I don’t know about you, but I have always thought it would be cool to be bilingual. I had an English teacher in high school who knew 5 languages–fluently. On the other hand, I did not take a foreign language in college, and I do not really remember anything from classes I took in high school. I regret this. I wish I would have learned Spanish.
Learning Spanish is one of my goals (I also have German, Greek, Hebrew, and maybe Russian or French on my list, but I need to get past Spanish first).
There have been a couple of times The Wall Street Journal has reviewed software to assist you in learning a new language. Both times, they have decided the best software is called Rosetta Stone. I am not even sure I understand all of the things it does, but I do know that NASA and either the CIA or FBI have chosen to use the programs. I have also talked to several people who have heard about and tried Rosetta Stone and had great things to say. Rosetta Stone has several languages and great features, but it isn’t that cheap–although it is cheaper than what you would pay at a college. Rosetta Stone is on my Christmas list, but until then…
…there is another alternative. Mango languages is a free website that provides you the opportunity to learn Greek, Russian, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese, and Pig Latin! I went through lesson 1 of Spanish tonight and I was really impressed. It took me probably twenty minutes total (whereas I hear part of the reason Rosetta Stone works so much better is because it takes longer). Plus, it saves my progress so that I can come back to it later.
Hey Hickman,
We actually have Rosetta and used it some before coming to France. It is a good program for someone who is wanting to learn more than just a few phrases. I haven’t used mine in a while, but I think I might pull it back out and see how I do. Good luck on the language learning, always a good thing!