Several decades have passed since I last sat in a classroom trying to learn a language that wasn’t English.
I can still remember Miss Nahumtelling us what was right and wrong about my pronunciation.
A desire to learn other languages never left me, and there are good reasons to give it another try.
Rosetta Stone Inc., which recently moved its headquarters to Arlington from Harrisonburg, Va., is trying to meet that need with software-based language courses.
But Rosetta Stone isn’t just selling software.
The firm is also offering its services online, for $21.66 per month for individual subscribers, or $259.95 per year, which works out to about 72 cents per day.
By contrast, the firm’s “Level 1” software sells for $209; if you want all three levels of the course, that will set you back $499.
The online program covers the 31 languages Rosetta Stone teaches, ranging from Arabic to Welsh and including both Spanish for Spain and Spanish for Latin America.
It supports most Web browsers, including Apple’s Safari 3.1, as well as headset microphones and the built-in one found on an Apple iMac. If this stuff works on a Mac, then PC compatibility should be no problem.
The premise of Rosetta Stone is to provide language training in a somewhat conversational format the company calls “dynamic immersion,” combining what it says is “advanced interactive technology with native speakers and a rich visual environment.”
As I quickly learned online, Brazilian Portuguese, the language I chose for online study, is not quite like the Spanish I learned in school so long ago. Hearing correct pronunciations was crucial: The online program “hears” — and judges — my pronunciation.
There are several things that impress me here. First, the sheer technical quality of the online presentation is remarkable.
It would be very easy for such a system to have massive hiccups; so far, I haven’t found any, even though I’ve tried.
When setting up the online version, you must download and install a small application; every time you fire up the program, a microphone check is necessary. After these steps, however, you are ready to go.
The second thing that’s impressive, even to the non-pedagogical among us, is that even after a few days of separation between segments, a fair amount stays with you.
I began my first “core” lesson last Tuesday and returned to it five days later. My pronunciation was still good, and my memory of the vocabulary was there.
I can’t spout off in the language yet, but after that five-day absence my confidence was bolstered by what I knew and was able to recall.
I began with simple words and, by the end of the core lesson, I was reading and repeating sentences.
Because the words and phrases are associated with pictures of people doing the described activity, learning and remembering was easier.
Now, I’d have to go through the entire course before telling you how well this all works. I’m off to a good start, however, and I’m enjoying this.
Details at www.rosettastone.com.
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