Sunday, August 31, 2008

Rosetta Stone Canceling Agreements With Public Libraries

Rosetta Stone has begun canceling its licensing agreements with public libraries. From what I understand, they will no longer offer online use of their software through the library system. I believe libraries can still stock the CD-Rom version of the software, for a licensing fee I presume.

Already library systems are turning to alternatives. I have seen several set up shop with Mangolanguages.com and also Livemocha.com. A few have replaced Rosetta Stone completely with TELL ME MORE


I have not seen or heard of any explanation for why Rosetta Stone is doing this.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Language Demos - Try Before You Buy

'Try before you buy' has become my new mantra lately. So many people buy a language method, particularly a more expensive one, only to discover they don't like it or it's not what they were looking for. So, I've been recommending to people that they try out a few language methods first. Many companies offer a demo to download, or tryout or view online. Transparent Language, Rosetta Stone, Tell Me More, Fluenz and others all have a way for a potential buyer to see their product in action before they purchase, rather than buy blindly. Read more in my article http://www.language-learning-advisor.com/language-learning-demos-try-before-you-buy.html

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Veteran Language Learners and Published Language Methods

When it comes to using a published language learning method, it makes a very big difference whether you are experienced at studying languages or not. A veteran language learner will use those methods in very different ways than a beginner does. Or maybe I should say that a beginner expects a lot more from it than the veteran does.

Most published methods (software, audio courses, etc) are generally made for the beginner. They are designed to lead along beginners by the hand, spoon-feeding them their new language in small effortless doses.

This is great if you are a beginner. But the veteran has already finely honed the skill set required for language learning and can advance quicker than most published methods allow.

Few published methods include much material for intermediate and advanced learners. More experienced language learners seek out those methods that do, or use a lower level program which they know will give them the right foundation to build upon.

But they will also use other sources to learn from. Using their preferred methods as a base, they will smartly fill in the gaps with grammar books, listening to a lot of audio and extensive reading after the initial steps into the language.

Methods have their place, but complete reliance on them is a no-no for the veteran language learner.

What can we learn from this?

Don't rely on one just method. Look beyond it and use complementary materials to study and learn from. Listen to a lot of real-life audio and read a lot. It's not hard to find material and it's free. Don't expect one language method to do everything, and don't expect to sit back and do nothing. You still have to work at it.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Learning a Language at School?

Several students learning languages on their own reported using a published language method (such as Pimsleur) as a way to get ahead in their classes at school. They always report getting better grades than ever before, and even accelerating ahead of their classmates, where before they had lagged behind.

They soon 'discovered' that a motivated learner can go farther and faster on their own than they can using the standard classroom techniques. Of course, this is something that veteran language self-learners have known for quite a while. This leads to the student learning additional languages entirely outside of the classroom and the budding polyglot is born!

The additional home-study with an independent method may be the doorway to a whole new outlook on learning languages for many students. If you are going back to school and are studying a language this year, consider adding another language method to your homework assignmment. Something different from "conjugate these verbs for tomorrow ..." At least consider using the vast free internet resources at your disposal to enhance your classroom study. You may be shocked at the progress you and your grades can make!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Top 100 Language Blogs

There is a Top 100 Language Blogs list on the internet. Actually, I would recommend you look at the whole list of 250 language blogs. You can find a treasure trove of information on language learning between all of the blogs. Some are more academic, some are focused on just one language. It is not a complete list of all language blogs on the internet. There are plenty of blogs that I know of that aren't on it, including this one, but that's not the point. If you look through them, there is something for everyone there.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Rosetta Stone Love it or Hate it

One thing I've noticed about people and Rosetta Stone is that they either love it or hate it.

The majority of people are in the middle ground somewhere, but with Rosetta Stone, there are an awful lot of people with an extreme opinion. Granted, people are more likely to be vocal about their hatred for a product than they are about their love for it. And these people seem to be very vocal.

Let me compare Rosetta Stone to Pimsleur. Some people love Pimsleur, others don't like it. But the ones who don't like it agree that it has its virtues. Most of the non-positive reviews of Pimsleur concede that Pimsleur is better at building pronunciation and conversation skills than any other method. It's just a clash of learning styles, or they feel it is a little too expensive for the return they may be getting. Fair enough. And that's just it - the negative reviews of Pimsleur are fair.

Back to Rosetta Stone. The positive reviews are absolutely glowing and the negative reviews are scathing. Rosetta Stone must really be rubbing some people the wrong way or the right. It seems like these super-positive reviews and harshly negative reviews are motivated. Smells a little fishy to me, on both sides of the fence. Any thoughts? Care to write your review of Rosetta Stone?

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Cheap Pimsleur

As you probably know, Pimsleur is one of the most popular language learning methods. You may also know that it is my favorite. However, I know perfectly well that Pimsleur has its drawbacks. One of the biggest is the price. It's a little expensive as far as the average person is concerned.

I've mentioned some ways to help lighten the load on the site before, but I have also just written a new article on this subject. If you are interested, you can read my article http://ezinearticles.com/?Cheap-Pimsleur---7-Ways-to-Save-Money-on-the-Pimsleur-Language-Learning-Method&id=1382810

Also, Simon and Schuster continue to add to their lineup, slowly but surely. New products scheduled for release include - Croation Comprehensive Level 1 (October), Greek Comprehensive Level 2 (October), Eastern Arabic Comprehensive Level 3 (November) and Hebrew Comprehensive Level 3 (December).

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Free Lessons for 40 Languages

http://www.goethe-verlag.com/ has a text and audio method for 40 languages for free on its website called Book2. Each language has 100 lessons with basic vocabulary and simple phrases and sentences. Enough to survive in-country. Text and audio for all languages can be accessed from the website, but there is also a full download of all 100 lessons for a few languages - French, German, Dutch, Czech, Russian, Polish, Turkish and Romanian. There are also hundreds of vocabulary tests for many of those languages.

Sunday, August 03, 2008

Massive Input before you speak

http://thelinguist.blogs.com/how_to_learn_english_and/2008/08/first-understan.html

This is an article from Steve Kaufmann, the linguist of Lingq. To sum up his approach - massive Input of the language you want to learn. The Output comes later. Basically, he says you won't be able to properly or easily produce original spoken material in the language until you have a large and varied vocabulary, which can only be obtained with lots of input, mostly from reading.

I agree with (and to a certain extent, use) Steves approach with one caveat - if you have the time! You need lots of time to absorb all that material. If you don't have the time, complete immersion is probably the only way to go, but it can be ugly and difficult.

Steves approach is cozy, even enjoyable, something learning a language ought to be. Lingq is a site Steve put together in order to help people use this system of his. It is free to use. Give it a shot, you may find that it suits you.

Friday, August 01, 2008

Spanish in danger in Spain!

In the US, we are currently debating whether or not to make English the official language. It is, of course, the uncontested unofficial language, but there is always ongoing debate regarding how much resources are put into accomodating people who speak other languages, most notably Spanish.

I recently posted about an African country, Ghana, and their discussion of 'national languages.' I have just found out about an interesting debate going on in Spain.

There is no question that Spanish is the official language of Spain. Or is there? Spain has some other native languages (such as Catalan and Basque) that have significant regional influence and some official status. To the credit of the powers that be, efforts have been made in recent decades to ensure that these languages do not become threatened by an overpowering national language (Spanish). They don't want to see these languages in the same situation as Occitan and Breton in France, or Cornish in Britain.

But there is actually some concern that Spanish itself is in danger! In Spain! Sound a little
crazy? Read this article - http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1419303.php/World_language_Spanish_threatened_in_Spain_campaign_claims__Feature_