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Learn another language! Any suggestions? I'm guessing Spanish is most practical, being that I live here in the US, but I'm open to something else. Not sure when I'd use it, to be honest, but I think taking time to really learn another language would be good for me. Also, anyone with experience using Rosetta Stone? Is it a good teacher for someone that won't be environmentally immersed in another language?

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Spanish is a good choice. It's useful, easy, and pretty. Italian is IMNSHO prettier and about as easy, but sadly not as useful, unless you're a big opera fan.

 

I have heard from several others that Rosetta Stone is (1) expensive and (2) not very effective. There are great online programs for free (e.g. Duolingo), and lots of people in foreign countries standing in line to trade Skype time in English and Spanish (or pretty much any other language). Doing a half hour of individual study each day and Skyping for an hour with a Spanish speaker once or twice (or three times) a week, half in English and half in Spanish, can be a tremendously effective way to learn Spanish. You could be speaking Spanish well with just a few months of doing that, depending on how committed you are and how good you are at picking up a foreign language.

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Why do you wish to learn a foreign language?  If it's to expand your circles in the U.S., then Spanish would be a good choice.  If it's based on admiration of some other culture (French, Italian, German) then I think it's perfectly fine to study those languages even though you might not have much opportunity to practice it in the U.S., especially if you can travel to a country that speaks that language.

 

If your goal is to sharpen your mind, may I suggest Chinese?  You can't argue that nobody speaks it.  I was a Chinese minor in college and fell in love with the language.  The writing system is about 100 times harder than the writing system in a European language, but you don't need to learn to write Chinese.  In fact, you can get very deep into the language using romanized spellings, which are very easy.  The tones are tough at first, but after a few months you can tell them apart as easily as you can distinguish vowels in English now.  Best part is that Chinese grammar is pretty much a stream of fixed particles that do not change.  No tenses, no declensions, no endings, nothing.  (When I started learning Chinese after many years of Russian I thought I had died and gone to heaven.) 

 

I have also heard unflattering things about Rosetta Stone.  At the end of five months and $500, you'll be able to say really simple things (e.g., "where-is-my-$500-now?") but that's about it.  If you can take a class or get a private tutor to launch your study, that would be really good.  Another idea is to find an online radio station in the language you're learning and just listen to it as background music.  At first you won't understand anything, but every day you'll pick up a word or a phrase.  I've found that Christian stations are the best, because they are filled with long sermons that the preacher delivers in a strong, clear voice.  I fell in love with one German preacher who spoke really clearly, but a while back he fell out of his hang glider in the Alps and was killed.

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My frustration in learning has been the need for verbal instruction, due to time constraints (listen in car or walking) and not having a visual of the text of the lesson. It would be extremely helpful to read the lesson and then walk with a mp4 to listen and review. Pinsler has a great immersion listening course, but no text.  What I saw of Rosetta is it requires you to be at a computer.

 

Immersion is the best. Going to a foreign country and having to find your away around in day-to-day tasks really reinforces what you have learned and opens you up to key important words. Unfortunately, after more than a week you feel beat up and don't want to do any more.

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If you pick Spanish, then watching Spanish TV is also terrific.  Soap operas are the best, you get to learn many lovely and lusty expressions.

 

And if you want to be a total geek, you could learn Esperanto.  A friend of mine was a linguistics major at Berkeley and he claimed he learned to speak Esperanto in one weekend.  Unfortunately, Esperanto is one of the ugliest languages I've ever encountered.  "Girl" is knabino, "closets" is ŝrankoj, and "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" is Eklezio de Jesuo Kristo de la Sanktuloj de la Lastaj Tagoj.  Ugh, ugh, ugh. 

Edited by PolarVortex
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Learn another language! Any suggestions? I'm guessing Spanish is most practical, being that I live here in the US, but I'm open to something else. Not sure when I'd use it, to be honest, but I think taking time to really learn another language would be good for me. Also, anyone with experience using Rosetta Stone? Is it a good teacher for someone that won't be environmentally immersed in another language?

The best way is to live where the language is spoken so as to be immersed and surrounded by it. I know a number of people who made aliyah to Israel with little or no Hebrew and then picked up the language. The children doing so more quickly than the adults, of course. But I am sure that's not an option for most of us. :)

I would suggest choosing a language that has some real appeal to you...emotionally or otherwise. And a language that you would have the ability to converse with others. That would help you to learn.

I took Spanish in school and know Hebrew, but it is really easy to lose if you don't use it, especially if you didn't learn it as a child.

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German has the highest return value on average in pay increases for knowing it. Spanish has one of the lowest.

I don't recommend Rosetta stone. I personally like BYKI for vocabulary (Or anki which is free), and the Pimsleur Method for learning how to speak quickly.

If you like audio disc's, Pimsleur will cover the basics but after that you will have to find something to explain the actual grammar and such. (speak with real people etc..)

Edited by Crypto
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Oh, another point about Rosetta Stone: a friend of mine ordered one of their courses.  It arrived by UPS or FedEx or whatever and was stolen from the lobby of his apartment building before he got home from work.  After a long fight with Rosetta Stone, the credit card company, and the delivery company he finally gave up and ate the loss.  It was several hundred dollars.  If you order something from RS, be careful with delivery.

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