Learning another language

[Amys Bling]

please share your experiences with me!! I am dying to become fluent in Spanish, I took 4 years in HS and really need to get back to it. Rosetta stone was running a deal so I bought levels 1-5 hoping to refresh and relearn with the help of my grammar book and dictionary. Has anyone here used Rosetta Stone??

 

[sparklyheart]

I am in the same boat as you except for French! I took it in HS and just bought RS and have been doing it for a week... so far so good!

Sorry I can't share much of an experience yet but good luck!!!

 

[AGBF]

please share your experiences with me!! I am dying to become fluent in Spanish, I took 4 years in HS and really need to get back to it. Rosetta stone was running a deal so I bought levels 1-5 hoping to refresh and relearn with the help of my grammar book and dictionary. Has anyone here used Rosetta Stone??

I could swear I already participated in a thread about Rosetta Stone here! (Call it déjà vu!) Yes, I have used it, both for learning and teaching. It has its place, but it cannot do everything. I still love it!

Deb/AGBF

 

[manderz]

I am learning Spanish, though through my college rather than Rosetta Stone. Love it! The program in my community college used an interactive website that turned the lessons into little games. Can't wait to start the next one.

 

[Porridge]

Good for you, learning a language is wonderful. I haven't used Rosetta Stone, but my dad had a great experience learning German with it. I speak Spanish and French (and Irish of course but that was learned as a child). I learned French all through school and still take classes once a week to keep it fresh. I spent 4 months traveling in South America earlier this year, took Spanish classes at the start, and was comfortably conversational by the time I left. My conversational Spanish is now better than my French. So my point is, if there is any way at all that you can immerse yourself, even for a little while, it is by far the best way to learn a language.

sparklyheart: Check if there's an Alliance Française near you, I've taken classes there for years now (I must look for something similar in Spanish now actually!). They're great for improving conversation, they organise fun events that force you to speak French all day (such as cooking classes etc), the teachers are all French, and it is very inexpensive. Bonne chance!

 

[JewelFreak]

Haven't tried Rosetta Stone but I worked for Berlitz my first job after college. Wasn't impressed with their method, which didn't include any grammar. Students essentially learned a bunch of phrases, not to construct sentences as you do when chewing the breeze. I speak Spanish, French & Italian well & have also studied Russian, German, Japanese & a tiny tad of Hebrew. I understand Dutch 100%, from living in Holland w/a Dutch husband, but can only speak Baby Dutch -- DH's 3-yr-old nephew & I were on the same page.

You're smart to supplement with a grammar book -- to learn to speak a language with any degree of ease, grammar is essential. Having studied with various methods, I really like conversational courses where you study the grammar & then use it, talking in class.

 

[Amys Bling]

thanks for the replies thus far! I am exposed to spanish on a weekly basis as some families I work with are Spanish speaking and I have to bring a translator I can listen and understand about 75% same with reading. I understand that immersion and living abroad is the best way- but my husband and I can't up and leave. I would love to use Rosetta stone and my grammar books to get to a more comfortable place and maybe the next few vacations I can push for spanish speaking countries so I can use it!

 

[Haven]

I'm taking a Spanish class right now! One of my colleagues offered a section just for professors, so I signed up. I took Spanish in school from 7th grade through my sophomore year of college, and then promptly ceased using it, so I've forgotten a lot.

In addition to attending class and doing all the work, I am:

- Reading familiar fairy tales and children's stories in Spanish. This was something a friend recommended to me this summer, and it's really helping me expand my vocabulary. This friend of mine is Brazilian, living in France, and this is how she's supplementing her French lessons.

- Watching a lot of the Spanish channel. Soap operas are my favorite, they're pretty easy to follow, and they have a lot of drama!

- I found an old book in my local used book store that has stories written in Spanish on the right-hand page, and in English on the left. This is really helping me. I only get through a page or two at a time, but it's something.

- I have a couple friends who are willing to speak Spanish with me. One is a guy who works at my local grocery store. He's really patient, and he walks around the store with me and we have very simple conversations, and he teaches me a new phrase or two each time.

- I have a couple different "Learn Spanish in Your Car" cds and I just listen to them on the way to work. One just throws out random words and phrases and then gives their translation, which isn't ideal, but it makes me laugh because the words are so random. (The first word was "carne", not exactly the first word I'd choose for new Spanish speakers, but whatever!)

- I took out a couple Spanish music CDs from the library, they all have the lyrics written in the CD jacket, so I read along. Music helps me remember words. I learned a lot of Hebrew this way as a child. I probably know hundreds, if not thousands, of Hebrew songs, and as soon as I see the English translation that gives me a whole new set of words and phrases to know.

- I signed up for our local Spanish-speaking Meetup group, but I'm too chicken to attend any events, yet. I'll go to one soon. They get together and speak Spanish to help everyone's growth. I attended a couple German-speaking Meetup group activities, and they were really fun.

- My Spanish class has us working through a workbook that has an online component. The online component has us listen to a series of conversations to see what we can glean from them. I think this part is really helpful.

ETA:

I meant to share that I learned Hebrew as a child. I attended Hebrew class from 4th grade through 10th grade, which was helpful for my reading and writing skills. However, I learned the most from the Hebrew phrases and words my parents used in our regular lives, and from attending sleepover camps where we only spoke Hebrew all summer. I think the more you can immerse yourself in a language, the better. Hence the meetup groups and soap opera watching. I don't know nearly as much Hebrew now as I once did, but I can still read and write pretty well, and I can definitely have a conversation and get around on it. I have to brush up, though, because my sister and I agreed that we'll raise our kids speaking Hebrew and English, and since DH and I will probably start trying in the next couple years, time is running out for me to re-learn! My parents spoke a little bit of Hebrew, a little bit of Yiddish, a teensy bit of German, and a lot of English, but I wish they'd spoken more of everything. They're both fluent in Hebrew, and they teach it part-time, so it would have been nice to have learned it in our home as children.

 

[Haven]

One more idea!

My college has weekly conversation circles to bring together native speakers and language learners. Everyone is invited, you don't have to be enrolled in a course at the college to attend. The Spanish conversation circle speaks in Spanish half the time, and English the other half. It's really nice because the native speakers of both languages are there to support the learners. And you meet a lot of interesting people. Check out your local CCs and unis to see if they have any of these.

 

[Matata]

I used Pimsleur prior to a visit to Italy, France & Russia and was able to speak at about a 3rd yr. college level. I like the format of the lessons.

 

[ladypirate]

I'm taking a Spanish class right now! One of my colleagues offered a section just for professors, so I signed up. I took Spanish in school from 7th grade through my sophomore year of college, and then promptly ceased using it, so I've forgotten a lot.

In addition to attending class and doing all the work, I am:

- Reading familiar fairy tales and children's stories in Spanish. This was something a friend recommended to me this summer, and it's really helping me expand my vocabulary. This friend of mine is Brazilian, living in France, and this is how she's supplementing her French lessons.

- Watching a lot of the Spanish channel. Soap operas are my favorite, they're pretty easy to follow, and they have a lot of drama!

- I found an old book in my local used book store that has stories written in Spanish on the right-hand page, and in English on the left. This is really helping me. I only get through a page or two at a time, but it's something.

- I have a couple friends who are willing to speak Spanish with me. One is a guy who works at my local grocery store. He's really patient, and he walks around the store with me and we have very simple conversations, and he teaches me a new phrase or two each time.

- I have a couple different "Learn Spanish in Your Car" cds and I just listen to them on the way to work. One just throws out random words and phrases and then gives their translation, which isn't ideal, but it makes me laugh because the words are so random. (The first word was "carne", not exactly the first word I'd choose for new Spanish speakers, but whatever!)

- I took out a couple Spanish music CDs from the library, they all have the lyrics written in the CD jacket, so I read along. Music helps me remember words. I learned a lot of Hebrew this way as a child. I probably know hundreds, if not thousands, of Hebrew songs, and as soon as I see the English translation that gives me a whole new set of words and phrases to know.

- I signed up for our local Spanish-speaking Meetup group, but I'm too chicken to attend any events, yet. I'll go to one soon. They get together and speak Spanish to help everyone's growth. I attended a couple German-speaking Meetup group activities, and they were really fun.

- My Spanish class has us working through a workbook that has an online component. The online component has us listen to a series of conversations to see what we can glean from them. I think this part is really helpful.

ETA:

I meant to share that I learned Hebrew as a child. I attended Hebrew class from 4th grade through 10th grade, which was helpful for my reading and writing skills. However, I learned the most from the Hebrew phrases and words my parents used in our regular lives, and from attending sleepover camps where we only spoke Hebrew all summer. I think the more you can immerse yourself in a language, the better. Hence the meetup groups and soap opera watching. I don't know nearly as much Hebrew now as I once did, but I can still read and write pretty well, and I can definitely have a conversation and get around on it. I have to brush up, though, because my sister and I agreed that we'll raise our kids speaking Hebrew and English, and since DH and I will probably start trying in the next couple years, time is running out for me to re-learn! My parents spoke a little bit of Hebrew, a little bit of Yiddish, a teensy bit of German, and a lot of English, but I wish they'd spoken more of everything. They're both fluent in Hebrew, and they teach it part-time, so it would have been nice to have learned it in our home as children.

Ditto this. I am taking conversational Spanish now, having never taken a Spanish class before. I did 6 years of Latin from the time I was 12 until I was 18, so that is definitely helpful. We're using the "Invitaciones" workbook from Vista Higher Learning, which includes an online component with videos and audio. It has been really fun and at this point I can hold at least simple conversations with native speakers.

In addition to Haven's suggestions, watching Plaza Sésamo has been helpful. It's the Spanish-language version of Sesame Street and has been good for me as a total beginner. Also, watching Spanish cinema with the subtitles turned on (either in Spanish or English) is helpful.

ETA: Check out http://www.codyscuentos.com/ for children's fairy tales and nursery rhymes en español!

 

[Amys Bling]

great suggestions- thanks guys!!

 

[Porridge]

I understand that immersion and living abroad is the best way- but my husband and I can't up and leave.

Oh good heavens of course I didn't mean up and move to another country! Haha. I just meant exactly as Haven described - watch Spanish TV, read stuff, try looking for language-swaps, conversation classes etc...

 

[Porridge]

I understand that immersion and living abroad is the best way- but my husband and I can't up and leave.

Oh good heavens of course I didn't mean up and move to another country! Haha. I just meant exactly as Haven described - watch Spanish TV, listen to Spanish radio, read simple Spanish things, try looking for language-swaps, conversation classes etc...

 

[Amys Bling]

I understand that immersion and living abroad is the best way- but my husband and I can't up and leave.

Oh good heavens of course I didn't mean up and move to another country! Haha. I just meant exactly as Haven described - watch Spanish TV, listen to Spanish radio, read simple Spanish things, try looking for language-swaps, conversation classes etc...

haha, I understand. I would LOVE to move to another country for a month or so.... but jobs and responsibilities dont allow it at this point. I think I will start DVRing spanish shows and I have already purchased some short novels for my NOOK in spanish

 

[PetitiePoire]

Ditto all of Haven.

Children's books were the best introduction to French for me. Work your way up to higher levels. Make sure you read anything in the chosen language out loud. You will feel ridiculous, but it slowly gets your mouth/ brain working with the new sounds. Someone just mentioned this to me and it has been a fantastic help, because I am shy at speaking French out loud, even with my French husband.

You have to be really invested to learn another language. Unfortunately, even with me living in France my French is sub par. I'm currently taking a language class there, however, the key part that is missing is being forced to speak it. In France it has been far too easy to get by speaking only English. You must, must, must immerse yourself with speaking with someone else.

I've also found the language books unhelpful. They teach a more formal version of the language. I took 3 years learning proper French and was completely lost when I moved there and heard the slang/ real life version!

Best of luck!

 

[Puppmom]

I never thought of children's books for language but it totally makes sense - back to basics!