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ChiTownGino
 Post subject: Rosetta Stone
PostPosted: Fri Oct 06, 2006 6:56 pm 
Ticas ask me for advice!
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Joined: Thu Dec 29, 2005 10:23 am
Posts: 411
has anyone tryed this software for learing Spanish



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Rosetta Stone teaches Spanish through a step-by-step sequence of carefully structured lessons, called Dynamic Immersionâ„¢. New words become associated with familiar objects, actions, and ideas. Words build to phrases and sentences in a systematic progression.

Studies show that learning exclusively in the new language—without translation as a crutch—is crucial if you want to communicate. Grammar drills and rote memorization never develop this skill. Dynamic Immersion helps you think in the new language and quickly develops the language skills and structures you need to for everyday communication.

Levels 1 & 2 Include
8,000+ real-life images and phrases in 210 lessons
An average of 450 hours of instruction depending on your learning style
A balanced curriculum including listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing
Speech recognition for accent perfection
Systematic structure teaches vocabulary and grammar naturally, without lists and drills
Previews, exercises, and tests for every lesson with automated tutorials
A Sample of the Topics You’ll Find
People and talking
Directions: “How do I get to …”
Affirmative and negative verb forms
Food, eating, and drinking
Family relationships
Direct objects
Telling time
Numbers to 100
Objects of prepositions
Clothing and dress
Vehicles, furniture, clothing, and instruments
Shapes, colors and locations
Greetings and conversations
Travel, transportation, and transactions
Verb tenses in the passive voice
Shopping and dining out
Asking questions; Forms of address
Imperatives
The weather and clothing
Office activities and terminology
Subjunctive and subordinate clauses
Common social conventions
Calendar conventions
The five senses; Sickness and health



for 329.00 it would be worth it if it works.
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Budlite
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 12:13 am 
I can do CR without a wingman!

Joined: Sat Sep 10, 2005 8:59 pm
Posts: 215
i got it about 4 months ago but have yet to use it .alot goverment agency use it .

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Bilko
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 2:56 pm 
PHD From Del Rey University!
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Joined: Sat Jun 19, 2004 3:47 pm
Posts: 2513
Location: Downtown San Jose, Costa Rica, the BELLY of the BEAST
I have heard the advertisements endlessly on the radio and what they promise is pretty, ah, optimistic? 'Learn a language the way you learned your first language.' Well, it's a fact that brain development plays a great role in the ability to learn languages. A Ch*ld's brain can and does learn languages at an amazing rate and amazingly well. So unless Rosetta Stone rearranges your brain back to the golden days of todlerhood, I don't think you'll learn the same way you did way back when.

This is not to say that their product is bad, I have no idea. Pimsleur has gotten high marks as well. The thing is this, amigos: To learn a language, you have to WORK at it. The guy with an old high school textbook as his only resource will do better than the guy with every book, program and whatnot if the guy with the book works at it and the other guy doesn't.

It's like people who buy exercise machines and think THAT will make them thin. No, buying one doesn't make you thin, spending hours using it makes you thin(ner, maybe). You could also get results walking. Likewise with learning Spanish. People tend to look for a magic bullet, some method that takes no effort. Ain't gonna happen.

So if you want to buy Rosetta Stone, cool, but don't think buying anything is the end of the process. It's still going to take work.

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PacoLoco
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 4:25 pm 
PHD From Del Rey University!
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Posts: 10212
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RS is a good tool for learning if you can force yourself to sit in front of your computer and use it but I quickly became bored with it and much prefer Pimsleur, but that's just me. No way would I pay 329.00 for it, borrow it from somebody. :wink:

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Traylor Park
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 7:58 pm 
PHD From Del Rey University!
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Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2005 5:21 pm
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chitowngino -

i was at Costco today and saw a couple of Spanish learning programs. One was for like $16 and the other was about $30. You can't beat the price. i don't know how good they are but i'm sure you can learn something for that price. 10 cd's included.

check it out.
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Zorro
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Oct 09, 2006 10:58 am 
Not a Newbie I just don't post much!
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Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2003 12:09 am
Posts: 68
Stick with the Pimsleur.
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ChiTownGino
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Oct 09, 2006 12:01 pm 
Ticas ask me for advice!
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Joined: Thu Dec 29, 2005 10:23 am
Posts: 411
Thanks for the all the information :wink:
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Nandout
PostPosted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 10:04 pm 
I can do CR without a wingman!

Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2006 9:18 am
Posts: 168
I've used www.studyspanish.com and www.learnspanishtoday.com. The later gave me the best results but you do have to practice a little each day. Visiting a Latin country helps you use what you've learned. Now let me see...hmmm....a Latin country where I can practice my skills:) and maybe find some chicas to help me with the translations.

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Palynx
PostPosted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 10:16 pm 
Masters Degree in Mongering!
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Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2005 11:35 pm
Posts: 757
Nandout wrote:
Now let me see...hmmm....a Latin country where I can practice my skills:) and maybe find some chicas to help me with the translations.


Anywhere south of Oklahoma!! :P :P
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D2864
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 10:24 pm 
I haven't tried it yet, but if I could somehow find a tica to introduce me to a tica who didn't know any English and who had a computer at home that is connected to the internet, I'd get the tica setup on Skype and find a way to pay her to talk to me for 7$$ a hour. Of course, the tica can't be a working girl (7 dollars won't do it for a working girl).

I wouldn't want her to know any English so we would have to fight our way through some sort of lesson (email her a lesson or what I'd like to cover). It might be a challenge, but I think it would be a substitute for actually being in country. For those that have used Skype, you know it sounds as if the person you are talking to is in the same room with you.

I said "tica" in the above, but I really wouldn't care if it was a tico. I just want to learn.

Other than the above - I like Rosetta and Pimsleur. Rosetta is good when you ARE sitting at the computer and Pimsleur is good when you are NOT sitting at the computer.

*
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TicaFan
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 11:59 pm 
PHD From Del Rey University!
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Joined: Tue Sep 13, 2005 10:59 am
Posts: 2078
You use Rosetta Stone if you are serious about learning the entire language. You use Pimsleur to learn how to say the things you would to pick up a girl or ask her out imo. Pimsleur teaches the critical communications in the beginning while RS does not. Both are great but if you're not serious about learning to read and write the entire language RS is not for you.
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El Viejo
 Post subject: RS
PostPosted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 3:52 pm 
PHD From Del Rey University!
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Joined: Fri Apr 07, 2006 10:11 am
Posts: 2001
Location: The limbo of semi-retirement
I am sold on Rosetta Stone as an effective way to really learn a language, but as others said, you must study it every day.

I studied Spanish for seven years, but that was over 35 years ago, and I was pretty rusty. With RS, I was able to 'retune' my ear very quickly and to boost my comprehension up from about 60% to 95% in short order. One must practice orally as well to loosen up the tongue for effective speech. If you integrate RS into watching Spanish movies or news on your cable or satellite, listen to Latin radio in your car, you will pick it up very fast. There is a visual component to RS connected to speech and talking that can really accelerate learning.

RS levels 1&2 will give you a very decent vocabulary for all kinds of daily activities. However, you will need to ask the ticas for lessons in intimate bedroom parlance.

If high school boys knew why the old guys want to learn Spanish, they really pay more attention in school:)
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ChiTownGino
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 4:25 pm 
Ticas ask me for advice!
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Joined: Thu Dec 29, 2005 10:23 am
Posts: 411
Thanks to every one. I did not know about all the other resources list here. I checked out Pimsleur. It was just audio and more expensive than Rosetta Stone.

I think an audio and visual approach would be best.

I did check out http://www.learnspanishtoday.com./ I did the free trial lesson and liked it. :D

When I get back from my trip next weekend, I am going to pick one and hit it hard. 8)

It will give me something to get me through one more long winter in Chicago.
It is not even Halloween yet and winter has arrived in Chicago. :x :evil: Brrrrrrrrrrr. :x :evil:
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Counte Dante
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Oct 19, 2006 12:19 am 
Masters Degree in Mongering!

Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2005 7:51 pm
Posts: 601
I was in SJ two weeks ago and spoke spanish most of the time. My training in spanish consisted almost solely of 22 lessons of pimsleur. I kept getting compliments about my spanish. The biggest problem with pimsleur is that what you do learn, you learn to say with very little gringo accent, so people think you speak more spanish that you really do :oops: .

I was surprised by the shear number of guys who had been going to CR and other Latin American countries regularly for 4, 6, even 10 years, who couldn't virtually any spanish. Then again, I learned more in 90 days of pimsleur french than I did taking french in highschool an college for a total of 6 years :shock:
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El Tranquilo
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 1:16 pm 
Masters Degree in Mongering!
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Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2004 9:30 pm
Posts: 665
Location: San Jose
Deleted because of security concerns.

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Last edited by El Tranquilo on Wed Feb 06, 2008 8:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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