Hello Dr1ers, as someone who speaks average Spanish but understands intermediate Spanish(if that makes any sense) I was wondering if you thought RS was a good investment versus Primsleur. I have heard about the benefits of both and I am seriously considering purchasing one of the two to improve my speaking skills. I have been to the D.R. once(June of this year) and I was able to communicate with people okay, but there were countless times when I was saying things out of order in the context of my conversations. Fortunately for me the people I was communicating with took pity on me and was nice enough(although they did get a laugh or three) from my sentence phrasing/speech.
- Thread starter The Traveler
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RosettaStone or Primsleur: Better investment?
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agreed
ROSETTA STONE hands down for any language! if any one has CDs let me know I want to burn as many languages as poosible! LOL :bunny:
ROSETTA STONE hands down for any language! if any one has CDs let me know I want to burn as many languages as poosible! LOL :bunny:
I agree with CB. Rosetta Stone is a good program, but also encourage the old fashioned techniques of reading a spanish language newspaper or magazine with an english dictionary handy, watching an hour of telemundo or univision a day (especially in the morning children's programs), and speaking it at every opportunity.
Good luck,
DRob:glasses:
Good luck,
DRob:glasses:
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I have started watching the News(noticias) and picking up some things but they speak at a speed that is often too quick for me to fully comprehend everything. I also have watched some telenovelas and Spanish wrestling from time to time.
I have both Rosetta Stone & Pimsleur
I used the Pimsleur, levels 1 & 2, and found it to work well for me. As it teaches the correct way to pronounce the words. Everyone that I speak with says that I speak it perfectly (what spanish I do know that is..) . In my opinion the Rosetta Stone is a lot more simple, almost like a multiple choice Q&A test. You could pretty much figure things out by default.
I have Levels 1,2,& 3 of Pimsleur Spanish ( all MP3 encoded)
Rosetta Stone DVD file with ALL languages.
I also have other Pimsleur languages in MP3 format too..
PM me for more info if you wish.
irate:
I used the Pimsleur, levels 1 & 2, and found it to work well for me. As it teaches the correct way to pronounce the words. Everyone that I speak with says that I speak it perfectly (what spanish I do know that is..) . In my opinion the Rosetta Stone is a lot more simple, almost like a multiple choice Q&A test. You could pretty much figure things out by default.
I have Levels 1,2,& 3 of Pimsleur Spanish ( all MP3 encoded)
Rosetta Stone DVD file with ALL languages.
I also have other Pimsleur languages in MP3 format too..
PM me for more info if you wish.
irate:
Not really. It's PC based for individual use, not for group use. There is a part of the program that detects your pronunciation and gives visual feedback from a graph.
However, Pimsleur can be used in the car while driving around.
I have used both Rosetta and Pimsleur and think both have their good points and bad. The thing to keep in mind is the more effort you put in the better the results you probably will get from either.
While I am near or on a computer all day you would think Rosetta Stone would be my best choice and I did in fact start by using it. The only problem was I got bored sitting in front of my computer using it for hours at a time thinking I could be doing something else instead of the Rosetta Stone. I still use it every so often but I don't put in more than 1 hour at any sitting anymore.
Pimsleur on the other hand being all audio I have the ability to listen to in my car while driving.I usually spend about an hour a day in my car so this makes the time go by faster.
I also dont mind as much being in traffic if im occupied listening to Spanish lessons.
While I am near or on a computer all day you would think Rosetta Stone would be my best choice and I did in fact start by using it. The only problem was I got bored sitting in front of my computer using it for hours at a time thinking I could be doing something else instead of the Rosetta Stone. I still use it every so often but I don't put in more than 1 hour at any sitting anymore.
Pimsleur on the other hand being all audio I have the ability to listen to in my car while driving.I usually spend about an hour a day in my car so this makes the time go by faster.
I also dont mind as much being in traffic if im occupied listening to Spanish lessons.
I have gone through Pimsleur 1,2,3 and extra (or something like that, can't remember the name of the last one - which was more of a recap). It's really good as it asks you questions and if you do it properly (speak out loud) it makes you think and compose sentences (not just repeating what was said - it has that too of course). It also uses more Latin American accent (which I prefer to practice). I found it very useful, the only problem is they should now issue 4, 5, 6... !
I have also used the Lingaphone series, which was OK (because it had a nice story it followed) but I think not as good as Pimsleur.
I love watching TV but in UK there is no access to any Spanish channels, anyone know of any satelite options here or any good internet TV channels let me know (most internet ones I looked at were poor quality, not live TV broadcast and cumbersome to follow - not really a normal TV experience). Any suggestions appreciated....
I get as many films on DVDs as I can, but it's too hard for my level. I think a formal TV presenter speach or news might be easier to follow than fast-spoken slangs in films...
I have also used the Lingaphone series, which was OK (because it had a nice story it followed) but I think not as good as Pimsleur.
I love watching TV but in UK there is no access to any Spanish channels, anyone know of any satelite options here or any good internet TV channels let me know (most internet ones I looked at were poor quality, not live TV broadcast and cumbersome to follow - not really a normal TV experience). Any suggestions appreciated....
I get as many films on DVDs as I can, but it's too hard for my level. I think a formal TV presenter speach or news might be easier to follow than fast-spoken slangs in films...
I agree with DRob. Do not waste your money. Spend your money on a dictionary and always keep it handy. I usually try to watch primer impacto each day on univision and occasional novelas, and read and speak spanish every chance I can.
Most $20 dictionaries have a decent grammar section with all the conjugations and explanations for their use.
Most $20 dictionaries have a decent grammar section with all the conjugations and explanations for their use.
I would agree that Rosetta Stone is a good program. It will give you a real good foundation for Latin Spanish but the cost is the main obstacle. For anybody with some level of computer savy or a lot of time on their hand to figure it out go to thepiratebay.org and search for rosetta stone. I am am not advocating this kind of thing but in this economy spending $500 vs. FREE is a no brainer.
Hi!
Rosetta Stone is an excellent program but to be honest , the most effective way to get around speaking a foreign language is to be in situations where you do not have a choice but to speak! I have Rosetta Stone for free: I'm a language teacher...I spent many hours looking into its efficiency in order to work with it. I used it a few times in my clasroom but I keep telling my students what I just told you( put yourself in situations where the only way out is to find a way to communicate in Spanish)... By the way I'm fluent in 4 languages, and I never attended any class to speak any foreign language, well just the ''STREET'' class if you will. But, still Rosetta Stone is by far the closest program to complete immersion, if you have the money. Personally, I believe the best tool box is: Interacting with natives speakers on a regular basis, TV shows/movies, music and a bilingual dictionary.
I hope I've been helpful!
Good Luck
Rosetta Stone is an excellent program but to be honest , the most effective way to get around speaking a foreign language is to be in situations where you do not have a choice but to speak! I have Rosetta Stone for free: I'm a language teacher...I spent many hours looking into its efficiency in order to work with it. I used it a few times in my clasroom but I keep telling my students what I just told you( put yourself in situations where the only way out is to find a way to communicate in Spanish)... By the way I'm fluent in 4 languages, and I never attended any class to speak any foreign language, well just the ''STREET'' class if you will. But, still Rosetta Stone is by far the closest program to complete immersion, if you have the money. Personally, I believe the best tool box is: Interacting with natives speakers on a regular basis, TV shows/movies, music and a bilingual dictionary.
I hope I've been helpful!
Good Luck
I would put a word in for Michel Thomas - his method for learning structure and tenses is very good- maybe not so good for vocabulary - im trying to combine michel thomas and rosetta stone lol with my pirate copies ahem - I was rather dismayed to find Ive been pronouncing hola wrong- which is one of the few words I know
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