www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I just bought V4 Totale. It was a little pricey, but like so many others I want to make a solid effort at learning. I also have been having the same issue with about 1 in 10 words I think I am saying are correct, the program says I did not get correct. Not very far into the program, Level 1, but seem to like the concept. I am begining to visualize thier photos when I am thinking about the word. I guess that is the connection they are after. Seems to be working for me so far.

I get the same vibe, it is great for picking up the rhythm and the feel of the language, of learning the grammar and some vocabulary without rote memorization (which I hate). But the down and dirty is, this is just a beginners introduction to basic "travelers Spanish", and I think I have a very long row to hoe once I start classroom lessons. But at least I'll have most of the basic stuff out of the way.

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Man I'm living life like a great white shark swimming with minnows! It's all about panocha, great scotch, fine cigars, loud-ass rock music and speed, speed, speed - plus spending as much time as possible in paradise on earth, Costa Rica!

K-pax- retired Spanish teacher here-will help you all I can online but one on one is best for pronunciation-some help on gender of nouns- all nouns that end in ción are feminine as well as all that end in tad or dad. Generally, words that end in o are masculine-those that end in a are feminine,but there are a number of exceptions-please don't bitch- English has one rule and 25-30 exceptions to it- Spanish is much more consistent. Vocab aquisition is the key and knowing tenses is very challenging as the exceptions (irregular verbs are the toughest part about Spanish) are numerous. Always ready to help anyone with learning Spanish-it has ALWAYS been my passion and was my career for 33 + years. Pete

Thanks. I'm aware that English is one of the HARDEST languages in the world. Twenty years ago I lived two years in Japan, and found that spoken Japanese is much more regular than English (their written language is another thing entirely). So while I know Spanish is a language with less exceptions than English, the feminine-masculine nouns will probably hound me for years, as well as learning the irregular verbs. Not to mention idioms and phrases. All well, I don't expect to be fluent anytime soon. But I will follow up Rosetta stone and studying grammar and vocabulary on my own with at least several months of lessons at a language school in Costa Rica. I'm not going to stop until I figure I've hit my Peter Principle.

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Man I'm living life like a great white shark swimming with minnows! It's all about panocha, great scotch, fine cigars, loud-ass rock music and speed, speed, speed - plus spending as much time as possible in paradise on earth, Costa Rica!

Congrats on your desire and efforts to learn Spanish. It is good for the brain, and being able to speak at varying levels opens up a world of posiblities for mongering and non mongering alike.

For some great discussions about learning languages, here is an invaluable website.

http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/default.asp

Those who have learned multiple languages form a general consensus that Rosetta Stone sucks. Basically, it is a high cost flashcard program, that does a very poor job of teaching you the architecture of the language. Of course, you will learn, but it is highly inefficient. Better to use the FSI language program, which is free.

For a discussion of these and other systems, go to the learning language forum mentioned above:

http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php?page=Spanish

FYI, if you are going to spend a great deal of time learning Spanish, and don't mind mongering not being a central part of your experience, try the many language schools in Antigua or Xela Guatemala. Less than have the price, far less, which include individual instruction and family stays. A great way for immersion.

Below are the schools in Xela (Quezaltenango). A great place to study, not a place to monger. ICA is a great school.
[url]
http://www.xelapages.com/schools.htm [/url]

In Antigua, here is a goody http://www.tecunuman.centramerica.com/main.htm

Antigua is a horrible place to hobby, but Guatemala city is close by.

Quito also has good language schools, far cheaper than SJO.

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I said hey baby, take a walk on the wild side.
Lou Reed

Brother K-Paxian, I am impressed with you perserverence....I believe you will become fluent once you have immersed yourself in a spanish speaking environment.

Congrats on your current accomplishment/level of spanish.

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The difference between a Sea Story and a Fairy Tale is that a Fairy Tale starts out 'Once Upon a Time..' and a Sea Story starts out 'This is no Shit...'

(export version only, some restrictions may apply, some assembly required, not valid where the sun don't shine...

if you live in the states of Poverty, Darkness or anywhere outside of The Blessings of Civilization Trust, Inc...other rules may apply)

Thanks Hank I will check out the websites you suggested. I pulled the trigger on the Rosetta Stone last June so the money was already spent. I am learning a lot from it, but I think it is highly overpriced now that I've experienced it.

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Man I'm living life like a great white shark swimming with minnows! It's all about panocha, great scotch, fine cigars, loud-ass rock music and speed, speed, speed - plus spending as much time as possible in paradise on earth, Costa Rica!

Thanks, I am still working hard - about two more hours of work and will be finished with all three levels of Rosetta Stone. Then it's on to the next steps! I'm looking forward to it!

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Man I'm living life like a great white shark swimming with minnows! It's all about panocha, great scotch, fine cigars, loud-ass rock music and speed, speed, speed - plus spending as much time as possible in paradise on earth, Costa Rica!

I was not even thinking about the money- when I mean efficiency, I mean TIME. Try FSI or some other methods for a week or two, and compare it to your results with RS.

Also, it is a myth that people before fluent from only living in a Spanish speaking country; it is easy to think of ten gringos who live in SJO who speak poorly. Living helps, IF you practice, study, and consciously try to get better..IMHO.

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I said hey baby, take a walk on the wild side.
Lou Reed

I'd agree that living in a Spanish-speaking culture guarantees nothing in terms of becoming fluent. It takes time and effort even if you're living there. I've met more than a few gents in CR who live there and speak pidgin Spanglish and pronounce everything terribly even though they've been there for years and years.

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Man I'm living life like a great white shark swimming with minnows! It's all about panocha, great scotch, fine cigars, loud-ass rock music and speed, speed, speed - plus spending as much time as possible in paradise on earth, Costa Rica!

I'm almost finished with Level 3 of the Rosetta stone. The first two levels were far better at teaching me than level 3. By level 3, their system becomes confusing for me. How am I supposed to learn how to use the past and present infinitive verb tenses without knowing how to conjugate? And more and more verbs get irregular, so how can I learn irregular verbs without knowing what their irregular forms are?

So I wish I had not bought level 3, but hindsight is 20/20. Oh well, now I'm off to the several Spanish books I bought, and I think they will do a better job of teaching me grammatical structure and the like than Rosetta Stone did.

Also, RS software hates the way I say "probablemente". It always beeps at me when I try to say it. Irritating. Maybe I am saying it wrong, I'll see if my novia laughs when I use it after I get there.

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Man I'm living life like a great white shark swimming with minnows! It's all about panocha, great scotch, fine cigars, loud-ass rock music and speed, speed, speed - plus spending as much time as possible in paradise on earth, Costa Rica!