re: Learning a foreign language

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What method was most effective for you?

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I never pass up an opportunity to warn people away from Rosetta Stone. It's garbage, especially if you are studying a language that uses a different script.

In short, Rosetta Stone uses the philosophy that you should learn a language now the way you learned English as a child. By this they mean that there is essentially no instruction or guidance in the lessons and that you are thrown right in.

The issue for me is that as adults, we have more available to us to learn a language. I would love to learn about sentence structure and other grammar rules by having them explained to me, not having to trudge through trial and error.

For example, I used Rosetta Stone for Persian/Farsi. Persian writing uses old and very formal words while the spoken version of the same sentence uses different words and conjugation. I had no idea of this by going through Rosetta Stone because they don't explain anything; I was totally confused. I started using Pimsleur software on the advice of a friend and found that there was this written/spoken difference and I realized I wasn't crazy after all.


Edit: In terms of suggestions in addition to good software, listen to news, movies, songs, and podcasts in that language. Watching German movies with the subtitles on did wonders for me. You always hear about foreigners learning English by watching Friends or The Simpsons, do the same with the language you're trying to learn. With Youtube, the Apple Store etc, it's cheaper and easier to do than ever before.