Learning a new language - recommendations?

16 years ago

My husband casually mentioned to one of the kids that he was interested in studying Italian. He studied German and Latin in college and even had a professor from Germany who taught an honors class in chemistry - in German. Luckily his wife was the German instructor.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a language course that he could study at home? We were thinking of buying Rosetta Stone as a Father's Day gift but I don't know anyone who has used it. Actually I don't know any adult who has learned another language.

I do know that if he passes I'll treat him to a trip to Italy as a graduation gift!

Any thoughts?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (11)

Kathsgrdn
16 years ago
I've heard the Rosetta Stone courses were good too, but like you don't know anyone who's actually used them. Alex wants me to buy him the French and German ones. He's taking French in school and we're planning to go to Germany and France next year on vacation. Hope someone posts who actually used them.
alisande
16 years ago
No suggestions from me other than this one: You should learn Italian, too. "If you don't use it, you lose it" certainly applies to languages.

Sounds like such fun!
Related Discussions
Newer than new...how do I learn?
Q
Comments (17)
When I started out gardening, I bought books. A few very interesting and helpful English ones - look for Christopher Lloyd and Vita Sackville-West. I would also recommend Cassandra Danz - learning all that stuff is difficult enough, why not having a bit of fun while at it? Secondly, sit and think. What do you want - as opposed to 'what does everybody else do'. Do you want an ocean of flowers and fragrance, do you want edibles, do you want low maintenance, do you want an evening garden or a morning garden, is *your* time of the year spring or fall... While you're wondering and reading, ammend the soil: compost, mulch and green manure every inch you can see with the unarmed eye. You have all the time in the world, and a year of doing nothing but reading, ammending the soil and thinking will get you *your dream garden* actually earlier than stuffing some plants into some earth and wondering why they die instantly. The fora at the gardenweb are an incredible source of know-how and compassion - you can find out a lot about almost everything, and sometimes all the questions that you might have are already discussed in depth and your growing zone. Lastly a plea: since you have to learn a lot anyhow, learn the correct things: plants have botanical names, and these are the correct names. Do not, please, neverever, use common names - because common names are neither common nor correct... finding out about the needs of a special plant if all you know is some name that nobody else ever heard is a time consuming and frustrating way to kill a plant. Besides that, botanical names are world-wide and language-independent - so you can read about gardens all over the world and know what plants they are talking about :) Good luck!
...See More
If you could learn something new for a day.....
Q
Comments (23)
Joann, hate to disappoint... I have a stunning kitchen with beautiful appliances but haven't a clue how to cook. I have no basic cooking skills and really very little desire to cook. My mother hated cooking and was terrible at it so that I was never taught anything. The only thing I did in the kitchen as a child was wash dishes, make coffee in a percolator and try to find my mother's meatloaf recipe so I could toss it away! :-) I figure if I spent a day learning the basics with the right person, a love for the art of cooking might rub off on me.
...See More
Do you have interest in learning 2nd or 3rd language?
Q
Comments (35)
Three of my great grandparents came from Canada and spoke French in their homes. I was raised in a primarily Franco American community and attended parochial school through 6th grade where 1/2 of the school day was taught in French. Sunday Mass was said in French. My parents, aunts and uncles spoke good English but a fond memory I have of holidays are of conversations going back and forth between French & English. Relatives always sang and spoke to little babies in French because it was "softer". As a child I used to dream in French. What a rude awakening, though, when I took French in HS! My background sure was a mixed blessing. I could read and write well, roll my r's but there was such a distinct difference between Parisian French & what I grew up with that it I had a lot to unlearn. I ended up doing well in both French & Latin. But sad to say, by the time we did a student exchange when DS was in HS with a family from Brittany, I hadn't used my polished up version of French in decades and what surfaced was my Eliza Doolittle version ;) At least we could all communicate. I've always wished I'd kept up with it. When we visited Paris in 2011 I was able to read, but was too shy to try to use my French. I wish I could learn Turkish. My DIL is from Turkey and DH & I did our best to learn a few phrases before we met her family. It is a hard language to learn. My DS is fluent in 4 other languages but struggles mightily with Turkish. He & DIL have lived in Denmark for 7 yrs. With my 2 yr. old GDD they speak English at home as a family, and DIL speaks Turkish to her and she Skypes in Turkish with her other grandmother. At daycare they speak Danish. Surprisingly, GDD, seems to be grasping all 3 languages and answers in the language spoken to her. That's the time of life to learn easily, it seems. Holly-Kay, go for it! And thank you for the inspirthing post!
...See More
Have you learned any new lessons this growing season? I have.
Q
Comments (48)
Mary from NY, On the subject of midge and hybrid rugosas....in the wild we know that roses usually do not grow in large single species groups as we are prone to grow them in our gardens. There is one rose here and another yonder, in nature. For a midge to find a wild rose bush, and locate its growing tip specifically, could be a formidable task for a tiny insect that spends its life at ground level mostly, and rose bushes are far apart. I believe each rose bush has its own population of midge living at or near the ground beneath it. They appear to be home bodies, not usually traveling far in search of a rose except when growing tips are scarce, or other factors like the wind come into play. I was told by an entomologist friend that the female midge probably follows an unique scent trail given off by a rose's growing tips in locating the correct part of the rose to lay her eggs. Makes sense to me. Now comes into play our hybrid rugosas. I grew/tried over 30 varieties of hybrid rugosas, and found not one of them susceptible to midge....beautiful, powerfully fragrant flowers all season long. Why? Perhaps their growing tip scent trail is not alluring to midge? Maybe there is a toxic substance to midge maggots found in hybrid rugosa growing tips? The rugosa species is native to cold East Asia. Midge may not even exist there. The frilly growing tips of hybrid rugosas may not feel right to a female midge, so she goes elsewhere in search of a proper place to lay her eggs. Whatever the case, the hybrid rugosas I grew for a number of years never were bothered by midge. If they were, they would have been 'dead ducks', since spraying for midge would likely have severely damaged their foliage. Their foliage is tough, but not able to take chemicals of any sort, even foliar Miracle Grow feedings. Now a mild organic foliar feeding like fish emulsion, manure tea, or seaweed could not do any foliar damage. I never used these on my hybrid rugosas, so I don't know for sure. Sharon's Polareis looks like a real winner. I never grew it. I think it came out into commerce after I got out of hybrid rugosas. From the photos on HMFR, of bush shots of Polareis, it looks like the heaviest blooming hybrid rugosa variety I have ever seen! My favorite three hybrid rugosas I grew, were/are: Henry Hudson, Schneekoppe (Ger.); (aka. Snow Pavement, "Pavement" meaning ground covering or ground carpeting), and Roseraie de l'Hay. Mary, I hate to see you get out of roses. Midge is a very disheartening plague, and gut punches you like a street fighter. Hybrid Rugosas are the light at the end of the tunnel. Moses
...See More
Happy_Go_Lucky_Gayle
16 years ago
I'm doing the Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur conversational Spanish. It didn't come with a book. I take notes and study from my notes. What I'm finding is I can actually "spell" in Spanish sometimes. LOL! Just like English. LOL! I had Spanish in 7th Grade, that was it. But, I can still remember a little.

I have studied French in the Early 80's. In the 90's I studied German. I used Berlitz with Books and Tapes. I did well with both because I had friends from France and Austria. It helps to practice with someone who knows the "proper" grammar. I found many words or Phrases from Berlitz were incorrect.

BTW! Now learning Spanish has somehow erased my German and French from my Brain. LOL! System Overload I guess. You have to use it or loose it like Alisande says.

Good Luck!

Gayle
iowagirl2006
16 years ago
My DD has been using Rosetta Stone and she likes it (Spanish)

It is expensive though!
sue_va
16 years ago
What a coicidence! Anybody here who can translate this?

"Fiesta Mexicana. Estas in bitado ala fiesta mexicana. Ven Ven te bas a divertir!"

It is on our Activities Calendar for later this month.

Here are a couple translations I got from googling translations.

1.Fiesta Mexicana. These bites wing party in Mexico. Come Come bas to entertain you!

2.Mexican Celebration. These in bitado wing Mexican celebration. They see See you bas amuse!

I gather we might be eating wings and laughing?

My two years of Spanish in High School didn't cover that!

Sue
mcmann
Original Author
16 years ago
I think this is the translation.

Mexican Fiesta. You are invited to the Mexican fiesta. Come, come you will enjoy yourself.

The problem is that whoever typed it substituted the letter 'b' for the letter 'v'. So the verb vitar (to invite) was typed bitar. I think they did the same thing to 'bas' which should have been 'vas'.

I hope your going it sounds like fun.
sue_va
16 years ago
McMann,
I like your translation better. Yes, I will be going. I do wonder why they aren't having it on the 5th. Wish I had something Mexican to wear.

Thanks.

Sue
Happy_Go_Lucky_Gayle
16 years ago
Sue,

Just wear something bright and colorful you will "blend". LOL! Have fun!
caroline23
15 years ago
IÂm French and last year I decided to go to Rome so as to improve my level in this lovely language. I choose a reputable organization Nacel and I stayed 4 weeks there. I stayed in a typical Italian family which was very welcoming. The school was very nice; we took courses in a very elegant building surrounded by a big garden. Actually I have a real passion for this country and for Italian culture and I was very glad to visit some beautiful monuments the afternoons and week ends. I really recommend that school if someone is looking for improving his level and I think that the host family also helped me a lot! I donÂt remember the name of the school but I just found the link of the program I made

I hope it can be useful!!

Bye!

Here is a link that might be useful: LANGUAGE SCHOOL IN ROME
mcmann
Original Author
15 years ago
Caroline - That would be a wonderful opportunity. I can see where it would really help improve your skill level. I think I'll contact my high school and ask the head of the Language Program if they might recommend a course too.
caroline23
15 years ago
Hi!

Yes it really helped me..Good luck and enjoy Italia!

Learning a new language - recommendations?

Comments (11)

Kathsgrdn

alisande

Related Discussions

Happy_Go_Lucky_Gayle

iowagirl2006

sue_va

mcmann
Original Author

sue_va

Happy_Go_Lucky_Gayle

caroline23

mcmann
Original Author

caroline23

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Learning a new language - recommendations?

Comments (11)

Related Discussions

mcmannOriginal Author

mcmannOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

mcmann
Original Author

mcmann
Original Author