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MrRichMasters
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| Joined: | Sunday November 19th, 2006 |
| Location: | Denver, Colorado USA |
| Posts: | 4 |
| Visits: | | | Currently: | learning about RW |
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Posted: Wednesday January 3rd, 2007 08:37 pm |
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Has anybody ever used the Rosetta Stone software to learn Russian or used it to help a RW learn English. I am just curious if any anybody has any user experience with the program. I hear it is very User-friendly and the learning process is quick.
Thanks
Rich Masters
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ronin1
Administrator
| Joined: | Saturday January 21st, 2006 |
| Location: | S.F. Bay Area, California USA |
| Posts: | 622 |
| Visits: | 7 | | Currently: | married |
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Posted: Thursday January 4th, 2007 04:54 am |
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Rich,
Can't say that I have experience with Rosetta. Still, according to Wikipedia it takes the 'learn like a baby' approach. If this is an approach that you think will work for you then go for it. At 190 USD it's a bit steep. Also, Wiki cites many concerns, especially with the Russian language.
My take is that any of these software or CD based language learning programs are only good for getting around town better than a tourist, for most WM. Having meaningful conversations with a RW are perhaps a long shot at best. On top of that, if one decides to go through one of these programs and then later figures that it is best to go to real language classes (college or professional) then one will have that much more to 'unlearn' just to get to square one.
It is very easy to learn a great deal in these software and CD based programs. Unfortunately, what one may learn is a lot of bad habits on how to butcher the language. The typical WM can't produce many of the Russian vowel and consonant sounds and are not attuned to hearing and recognizing them.
Ronin
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honestman
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| Joined: | Saturday September 30th, 2006 |
| Location: | Exeter, United Kingdom |
| Posts: | 48 |
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Posted: Thursday January 4th, 2007 04:55 pm |
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Hi Rich, I am learning Russian using the Pimsleur method. I bought the software cheaply, off the internet. I have other CDs but this I found the best for me. I agree with Ronin, it is so difficult to pronounce some of these words. Trying to pronounce "v" and another consonant after it(for example v-p, v-s) is not natural for us in the west and it needs alot of practise. I took me two weeks just to pronounce the word hello in Russian ! ("zdrastvooytye" ). However once you learn these tongue tied words it is another thing practising them when and where it is needed. In Russia I told I was a good people (my lady meant "pupil"!). I wish to get to a tourist level before my next trip to Russia, hopefully. poka!
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Turboguy
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| Joined: | Saturday March 17th, 2007 |
| Location: | Pennsylvania USA |
| Posts: | 8 |
| Visits: | 10+ | | Currently: | engaged |
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Posted: Saturday March 17th, 2007 03:55 pm |
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Rosetta stone and Pimsleur both have their plusses and minuses. I have Rosseta stone. I would say it is good for expanding your vocabulary. You do have to dedicate special time to it.
With Pimsleur the advantage is you can do it without a book and you are not wasting time because you can do it as you drive and I drive a lot. I am currently in the third lesson of Pimsleur 3 which means I have made it through 35 CD's I find it very boring and very slow going but it does work to an extent. I have to listen to each cd about 20 times to have much of anything sink in.
I also have about 3-4 other programs. Barrons Russian which was billed at the time as the official program of the state department, Russian Fast and Easy which was the first I got and is cheap, and living language's Russian Now which is actually my favorite but may not be available anymore. I have versions 3, 4, 5 and 8 but I think they quit publishing it after version 9.
All these darn programs. Now if I could just learn a word or two of Russian. I have programs but my brain is not programed.
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