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Is rosetta stone any good for learning Polish?

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sophie88Threads: 2 Posts: 15 Joined: Nov 17, 08 ♀	Nov 18, 08, 12:19 #1
i have no experience with languages, only my own, english, is rosetta stone any good?

kman67Threads: 2 Posts: 93 Joined: Nov 8, 07 ♂	Nov 18, 08, 12:34 #2
Hi Sophie, I actually posted something about Rosetta Stone earlier today. It's really good! I bought it about 6 months after I started dating my wife, who was originally from Poland. You will need a microphone as it will grade your speech as well. Someone also just posted that it's gone up to 550 bucks, so you're going to have to swallow hard like I did when I bought mine....

sophie88Threads: 2 Posts: 15 Joined: Nov 17, 08 ♀	Nov 18, 08, 15:27 #3
well its £140 for level one...............

VincentThreads: 15 Posts: 1,606 Joined: Sep 9, 07 ♂ [Moderator]	Edited by: Vincent Nov 18, 08, 15:40 #4
sophie88: well its £140 for level one If you know someone who can find their way around the net, you can get it for free. So i am told:) I think the first part can be downloaded from the Rosetta Stone site for free. Also there are some other threads about this product, just type Rosetta Stone into the search box at top of page.

sophie88Threads: 2 Posts: 15 Joined: Nov 17, 08 ♀	Nov 18, 08, 15:41 #5
hmmmm interesting thanks.... anyone who knows about this?

sledzThreads: 29 Posts: 3,202 Joined: Sep 19, 06 ♂	Nov 18, 08, 15:41 #6
kman67: it's gone up to 550 bucks, Thats crazy..it was less than half that when I purchased it. I hear you can get it for free off torrents, just do a search there must be 10 Rosetta Stone topics by now.

sophie88Threads: 2 Posts: 15 Joined: Nov 17, 08 ♀	Edited by: sophie88 Nov 19, 08, 14:02 #7
the torrents dont seem reliable. anybody selling a copy?

VincentThreads: 15 Posts: 1,606 Joined: Sep 9, 07 ♂ [Moderator]	Edited by: Vincent Nov 19, 08, 14:11 #8
sophie88: the torrents dont seem reliable. anybody selling a copy? someone was selling one the other day here ... sorry that was a different one....I am told that some of the torrents do work.

kman67Threads: 2 Posts: 93 Joined: Nov 8, 07 ♂	Nov 19, 08, 14:18 #9
sledz: Thats crazy..it was less than half that when I purchased it. I agree. I paid much less myself. but searching through Rosetta Stone's website, it looks as if they made a module #3. I only have 1 and 2...

BondiThreads: 4 Posts: 148 Joined: Sep 11, 07 ♂	Nov 20, 08, 14:24 #10
My only problem with this software is that the images have a low resolution. Don’t know if they’ve updated them in recent versions, though.

kman67Threads: 2 Posts: 93 Joined: Nov 8, 07 ♂	Nov 20, 08, 14:35 #11
I bought mine a couple years ago. The pictures were nothing to write home about, but you can still tell that a ball is a ball, an elephant is an elephant, etc.

HAL9009Threads: 2 Posts: 329 Joined: Mar 13, 07 ♂	Nov 30, 08, 17:41 #12
Rosetta Stone is very basic. Go here for a free and more comprehensive Polish course: http://polish.slavic.pitt.edu/

EN_ZThreads: 2 Posts: 3 Joined: Oct 28, 07 ♂	Dec 16, 08, 14:52 #13
FYI, a lot of people in the US Air Force can get access for free. Especially if you are on ACC or AFSOC (if this relates to you you'll know what that means) ;) Ask me if you have any questions.

♂

Edited by: tomekcatkins Dec 21, 08, 15:39 #14

I recommend "Basic Polish" to make a start. It is quite tough, but it learns you the grammar very well. When you are done with the first part, you could continue with "Intermediate Polish".

- Of course a decent dictionary (PL->EN / EN->PL) is advisable. -

For your vocabulary I recommend you, to start to read Polish children books. Look for them on-line, or even better; plan a visit to Poland (if you are able to) and buy them in a księgarnia yourself. :)

I have no experience with Rosetta Stone, but I don't think it will learn you as well the grammar and words as the above method does. Pronunciation is learned by just reading every word aloud. Polish has a consequent stress on the penultimate syllable.
If you would really improve your pronunciation, you should go live some time in Poland and/or apply for a language course in Poland.

westy

Dec 21, 08, 16:02 #15

I found Rosetta very dull and boring and would not recommend it considering the price. The structure of the course did not help me know how I was progressing. Aftera day, I knocked it on the head. Please try the demos before commiting funds.

I have tried pimsleur which also worked with repetition of words and phrases. Seemed to be slightly better structured.

I bought of Lingaphone course of ebay which was very old and not too bad. I have done the lingaphone French Course which was outstanding but the Polish one was a different style and not nearly as affective as the French one. Pity really, you would think Lingaphone might recognise the opportniity consifering this million Poles that have come to our shores.

The best (and a few others who have tried to learn the language) I found is Colloquial Polish (amazon.co.uk/Colloquial-Polish-Complete-Course-Beginners/dp/041515752 8). It's cheap and very well written. You are given a chapter at a time with some text, translation and the the grammar rules (very very important ) with some exercises at the end of each chapter. Compared to the others, it does feel very old fashioned but if it works, hey why not. Please note that the cd that goes with this is bought seperately and when I read the book, I asked my wife (who is Polish) to help me with some of the pronunctions which is important as well.

Good luck

♀

Feb 28, 09, 07:06 #16

Thread attached on merging:
Learning Polish with Rosetta Stone...?

I'm considering purchasing Rosetta Stone for Polish since I cannot seem to find anyone that lives nearby that is able to teach me Polish... I need (want) to learn Polish for my year-long abroad exchange trip this fall. My only current resource is pronunciation practice with my Polish exchange friend.

My main question is: Should I invest $500 in purchasing Rosetta Stone 1, 2, 3, or should I just buy the #1 and hope for the best? :P

sledzThreads: 29 Posts: 3,202 Joined: Sep 19, 06 ♂	Feb 28, 09, 07:55 #17
If anybody needs the English translations for level 1 I have them..PM me Without them go buy a Polish/English dictonary, because it will take you twice as long to figure out what there trying to describe in thier pictures.

MrBubblesThreads: 13 Posts: 768 Joined: Nov 13, 07 ♂	Feb 28, 09, 10:45 #18
Just out of interest, how much would a Pole in the UK charge per hour for Polish lessons? You could buy a coursebook and work through it together - most younger Polish emigrees will have had language lessons at some point and they'd have an idea what the score is. If it's only 10 pounds an hour, for the cost of Rosetta stone you could get 14 hours of lessons with a native speaker...

♂

Feb 28, 09, 15:49 #19

Im not planning on purchacing Level 2 and 3 its too diffucult and time consuming.
I contacted them to get the translations and they refused, luckily I was able to obtain them somewhere else and finished the course alot faster and easier.

The flaw is within thier pictures, you pretty much have to guess what they are meaning, so I found myself spending alot of time searching through a dictonary than actually using the program...Save your moneyand dont buy it.

This program is better and cheaper...[url=http://store.digitalriver.com/store/transpar/DisplayCat egoryProductListPage/categoryID.1444500][/url]

Shawn_H	Feb 28, 09, 15:50 #20
MrBubbles: how much would a Pole in the UK charge per hour for Polish lessons I think Wyspi was offering lessons at one point.

gaston909

May 19, 09, 14:47 #21

I found the rosetta stone level 1,2,3 great. I paid £400 for it but know for a fact it is available for free online. Obviously not legally.

Things to point out with rosetta stone, there are no translations, you work out what the words mean by applying logic. You dont need to try and translate the words that is not the idea, you are learning it like you leaarnt your first language.

1,2,3 of the polish rosetta stone gives you a basic grasp of the language and subtly teaches you some grammar rules. After completing the course and then doing a bit more advanced reading, I was able to learn everything else i needed to know from natives in the polish tongue.

Rosetta stone is quite time consuming though! In fact VERY, but it does force that language into your head quite well.

For example- It took my 4 days of going HARD at it (many hours a day)... to get 1/4 way through the 1st level. This is arguably the easiest bit of the course as well!!

♂

Edited by: SzwedwPolsce May 21, 09, 19:51 #22

I tried Rosetta one time. But I didn't like it. I want to get linguistic rules explained in a structured and logical manner. If I had continued to use Rosetta I would probably only get confused. But different learning techniques fit different persons.

I have been working as a language teacher in Sweden, teaching several languages. Maybe I am old fashioned, but I like the classic one; interesting dialog and then an explanation of the expressions and the grammar seen in the dialog.

♂

May 24, 09, 14:15 #23

Thread attached on merging:
Rosetta Stone course... any one with experience?

Hi,

I am actually learning Polish with Rosetta Stone.
I found it very interesting and I make good progress.
That is in my passive knowledge.

Am I impatient as where speaking is concerned or is their system aimed at getting your passive knowledge on a top level before getting you to speak?

Any input would be appreciated.

S

♂

May 24, 09, 14:55 #24

gaston909:

1,2,3 of the polish rosetta stone gives you a basic grasp of the language and subtly teaches you some grammar rules. After completing the course and then doing a bit more advanced reading, I was able to learn everything else i needed to know from natives in the polish tongue.

Rosetta stone is quite time consuming though! In fact VERY, but it does force that language into your head quite well.

For example- It took my 4 days of going HARD at it (many hours a day)... to get 1/4 way through the 1st level. This is arguably the easiest bit of the course as well!!

Gaston,

I need some encouragment on it. Right now I have the impression i can understand what the text and images say, but that seems about all.
After completing the whole course, would you have some tips? Will my speech improve (I do repeat all teh sentences and am pretty good at pronounciation.

Oh well, what the heck.. I just need a push in the back from someone...
When i listen to my friend speaking Polish it seems I only understand kurva...lol

thnx

S

♂

May 24, 09, 17:19 #25

serca:

I need some encouragment on it. Right now I have the impression i can understand what the text and images say, but that seems about all.
After completing the whole course, would you have some tips? Will my speech improve (I do repeat all teh sentences and am pretty good at pronounciation.

SzwedwPolsce:

melbelThreads: 2 Posts: 4 Joined: May 28, 09 ♀	Edited by: melbel May 28, 09, 20:48 #26
I got an amazing torrent which contains a ton of languages including Polish. It works for me. I got it off The Pirate Bay. There are a lot of seeders, so it'll be a quick download. http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/3865583/Rosetta_Stone_Ultimate_Languag e_Disk_v2.iso

EvanescentBlooThreads: 1 Posts: 2 Joined: May 28, 09 ♀	Jul 7, 09, 17:59 #27
Before I get into downloading that, is that something reliable and safe to use? The last thing I want is another virus on my laptop.

mbiernatThreads: 3 Posts: 116 Joined: Sep 24, 08 ♂	Jul 7, 09, 20:17 #28
It does not work for Polish because does not deal with Polish word changes properly. Its eye candy for Americans that have lots of cash to shell out and want a magic solution. That is my personal experience.

mXcThreads: - Posts: 2 Joined: Mar 10, 10 ♂	Edited by: mXc Mar 10, 10, 19:11 #29
EN_Z: I would love to learn more about this, I have a family member who is ACC. I cannot PM you though because I am a new member.

vndunneThreads: 71 Posts: 337 Joined: Jan 12, 07 ♂	Mar 11, 10, 13:21 #30
Hi. I highly recommend the polish course on www.supermemo.net. You can doa beginers course for about EUR30..also, you can buy a book with all the course in it as well. i am currently trying a number of self teach options, and i did find this very good both from a content perspective and from a value perspective. You can try it out for free to see for yourself. Vincent