AntePrincess]

I've used Rosetta Stone. LiveMocha is essentially the same, but free online. If you "grade" English learners' work, you can unlock more features for free.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I'd love to learn French! I'll have to check out that "LiveMocah" listed above

I have actually been to France before, the only thing I knew is what I heard in that "Lady Marmalade" song, so I just kept my mouth shut the whole time.

 

[LovesTimone]

I've used Rosetta Stone. LiveMocha is essentially the same, but free online. If you "grade" English learners' work, you can unlock more features for free.

Thanks for the tip I will check it out.

When you state "grade" what it that all about.

 

[donaldandpirates]

My DD has been learning German with Rosetta Stone. She's almost done with Level 1, and I have been very impressed with how well she's done. She actually had a dream in German the other night! She looking forward to visiting the Germany pavilion in EPCOT to hopefully meet some German CMs there. Pricey? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely!

 

[chris31997]

DD picked up German and did great with it. I would recommend it. I would also suggest you check out the library and see if you can check it out. See if it is a good fit for you. If you are living in the country you will pick the language up very quickly.

 

[IDoDis]

There are over 1100 auctions for Rosetta Stone on ebay right now.

Unless the phrase she commits to memory is "Je ne parle pas francais", knowing a couple of phrases in French will do the OP no good. Because people have a tendency to answer in their native tongue when asked a question in it.

I have Rosetta Stone in French, Italian, German and Spanish. They have been great learning resources. But don't even try to buy them on ebay. You cannot sell the used software and Rosetta Stone is one of the most vigilant about closing down auctions that feature their products. Look for discount offers for the product thru Rosetta Stone's own ads. I found one for $100 off of the 5-level course thru a Facebook ad. They also allow the payment to be broken down into 4 installments. Since the OP may be relocating to France for a while, it might be a worthwhile investment.

 

[Colleen27]

I'm just subbing in to hear more reviews. DD10 and I have both been working on learning Japanese together and we're looking for a better tool than the free resources we've been using. Since we're both working on the same language the price of RS isn't such a hard pill to swallow if it works.

 

[cornflake]

If you're in a decently sized area, you might try cl or someplace like it, or a local college or etc., to find a native speaker who might be willing to give you some lessons on the cheap or to trade for English help.

That's a fairly common thing here, people willing to trade help in their native language for help with English. It's not the same as pedagogically correct lessons, with grammar and etc., but it's more like immersion. I'd do that before some computer program.

Also, what did you take in h.s.? You might remember more than you think.

 

[firstcruise]

Call me a RS fan. I've learned more spanish in one month than 2 semesters in school. I went in knowing that I would not speak spanish fluently after I was done, but the simple fact that I can learn this quickly and understand certain conversations now it amazing.

Plus, the training is set up so that you actually speak the words and sentences correctly or you do not get to go on. I like that. Forces me to really pronounce the words.

 

[m86]

I used Rosetta Stone to learn Dutch. My biggest gripe, is that it gets very boring after some time. Always the same kind of tasks. It really helped me, though, to get a bigger vocabulary in Dutch.

If you are only going on vacation, I would recommend something simpler. And if you would like to learn the language, go take a real class. You'll learn more.

 

[Marionnette]

There are over 1100 auctions for Rosetta Stone on ebay right now.

Most are "authorized sellers" with prices that are the same as if you bought directly from RS. The rest will get NARU'd before the auction ends. The used software auctions that somehow slip by will end up with buyers who receive CDs that cannot be activated because the key that came with them has already been used. RS will not help the buyers of those CDs because their EULA specifically states that the seller did not own the rights to resell the software.

Just because there are thousands of auctions listed on ebay, that does not make them legitimate. Nor does it mean that the auctions will remain up for long. It's just like buying Disney tickets on craigslist. They might appear on the website, but that doesn't make them legitimate.

 

[AntePrincess]

Thanks for the tip I will check it out.

When you state "grade" what it that all about.

"Grading" is when you review the written and spoken work of non-English speakers trying to learn English. That's all. Takes at most five minutes per task.

 

[LovesTimone]

Most are "authorized sellers" with prices that are the same as if you bought directly from RS. The rest will get NARU'd before the auction ends. The used software auctions that somehow slip by will end up with buyers who receive CDs that cannot be activated because the key that came with them has already been used. RS will not help the buyers of those CDs because their EULA specifically states that the seller did not own the rights to resell the software.

Just because there are thousands of auctions listed on ebay, that does not make them legitimate. Nor does it mean that the auctions will remain up for long. It's just like buying Disney tickets on craigslist. They might appear on the website, but that doesn't make them legitimate.

I noticed that was something some of the sellers did not list, Not the one that say authorized, but just like someone that used it and now wants to sell, I did send a message to one of them who stated that they had used it but it could be transfers to me. ??? After reading on the RS site, I don't think that is correct, so I am going to pass on bidding. RS would not be any value to me without the Key so that I could activate it. Better to pay the price and use it, verse's spending less and it just sitting there. Thanks for the heads up. Much appreciated.

 

[LovesTimone]

"Grading" is when you review the written and spoken work of non-English speakers trying to learn English. That's all. Takes at most five minutes per task.

Sound interesting, Thanks again for the tip

 

[disneysmiles]

I need more than a few words, especially if we might be living abroad in the next year or two. So I need to be able to really understand and speak and possible read as well. I should have been clearer in my 1st post.
Thanks for the tip on Mango, I will check it out.

I'm interested to see the feedback on this thread too. My husband speaks French and I have time at home to learn as well!