Rosetta Stone is the fastest, easiest and most fun way I can imagine to learn a language. The theory behind the system is to look, listen and repeat the words in each lesson until you have “learned” them, which is quite different from just memorizing them. This is much the same way that children learn language skills.

I knew that I was going to spend two weeks in France and I knew that it would be a lot more fun if I could communicate. I had two months in which to prepare and I thought that if I spent an hour a day, every day, I would be able to make myself understood. I was not trying to be fluent, but I did want to be able ask basic questions and understand the answers.

The purpose of language is to communicate and it is nice if every verb is correct and your accent is perfect. It is nice, but it is not necessary. You do not have to memorize long and complicated lists of verbs. Rosetta Stone, through a series of spoken words and pictures, actually teaches you grammar without making it a chore. You learn to communicate simple ideas and questions and very quickly, you realize that what you are doing is fun. If you are starting with no prior knowledge of the language, in just a few days you are able to ask simple questions….and hopefully understand the answers.

For example: Where is the toilet? Where is the restaurant? Where is the metro? Pretty easy, right? At the same time you are learning a whole bunch of nouns…..supermarket, hotel, street, telephone, taxi etc. With a lot of repetition and minimal effort, you have learned how to locate a number of things and places. You add a few more useful words like: near, far, right, left, up, down and when you get to your destination, you will be able to add a whole list of tourist sites to your vocabulary. In Paris, The Eiffel Tower will be understood in either French or English and you might even have learned that it is the Tower Eiffel. At any rate, you will be able to find it.

I think by now that you have begun to get the picture. There are dozens of phrases that expand your vocabulary very quickly: How? When? Who? What and How much. And as you add nouns your communication level rises very quickly and you are actually able to communicate in sentences.

You also learn how to listen which is very important. The sounds of the language become familiar and as you repeat the sounds over and over, you learn not to “tune them out.” This is the same thing a child does, but it is more difficult for an adult, because we already have a pre-conceived notion of language. We almost have to “unlearn” or learn new ways which become familiar through repetition.

It worked for me. I asked lots of questions of people on the street, in restaurants and in department stores. I usually understood the answer. Once you are in a country and the majority of the people do not speak English, you learn that communicating is what is important…not English. That is what Rosetta Stone does. It enables you to communicate. You have learned a new language, a new skill and it is fun. Try it and I am sure you will agree.

For more information: www.rosetastone.com or e-mail info@rosettastone.com