
 |
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon With its colorful cache of purples and oranges and reds, COLLARD GREEN SLAW is a marvelous mood booster --- not to mention just downright delish
April 18, 2014
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Clarifying one of the greatest philosophical conundrums in theology
John Ericson: Trying hard to be 'positive' but never succeeding? Blame Your Brain
The Kosher Gourmet by Julie Rothman Almondy, flourless torta del re (Italian king's cake), has royal roots, is simple to make, . . . but devour it because it's simply delicious
April 14, 2014
Rabbi Dr Naftali Brawer: Passover frees us from the tyranny of time
Eric Schulzke: First degree: How America really recovered from a murder epidemic
Georgia Lee: When love is not enough: Teaching your kids about the realities of adult relationships
Gordon Pape: How you can tell if your financial adviser is setting you up for potential ruin
Dana Dovey: Up to 500,000 people die each year from hepatitis C-related liver disease. New Treatment Has Over 90% Success Rate
Justin Caba: Eating Watermelon Can Help Control High Blood Pressure
April 11, 2014
Rabbi Hillel Goldberg: Silence is much more than golden
Susan Swann: How to value a child for who he is, not just what he does
Susan Scutti: A Simple Blood Test Might Soon Diagnose Cancer
Chris Weller: Have A Slow Metabolism? Let Science Speed It Up For You
April 9, 2014
Jonathan Tobin: Why Did Kerry Lie About Israeli Blame?
Samuel G. Freedman: A resolution 70 years later for a father's unsettling legacy of ashes from Dachau
Jessica Ivins: A resolution 70 years later for a father's unsettling legacy of ashes from Dachau
Matthew Mientka: How Beans, Peas, And Chickpeas Cleanse Bad Cholesterol and Lowers Risk of Heart Disease
April 8, 2014
Dana Dovey: Coffee Drinkers Rejoice! Your Cup Of Joe Can Prevent Death From Liver Disease
Chris Weller: Electric 'Thinking Cap' Puts Your Brain Power Into High Gear
April 4, 2014
Amy Peterson: A life of love: How to build lasting relationships with your children
John Ericson: Older Women: Save Your Heart, Prevent Stroke Don't Drink Diet
John Ericson: Why 50 million Americans will still have spring allergies after taking meds
Sarah Boesveld: Teacher keeps promise to mail thousands of former students letters written by their past selves
April 2, 2014
Dan Barry: Should South Carolina Jews be forced to maintain this chimney built by Germans serving the Nazis?
Frank Clayton: Get happy: 20 scientifically proven happiness activities
Susan Scutti: It's Genetic! Obesity and the 'Carb Breakdown' Gene
|
| |
Jewish World Review
April 11, 2008
/ 6 Nissan 5768
Online Language Lessons Stimulating
By
Mark Kellner
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
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 Rachel
Nahum (and, yes, she insisted on "Miss," despite being close to our
grandparents' ages) telling us what was right and wrong about our
pronunciation.
A desire to learn other languages has never left, and there are good
reasons for me to take up one or more such efforts now. An
Arlington-based firm, Rosetta Stone, Inc., whose headquarters recently
relocated from Harrisonburg, Virginia, is trying to meet that need
with both software-based language courses.
But it isn't just software, which I shall tackle shortly and review
here soon, by which you can learn. The firm is offering its services
online, for slightly more than $21.66 per month for individual
subscribers, or $259.95 per year, which works out to about 72-cents
per day. By contrast, the "Level 1" software sells for $209; if you
want all three levels of the course, available for a number of
languages, it'll set you back $499.
The online program covers the 31 languages in which Rosetta Stone
teaches, ranging from Arabic to Welsh and including both Spanish for
Spain and Spanish for Latin America. It would seem to support most Web
browsers, including Apple's Safari 3.1, with which I tested the
software, as well as both 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, in what the firm claims is a method
similar to the way we learned our first language: the company calls
this "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 as close to the Spanish in which I
drilled long ago. Thus, hearing correct pronunciations was crucial:
the online program "hears" - and judges - my pronunciation. In the
first "core lesson" of the first lesson of the first unit in
Portuguese, I scored 109 correct, 9 incorrect, for a score of 92
percent correct.
There are several things that impress me here. First off is the sheer
technical quality of the online presentation. It would be very easy
for such a system to have massive hiccups; so far, I haven't found
any, even though I tried. When setting up the online version, you need
to download and install a small application; every time you fire up
the program, a microphone check is necessary. After these steps,
however, you're 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 without. I began that first "core" lesson on April
1, 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 speaking, or more
properly, 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 have the feeling that my reading and speaking
will be rather good, if I continue diligently. I'm off to a good
start, however, and I'm enjoying this. Details at
www.rosettastone.com.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Mark Kellner has reported on technology for industry newspapers and magazines since 1983, and has been the computer columnist for The Washington Times since 1991.Comment by clicking here.
Archives
© 2008, News World Communications, Inc. Reprinted with permission of The Washington Times. Visit the paper at http://www.washingtontimes.com
|
|
Columnists
Toons
Lifestyles
|