awb1989

I tried it out for a few different languages... it'll teach you a few words, but the exercises aren't very efficient, and it's not anywhere near worth the time investment it takes to get through it (you can learn a language much faster in other ways), not to mention the absurd price.

Yeah, motivation can be tough in learning languages. I learned German and Russian independently outside of high school (and took Russian throughout my first year of college). I also played video games on German servers for a while and learned/kept up with German that way, as well.

As to Pimsleur, it's OK... but I don't think it should be used beyond getting down the accent right really... it doesn't go very fast either, but it's certainly better than Rosetta Stone.

Russell7

awb, what is a better way to learn a language then? You didn't list an alternative to pimseleur, so that post was pretty useless.

I've heard from people that've become fluent in Spanish that pimselur was great for setting a foundation for before they started speaking with native speakers in spanish.

awb1989

Get a decent workbook, and a decent dictionary. Go through the basics of the workbook, learn the grammar, while listening to Pimsleur a bit (to pick up accent/get a little exposure to the spoken language). Then listen to music and watch movies in the language. And talk to native speakers of the language if you get the chance.

burgler09

Don't pay for software, pirate it.. its all worth it because it really does help. Get Rosetta Stone or Pimsleur.. whatever you decide on, then try to get involved with watching movies/talking to people in that language online or in real life. I wouldn't rule out rosetta stone or pimsleur though.

awb1989

Take my thoughts as you like, but from personal experience, Rosetta Stone isn't even worth the time investment it takes. There are better ways to learn a language quickly.

GregoryMitchell

Rosetta Stone is an absolutely awful choice (I got it for free and it still sucks). The answers to the exercises are completely obvious and the whole "no explicit grammar - acquire it like a child" approach is made moot by the fact that you try and figure out the grammar rules on your own anyway (an automatic process that a child does not engage in).

I found that by far and away the most effective way to improve my German was with Barron's Mastering German. All Barron's really did though was make slight modifications and put on CD the FSI standard government course, which is available here in far more languages FSI Language Courses for free.

awb1989

Oh yeah, learning a language like a child... yeah, that works, but it's incredibly slow and inefficient. You took however many years learning English as a child, you'll want to learn your next language quite a bit faster.

burgler09

I guess whatever works, you aren't going to get fluent through any one program alone.

tnguyen08

@Ticklemepink - my parents don't have the time. i've had asked them multiple times...never worked out.

@awb1989 - have you found russian to be helpful/useful in any way? is it easy/moderate/hard for you to keep on using the language?

@bourne -that's a great idea...except that i prefer boys

So, I'm thinking that I'll just download either rosetta stone / pimselur in vietnamese and self-teach it to myself. I'm really motivated to learn this language so that I can write (& communicate with) to my parents better. I know it's going to be moderately difficult, but with my background I'm sure I'll do fine.

If I decide on Japanese, I definetly want to study abroad in Japan or vice versa with Chinese. Although I find Japanese more appealing because I'm a big fan of anime (this way I don't have to read subs < if you're a fan you'll know what i'm talking about).

Of the three languages which do you think can be more useful later in life? Chinese, Japanese, and Russian

I remember reading something about Russia and its growing economy...then again, China is going to be a major Eastern power or already is and the same goes to Japan..

The college I'm leaning towards teaches only Russian and Chinese. I don't know how I'm suppose to not lose these languages after I graduate...any tips?

burgler09

Just keep up with the languages and you won't forget em. Visit, (if you are american I wouldn't go say hi to putin lol) anyways just watch movies in that language read newspapers etc

tnguyen08

^^

What do you mean by don't say hi to putin? :/

burgler09

It was just a joke, Putin hates america.

naturefreak525

I know Vietnamese. but my parents really emphasized the importance of learning the language of the country where you come from so they force my sisters and I to speak it at home which we don't do most of the time. Do you know any Vietnamese at all? If you know the basics (the marks, simple pronounciation) then you can focus on the vocab and sentence structure which your parents could perhaps help you on if you ask them for help on a particular thing. Visiting the country is extremely helpful but you could also watch Vietnamese movies and try to speak with your parents in vietnamese (simple words/sentences such as are you tired, etc.). I wouldn't suggest listening to music because I can't understand anything but perhaps you could get something out of it.

I tried to teach myself Japanese once and I got the alphabet and random vocab but I wasn't very motivated and it was too difficult for me to teach myself without any help so I quit.

German and French, the languages I'm studying now, are pretty easy to catch on. If you don't want to take all of the language courses, I would suggest just taking the beginning classes and then teaching yourself from there is pretty easy.

tnguyen08

@ burgler09 -ahhh...lol i thought that you were saying not to say hi to one of the ppl here on cc...oh well lol

@ naturefreak525 - I can speak simple sentences and carry on very relaxed conversations. I can understand when people speak the langauge at a pretty intermediate to high level (depends on their voice). I don't know the marks or pronounciation, though. I can make out some words in a sentence, but that's about it. Oh, are you in college now or still a high school senior? how long have you been studing those languages (self taught/ school)? How well do you think you're doing in them?

My mom actually asked me why I wanted to learn Vietnamese (when I tried to talk to her). Needless to say, I couldn't communicate with her clearly enough of my reasons. I basically said, "So I can talk to you." She laughed. "Aren't you talking to me right now?" She thinks it's a waste of time....: /

Pistolen08

I've been studying Japanese on my own, and I've tried all the methods. Rosetta Stone is a complete waste of time (and a waste of bandwidth for my torrent server). Pimsleur is okay, but it goes very slowly through the material. I would recommend buying the Japanese for Busy People books (Kana version) after you learn how to read the hiragana and katakana. Just go through the lessons and learn the vocab (I wouldn't concentrate too much on kanji now though). I stream TV shows from Japan (news, game shows etc...not anime!). This helps with listening comprehension. I also take part in language exchanges on:
Language Exchange Online via Skype on the Mixxer

You basically talk to people on skype, teach them your language and they teach you theirs. This builds up listening/speaking comprehension while having fun and meeting new people too.

Good luck with your studies!