Best Way to Learn Languages
sparrowbird52
Hello All, My son is 16 and trying to learn Spanish. He is doing several things on his own, but we were looking into Rosetta Stone. They are offering it to the school district we are in at quite a reduced rate. I called them and ask if they would offer the same rate for us, homeschoolers, in the same district. He said no, that they can't. I thought that was too bad and an example of homeschoolers being penalized. I hope I don't sound like a whiner, but I have to admit I felt put out by it all. Anyway, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
lydia reiter
My daughter used the Mango language course to learn Japanese. She accessed it online through a library. You could check to see if your library has something similar. We live in a small town and our town's library did not offer much so for $50 a year we get a family membership to a library system in a larger city about 100 miles from our home. We are able to use many online resources that way.
Lydia Reiter
________________________________
From: sparrowbird52 <sparrowbird52@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 3:38 AM
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] Best Way to Learn Languages
Hello All, My son is 16 and trying to learn Spanish. He is doing several things on his own, but we were looking into Rosetta Stone. They are offering it to the school district we are in at quite a reduced rate. I called them and ask if they would offer the same rate for us, homeschoolers, in the same district. He said no, that they can't. I thought that was too bad and an example of homeschoolers being penalized. I hope I don't sound like a whiner, but I have to admit I felt put out by it all. Anyway, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Lydia Reiter
________________________________
From: sparrowbird52 <sparrowbird52@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 3:38 AM
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] Best Way to Learn Languages
Hello All, My son is 16 and trying to learn Spanish. He is doing several things on his own, but we were looking into Rosetta Stone. They are offering it to the school district we are in at quite a reduced rate. I called them and ask if they would offer the same rate for us, homeschoolers, in the same district. He said no, that they can't. I thought that was too bad and an example of homeschoolers being penalized. I hope I don't sound like a whiner, but I have to admit I felt put out by it all. Anyway, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Cara Barlow
<<<My son is 16 and trying to learn Spanish. He is doing several things on
his own, but we were looking into Rosetta Stone.....>>>
There are so many ways to learn languages! Let go of your resentment
towards the school district and stop trying to get Rosetta Stone - there
are too many other wonderful things to do.
Rent Spanish language movies that have English subtitles.
Go to your library's website and see if they offer an online language
program - the one that my library offers is called Mango Languages.
Youtube - one of the best places to learn something new.
Find a Spanish conversation group - the library or a local community center
are good places to look for this.
If you google "skype" and "learning Spanish" all kinds of possibilities
come up.
Travel - the best way to learn a language is to immerse yourself.
Spanish books, dictionaries, language CDs and mp3s that you can find in a
bookstore, online or through your library.
What he chooses to do will depend on his interests. Does he want to learn
conversational Spanish? Does he also want to read and write it?
Best wishes, Cara
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
his own, but we were looking into Rosetta Stone.....>>>
There are so many ways to learn languages! Let go of your resentment
towards the school district and stop trying to get Rosetta Stone - there
are too many other wonderful things to do.
Rent Spanish language movies that have English subtitles.
Go to your library's website and see if they offer an online language
program - the one that my library offers is called Mango Languages.
Youtube - one of the best places to learn something new.
Find a Spanish conversation group - the library or a local community center
are good places to look for this.
If you google "skype" and "learning Spanish" all kinds of possibilities
come up.
Travel - the best way to learn a language is to immerse yourself.
Spanish books, dictionaries, language CDs and mp3s that you can find in a
bookstore, online or through your library.
What he chooses to do will depend on his interests. Does he want to learn
conversational Spanish? Does he also want to read and write it?
Best wishes, Cara
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Bob Collier
--- In [email protected], "sparrowbird52" <sparrowbird52@...> wrote:
The guy who created this site, Steve Kaufmann, has quite an unconventional attitude to learning languages. His blog is at http://thelinguist.blogs.com/
Bob
>LingQ is worth a look: http://www.lingq.com/
> Hello All, My son is 16 and trying to learn Spanish. He is doing several things on his own, but we were looking into Rosetta Stone. They are offering it to the school district we are in at quite a reduced rate. I called them and ask if they would offer the same rate for us, homeschoolers, in the same district. He said no, that they can't. I thought that was too bad and an example of homeschoolers being penalized. I hope I don't sound like a whiner, but I have to admit I felt put out by it all. Anyway, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
>
The guy who created this site, Steve Kaufmann, has quite an unconventional attitude to learning languages. His blog is at http://thelinguist.blogs.com/
Bob
Claire Darbaud
Immersion is definitely the best way to learn. If you're in North
America, a trip to Guatemala or Honduras can be cheap and a lot of
fun. When I visited Honduras years ago, I hanged out with a bunch of
student from the Guacamaya school of spanish, as well as the owner of
the school. I was very impressed.
The school offers full board in a Honduran family and garantees a one
student per family ratio. There is one to one tutoring in the morning,
some fun activities and sight seing (as a group) in the afternoon. The
students were very enthousiast about their experience. A lot of
backpackers on a world tour start their exploration of south america
by staying with one of those small local school for 2 to 4 weeks to
learn spanish before they explore South America I met some students
who had been there for 2 or 3 weeks and they knew WAY more spanish
then me and my 4 years of studying spanish in school.
http://www.guacamaya.com - it's a small, local school, it belongs to a
very friendly Honduran family and it helps feed lots of locals. I wish
I had stayed longer to get fluent in spanish too...
There are lots of schools like that in Honduras and Guatemala (and
probably other central/south american countries).
Claire
America, a trip to Guatemala or Honduras can be cheap and a lot of
fun. When I visited Honduras years ago, I hanged out with a bunch of
student from the Guacamaya school of spanish, as well as the owner of
the school. I was very impressed.
The school offers full board in a Honduran family and garantees a one
student per family ratio. There is one to one tutoring in the morning,
some fun activities and sight seing (as a group) in the afternoon. The
students were very enthousiast about their experience. A lot of
backpackers on a world tour start their exploration of south america
by staying with one of those small local school for 2 to 4 weeks to
learn spanish before they explore South America I met some students
who had been there for 2 or 3 weeks and they knew WAY more spanish
then me and my 4 years of studying spanish in school.
http://www.guacamaya.com - it's a small, local school, it belongs to a
very friendly Honduran family and it helps feed lots of locals. I wish
I had stayed longer to get fluent in spanish too...
There are lots of schools like that in Honduras and Guatemala (and
probably other central/south american countries).
Claire
BRIAN POLIKOWSKY
The best way to learn a language is by immersion. Would he want to go spend a month in Spain or another Spanish speaking Country ?
Other things to do is watch movies in Spanish , listen to music in Spanish and even the Spanish TV!
Before you buy Rosetta Stone check at your library as they may have it. Or another program he can try it out.
I say Music is a really good and fun way to learn!!! Find the lyrics , sing the songs , translate them !|My niece spoke English really well
by the age o 15 because of music.
Alex Polikowsky
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Other things to do is watch movies in Spanish , listen to music in Spanish and even the Spanish TV!
Before you buy Rosetta Stone check at your library as they may have it. Or another program he can try it out.
I say Music is a really good and fun way to learn!!! Find the lyrics , sing the songs , translate them !|My niece spoke English really well
by the age o 15 because of music.
Alex Polikowsky
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Lisa Biskup
You have already gotten several great recommendations and I agree that immersion is the best way to learn a new language.
I am currently learning French and I spend several hours per day listening to French radio on my iPhone/computer, using www.lingq.com, www.busuu.com, Mango via my library, and as many authentic resources I can find (and the internet is amazing for that!). Most of the movies I watch these days are in French.
He might also be interested in reading bloggers who write about their language learning experiences. One entertaining chap is Benny the Irish Polyglot. He is currently on a mission to learn Mandarin.
His blog is:
http://www.fluentin3months.com/
Where do you live? Are there opportunities to hang out with Spanish-speaking people?
Another good site that has a lot of FREE stuff is
http://learn-spanish.language101.com/
I learned Spanish while living in Spain during my junior year of high school (age 15/16). It took me about 3 months until I could speak comfortably (those first months were just total immersion, listening and putting it all together) and by the end I was getting all As in my classes, doing everything in Spanish. So, if he is up for being a foreign exchange student (maybe with a homeschooling family), traveling, or living with a host family, that would be awesome, even if it is only for 3 months.
Lisa Biskup
Port Townsend, WA
I am currently learning French and I spend several hours per day listening to French radio on my iPhone/computer, using www.lingq.com, www.busuu.com, Mango via my library, and as many authentic resources I can find (and the internet is amazing for that!). Most of the movies I watch these days are in French.
He might also be interested in reading bloggers who write about their language learning experiences. One entertaining chap is Benny the Irish Polyglot. He is currently on a mission to learn Mandarin.
His blog is:
http://www.fluentin3months.com/
Where do you live? Are there opportunities to hang out with Spanish-speaking people?
Another good site that has a lot of FREE stuff is
http://learn-spanish.language101.com/
I learned Spanish while living in Spain during my junior year of high school (age 15/16). It took me about 3 months until I could speak comfortably (those first months were just total immersion, listening and putting it all together) and by the end I was getting all As in my classes, doing everything in Spanish. So, if he is up for being a foreign exchange student (maybe with a homeschooling family), traveling, or living with a host family, that would be awesome, even if it is only for 3 months.
Lisa Biskup
Port Townsend, WA
[email protected]
Watch CHILDRENs programmes, it is such a great way to learn a language! You can learn all the simple, yet important colloquial phrases that people usually never learn with one of these traditional adult courses.
I watch a lot of Chuggington with my little one at the moment, and we are both learning so much English, it is incredible. I am getting addicted, I think I need more..:-) Luckily, there is a lot more stuff like that out there.
I watch a lot of Chuggington with my little one at the moment, and we are both learning so much English, it is incredible. I am getting addicted, I think I need more..:-) Luckily, there is a lot more stuff like that out there.
sparrowbird52
Thank you so much to everyone for all of the helpful suggestions. My son has several Spaish Dictionaries and is exploring a lot of possibilities. I hope I didn't sound too angry about the Rosetta Stone and the situation with the school district and them getting a discount on the program. I don't blame anyone for that, especially the actual school district. I think I was just frustrated that we weren't able to utilize the same "deal" as the schools here. Anyway, I appreciate all of you and your support. We have a good library system here and I think that's where we will start along with the websites you have suggested. He has been using some online resources, but now he has even more from some of you. I will keep you posted. :)
Debbie
Debbie
--- In [email protected], Claire Darbaud <cdarbaud@...> wrote:
>
> Immersion is definitely the best way to learn. If you're in North
> America, a trip to Guatemala or Honduras can be cheap and a lot of
> fun. When I visited Honduras years ago, I hanged out with a bunch of
> student from the Guacamaya school of spanish, as well as the owner of
> the school. I was very impressed.
>
> The school offers full board in a Honduran family and garantees a one
> student per family ratio. There is one to one tutoring in the morning,
> some fun activities and sight seing (as a group) in the afternoon. The
> students were very enthousiast about their experience. A lot of
> backpackers on a world tour start their exploration of south america
> by staying with one of those small local school for 2 to 4 weeks to
> learn spanish before they explore South America I met some students
> who had been there for 2 or 3 weeks and they knew WAY more spanish
> then me and my 4 years of studying spanish in school.
>
> http://www.guacamaya.com - it's a small, local school, it belongs to a
> very friendly Honduran family and it helps feed lots of locals. I wish
> I had stayed longer to get fluent in spanish too...
>
> There are lots of schools like that in Honduras and Guatemala (and
> probably other central/south american countries).
>
> Claire
>
Kathryn
Hello --
My 10 y/o daughter Mia wants to learn Scottish Gaelic, and I came across a website where people exchange their language skills. I think it is all free; we haven't yet started to take advantage, but it is there when she asks. I didn't think we would have Any responses, as I'm sure all Gaelic speaking folk can speak English; nothing to 'exchange' so to speak. But we Did have had a response (from a person who is fluent in English too) so I suppose this is even Better!
http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/
Kathryn
My 10 y/o daughter Mia wants to learn Scottish Gaelic, and I came across a website where people exchange their language skills. I think it is all free; we haven't yet started to take advantage, but it is there when she asks. I didn't think we would have Any responses, as I'm sure all Gaelic speaking folk can speak English; nothing to 'exchange' so to speak. But we Did have had a response (from a person who is fluent in English too) so I suppose this is even Better!
http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/
Kathryn
--- In [email protected], "jumping.higher@..." <jumping.higher@...> wrote:
>
>
> Watch CHILDRENs programmes, it is such a great way to learn a language! You can learn all the simple, yet important colloquial phrases that people usually never learn with one of these traditional adult courses.
> I watch a lot of Chuggington with my little one at the moment, and we are both learning so much English, it is incredible. I am getting addicted, I think I need more..:-) Luckily, there is a lot more stuff like that out there.
>
Melanie Guyette
If you are looking for a way to get discounts on homeschool resources, then you
should check out the website www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org. Membership is free
and you can get some really great discounts on websites. My 9 year old daughter
was able to get a membership to Ice Cream Scoops website at a great discounted
rate. It would be a great resource to check out. They do have discount offers on
different foreign language programs. I hope this helps.
Melanie
________________________________
From: sparrowbird52 <sparrowbird52@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tue, February 14, 2012 10:09:18 PM
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] Re: Best Way to Learn Languages
Thank you so much to everyone for all of the helpful suggestions. My son has
several Spaish Dictionaries and is exploring a lot of possibilities. I hope I
didn't sound too angry about the Rosetta Stone and the situation with the school
district and them getting a discount on the program. I don't blame anyone for
that, especially the actual school district. I think I was just frustrated that
we weren't able to utilize the same "deal" as the schools here. Anyway, I
appreciate all of you and your support. We have a good library system here and I
think that's where we will start along with the websites you have suggested. He
has been using some online resources, but now he has even more from some of you.
I will keep you posted. :)
Debbie
should check out the website www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org. Membership is free
and you can get some really great discounts on websites. My 9 year old daughter
was able to get a membership to Ice Cream Scoops website at a great discounted
rate. It would be a great resource to check out. They do have discount offers on
different foreign language programs. I hope this helps.
Melanie
________________________________
From: sparrowbird52 <sparrowbird52@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tue, February 14, 2012 10:09:18 PM
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] Re: Best Way to Learn Languages
Thank you so much to everyone for all of the helpful suggestions. My son has
several Spaish Dictionaries and is exploring a lot of possibilities. I hope I
didn't sound too angry about the Rosetta Stone and the situation with the school
district and them getting a discount on the program. I don't blame anyone for
that, especially the actual school district. I think I was just frustrated that
we weren't able to utilize the same "deal" as the schools here. Anyway, I
appreciate all of you and your support. We have a good library system here and I
think that's where we will start along with the websites you have suggested. He
has been using some online resources, but now he has even more from some of you.
I will keep you posted. :)
Debbie
--- In [email protected], Claire Darbaud <cdarbaud@...> wrote:
>
> Immersion is definitely the best way to learn. If you're in North
> America, a trip to Guatemala or Honduras can be cheap and a lot of
> fun. When I visited Honduras years ago, I hanged out with a bunch of
> student from the Guacamaya school of spanish, as well as the owner of
> the school. I was very impressed.
>
> The school offers full board in a Honduran family and garantees a one
> student per family ratio. There is one to one tutoring in the morning,
> some fun activities and sight seing (as a group) in the afternoon. The
> students were very enthousiast about their experience. A lot of
> backpackers on a world tour start their exploration of south america
> by staying with one of those small local school for 2 to 4 weeks to
> learn spanish before they explore South America I met some students
> who had been there for 2 or 3 weeks and they knew WAY more spanish
> then me and my 4 years of studying spanish in school.
>
> http://www.guacamaya.com - it's a small, local school, it belongs to a
> very friendly Honduran family and it helps feed lots of locals. I wish
> I had stayed longer to get fluent in spanish too...
>
> There are lots of schools like that in Honduras and Guatemala (and
> probably other central/south american countries).
>
> Claire
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]