learn language through real life experience not a $500 program

I checked out the Rosetta Stone after already being fluent in Spanish just out of curiosity. A friend of mine had bought it and I wish I knew earlier to talk him out of it. I guess my objection to paying for any Spanish lessons is this- Why pay to learn Spanish when we live in a country with millions of Spanish speakers, who in my experience are more than happy to help someone learn. When I wanted to learn Spanish I got a job at a Mexican restaurant. I brought my dictionary and what little memory I had of high school Spanish with me and just started trying. Mostly listening though. Listening to words that were always repeated and trying to look them up. Trying to repeat what I heard. Trying to get a feeling for the rhythm of the language. I started borrowing movies from my new amigos and between that and my part time job, I picked things up. Eventually this lead to invites to their house where I was served delicious meals and tequila that you can't find in the US.

From there, I went to Costa Rica for two weeks and stayed with a wonderful host family. And so on. The pleasure of learning a language comes from making connections with people. Forced immersion and a no fear approach is the best way. You will make mistakes. Lots of them. You'll probably even get laughed at, I know I did, but it was all in good fun. And at the end of the day I can say I went out and did it myself in the real world instead of being cooped up alone in my house with a computer and a microphone. All the education you need is out there in the real world.

Comments for learn language through real life experience not a $500 program

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but what about the rest of us?
by: Anonymous

although your comments are honest, and I have no associations with Rosetta stone, you should realize that many of us have full time jobs (12-16 hour days) and can't take time to work in a mexican restaurant or even have a native speaker come over to the house to teach. I wish that I could take 2 weeks off and go live in Costa Rica with a host family, but my learning of another language will have to take place after hours, when I have worked a full day in the real world, taken care of my family and have 30 minutes to spend by myself at night.

that's unrealistic
by: Anonymous

I agree the previous comment. For those of us who work 40 (or more in my case) hours a week and have families, being able to totally immerse yourself isn't an option. If it were, then companies behind programs like Rosetta Stone wouldn't be as successful as they are.

WTF !!
by: Anonymous

This girl must not have understood what it means to post a review of Rossetta Stone. I mean she told us all about how she learned how to speak Spanish. UM WHO CARES!! We are here to find out how well the Rossetta Stone software works, so we need to hear from people who have tried it and are qualified to speak on what was good about it or bad about it. I mean give me a break I am an accountant and I can assure you that I am not going to be working at some Mexican restaurant any time soon. That's why I am looking for a method that I can fit into my lifestyle and schedule. So please only comment if you have tried this product and have something valuable to say for those of us who want to know how it worked for you.

Yeah
by: Anonymous

Yeah, I'm sure your friend wants to tutor you in spanish for hundreds of hours for free.

Poor review
by: Anonymous

I agree with previous commenters on this review. Yes if you live in Spain maybe to learn from natives is the best way. I want to learn French and have no connections to any native French people here in the UK. This might not have been best for your friend but as previous people have said not everyone is fortunate enough to have natives available so freely. Also like all languages there are bad habits natively. I would rather learn the correct way then eventually adapt that further upon coversing with French people. I have a French friend but to learn this over the phone would be time consuming and my mobile bill would exceed the cost of this software. I am sorry your friend wasted their money but you can not review a product based on one person who made the wrong choice for reasons of circumstance not the effectiveness of the product.

Sounds great but...
by: Rohn

Sounds great but not everyone has the opportunity to do what you did. If you are already employed or if you're married with a family, etc. Like I said, sounds great for a younger single person with no real responsibilities. Nothing wrong with being young and free to move about.

Another thought
by: Anonymous

Some people are saying "only comment if you have tried RS", or "I don't have time to work in the restaurant".

If you don't have time in your current lifestyle to learn the language then why are you learning it? If you lifestyle is so separate from your desired language then when are you going to out your new language knowledge into practise? You can't just learn a language and bank the knowledge, you need to keep practicing, and keep learning, otherwise you'll just forget it.

The initial writer is correct: you need to immerse yourself; you need to make a lifestyle choice that includes your new language.

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