purple_cloud
Bluelight Crew
Dearest mods, I'm not sure if this belongs moreso here or in P&S, but I think it fits okay here since it's learning related. It could also go in SO I suppose?
Lately, I've come in close contact with Rosetta Stone. I've noticed some things I think are a great idea, and others I think are awful. For example, all the languages use the same method, and introduce concepts in the same order (all begin with boy and girl, especially gender languages like italian and german for example,) but an attempt at phonetic makes some things difficult to figure out, especially since it's usually at least partly orthographic as well. I've yet to find out IF you can actually choose IPA as any form of setting, I doubt it, and to me that's a huge disadvantage since it's useful to know and to those who know it, the other interpretations could just be confusing. Does anyone feel like the software is strictly geared towards someone who knows English? Also, they don't gather stuff in neat charts like used in rote memorization, and you sorta have to figure out what's changing in order to figure out the meaning, and while this is probably a pro I tend to get annoyed by it. I'm just curious, since the concept of learning an L2 the same way you learn an L1 would be through having to figure things out, and that's what they boast their method is.
Essentially, has anyone used this software and effectively learned another language? If you have, what are some advantages/disadvantages to it's method? Is it worth the hefty price tag that comes along with it?
Lately, I've come in close contact with Rosetta Stone. I've noticed some things I think are a great idea, and others I think are awful. For example, all the languages use the same method, and introduce concepts in the same order (all begin with boy and girl, especially gender languages like italian and german for example,) but an attempt at phonetic makes some things difficult to figure out, especially since it's usually at least partly orthographic as well. I've yet to find out IF you can actually choose IPA as any form of setting, I doubt it, and to me that's a huge disadvantage since it's useful to know and to those who know it, the other interpretations could just be confusing. Does anyone feel like the software is strictly geared towards someone who knows English? Also, they don't gather stuff in neat charts like used in rote memorization, and you sorta have to figure out what's changing in order to figure out the meaning, and while this is probably a pro I tend to get annoyed by it. I'm just curious, since the concept of learning an L2 the same way you learn an L1 would be through having to figure things out, and that's what they boast their method is.
Essentially, has anyone used this software and effectively learned another language? If you have, what are some advantages/disadvantages to it's method? Is it worth the hefty price tag that comes along with it?