The Rosetta Stone ethos is that “learning a language should
be fun, easy and effective.” Making, in its words, “learning a new language
second nature.”
I had always wanted to speak Spanish. I already knew a few
words, so I decided to give the web-based language program a whirl. The
idea is that you are immersed straight into the language. There isn’t any
translation or vocabulary lists to learn by heart. It is simply pairing words
with images.
You start off with a few nouns to build blocks. You hear the
word, see it written and look at the picture at the same time. You then start
to practice the word. As you see it so many times, you are supposed to remember
it. Lessons also include writing basic phrases.
It is quickly on to seeing pairs, a boy and girl, and
then basic verbs. The man reads, the woman eats, etc. slowly building up to
more complex sentences. Rosetta Stone tests your pronunciation.
The theory is that you should always be able to make out
what the picture is telling you. However, occasionally, I did find it confusing
as to what it was trying to describe.
There were some conundrums, with grammar. As I did have a
knowledge of the language, I was able to make it out, and the parts I was not
sure about, I looked up in a reference book.
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| Mexico City |
If you know somebody who speaks the language that would be
useful and they can explain to you what you are unsure about. Alternatively,
get a good grammar book. Sometimes with repetition, it would though become
clear, other times I consulted a book.
Having learnt languages the traditional way in a class room,
I wanted to know why something was the way it was so that I would be able to
put my own sentence together.
There are live video tuition sessions where you, along
with a few other users at the same level, can reinforce the grammar and
words that you have just learnt. Your mistakes are gently corrected. There are
games to play and apps to download.
I have to admit to thinking that I had not got very far,
until one day I found myself at Tower Bridge being asked by a Mexican family
for directions which, thanks to Rosetta Stone, I managed to give them in
Spanish. I also was able to tell them that I had visited Mexico City and how
much I liked it. They seemed to understand me and I them.
After this encounter, I realised how much I had picked up.
Rosetta Stone is a great way to learn a language, especially, if you are
starting from scratch. You have to recall words and, later on, sentences
quickly as you would in a normal conversation.
This is a great method to use if you want to quickly learn
the basics for holidays or business travel. You can have a free trial
(rosettastone.co.uk) so you can see whether you like it before you get your
credit card out.
By Daralyn Danns
