Free "Rosetta Stone" alternative?

[CJ Master]

For those that don't know, Rosetta stone is a program that helps you to learn languages (as in talking, not computer languages.) It shows you several pictures and tells you their names, and it progresses until you can make basic grammar and know most of the vocabluary.

Problem is, it's expensive as heck, and it doesn't even have the language I want to learn right now. (Interlingua) So is there a free alternative (as in free beer, although as in freedom is a nice plus.) If not, is there any free program that helps someone learn a language? I dual boot Windows and Linux.

Thanks! :)

[LookTJ]

You could always try livemocha.com :)

[CJ Master]

You could always try livemocha.com :)

Thanks, that site looks cool, but it doesn't offer interlingua. :(

[Wiebelhaus]

The BBC's Website offers full and fully free language lessons of all major languages.

[Namtabmai]

The BBC site does? Can you post a link?

I'd almost regret cancelling my license fee if this turns out to be any good.

[hansdown]

Hi CJ Master.

A couple of links that may lead to more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interlingua#External_links

http://interlingua.org/default.aspx

[CJ Master]

Hi CJ Master.

A couple of links that may lead to more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interlingua#External_links

http://interlingua.org/default.aspx

I didn't see any Interlingua on the BBC page...

I already looked at the external links, with no success.

The official site has a English-Interlingua dictionary, but that's really not the best way to learn. :P

[days_of_ruin]

Whats interlingua? From the name is sounds kinda like a esperanto type language.

[CJ Master]

Whats interlingua? From the name is sounds kinda like a esperanto type language.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interlingua

[Sublime Porte]

Rosetta stone doesn't work with wine?

[CJ Master]

Rosetta stone doesn't work with wine?

Did you even read the fist post? >.>

[chriskin]

Rosetta stone doesn't work with wine?

the problem is the money needed to get it, not the os it works on, the op said that he dual-boots either way.

[DMcA]

I don't have a suggestions with respect to software, although I would love something like this, specifically for German and Spanish. I've written a basic vocab trainer myself, but vocab on it's own is pretty boring.

I wouldn't suggest learning interlingua though, aside from perhaps as a route to learning more complex Roman languages. And if that's your goal then you could probably learn it from a book and use software for other languages. I mean, interlingua seems incredibly easy - I've never studied it by I can virtually understand written texts. I don't think it would take more than a few hours of grammar and a few days of vocab training to achieve a pretty decent level of proficiency.

[drawkcab]

I doubt if there are any such courses for Interlingua.

[CJ Master]

I wouldn't suggest learning interlingua though, aside from perhaps as a route to learning more complex Roman languages. And if that's your goal then you could probably learn it from a book and use software for other languages. I mean, interlingua seems incredibly easy - I've never studied it by I can virtually understand written texts. I don't think it would take more than a few hours of grammar and a few days of vocab training to achieve a pretty decent level of proficiency.

Interlingua is a pretty steady base on which to learn other languages. I realise that if I mention "I know Interlingua!" to other people, I'll probably just get a few blank faces, but I feel that there's no harm in having another language under my belt, an I believe it will help me in learning other languages (including German.)

I'm a slow learner, so it'd probably take me a while. I'd really like a free "course" in it where I can just go at my own speed. :)

[mc4100]

Interlingua is a pretty steady base on which to learn other languages. I realise that if I mention "I know Interlingua!" to other people, I'll probably just get a few blank faces, but I feel that there's no harm in having another language under my belt, an I believe it will help me in learning other languages (including German.)

I'm a slow learner, so it'd probably take me a while. I'd really like a free "course" in it where I can just go at my own speed. :)
I know it's not the best solution, at all, but moving to esperanto instead opens up some pretty decent web stuff for learning (http://en.lernu.net/).

[DMcA]

Interlingua is a pretty steady base on which to learn other languages. I realise that if I mention "I know Interlingua!" to other people, I'll probably just get a few blank faces, but I feel that there's no harm in having another language under my belt, an I believe it will help me in learning other languages (including German.)

I'm a slow learner, so it'd probably take me a while. I'd really like a free "course" in it where I can just go at my own speed. :)

Well that's fair enough. However, I don't think it will help you with german particularly, I mean most of the languages from which it is derived are about as closely related to German as Hindi is. That said the process of learning a language itself does help learning entirely unrelated languages (in children at least, this has been shown), and learning for learning's sake is admirable.

I find the concept of interlingua very interesting but I would not personally care to devote a large amount of time to it. Here's an alternative suggestion; learn latin. I admit, it would be a lot more challenging but perhaps more rewarding in the long-run.

Latin is the language from which all the languages that derive interlingua are themselves derived (more or less). It is far more complex than interlingua but there is a huge body of resources out there for learning it (my personal recommendation would be the Cambridge Latin course, although I don't know how accessible this is to individuals as opposed to educational bodies).

Learning Latin fulfils a similar purpose to learning interlingiua (assuming you don't want to actually speak the language, something you're highly unlikely to do with interlingua anyway) but also gives you access to a large volume of some of the finest poetry every written. I failed spectacularly to garner any appreciation of literature in my English lessons at school, Latin made me realise that the humanities actually did have something going for them.

The downside, of course, is that latin is extremely difficult. I think a lot of people get put off it early on by this and by old-school classics teachers, who are legendary for their boringness. But if you're going at your own pace, there's no rush and it's very rewarding if done well.

All said, don't let me put you off interlingua if it's that or nothing.

[drawkcab]

Well that's fair enough. However, I don't think it will help you with german particularly, I mean most of the languages from which it is derived are about as closely related to German as Hindi is. That said the process of learning a language itself does help learning entirely unrelated languages (in children at least, this has been shown), and learning for learning's sake is admirable.

I find the concept of interlingua very interesting but I would not personally care to devote a large amount of time to it. Here's an alternative suggestion; learn latin. I admit, it would be a lot more challenging but perhaps more rewarding in the long-run.

Latin is the language from which all the languages that derive interlingua are themselves derived (more or less). It is far more complex than interlingua but there is a huge body of resources out there for learning it (my personal recommendation would be the Cambridge Latin course, although I don't know how accessible this is to individuals as opposed to educational bodies).

Learning Latin fulfils a similar purpose to learning interlingiua (assuming you don't want to actually speak the language, something you're highly unlikely to do with interlingua anyway) but also gives you access to a large volume of some of the finest poetry every written. I failed spectacularly to garner any appreciation of literature in my English lessons at school, Latin made me realise that the humanities actually did have something going for them.

The downside, of course, is that latin is extremely difficult. I think a lot of people get put off it early on by this and by old-school classics teachers, who are legendary for their boringness. But if you're going at your own pace, there's no rush and it's very rewarding if done well.

All said, don't let me put you off interlingua if it's that or nothing.

This is a wise suggestion.

[CJ Master]

Well that's fair enough. However, I don't think it will help you with german particularly, I mean most of the languages from which it is derived are about as closely related to German as Hindi is. That said the process of learning a language itself does help learning entirely unrelated languages (in children at least, this has been shown), and learning for learning's sake is admirable.

I find the concept of interlingua very interesting but I would not personally care to devote a large amount of time to it. Here's an alternative suggestion; learn latin. I admit, it would be a lot more challenging but perhaps more rewarding in the long-run.

Latin is the language from which all the languages that derive interlingua are themselves derived (more or less). It is far more complex than interlingua but there is a huge body of resources out there for learning it (my personal recommendation would be the Cambridge Latin course, although I don't know how accessible this is to individuals as opposed to educational bodies).

Learning Latin fulfils a similar purpose to learning interlingiua (assuming you don't want to actually speak the language, something you're highly unlikely to do with interlingua anyway) but also gives you access to a large volume of some of the finest poetry every written. I failed spectacularly to garner any appreciation of literature in my English lessons at school, Latin made me realise that the humanities actually did have something going for them.

The downside, of course, is that latin is extremely difficult. I think a lot of people get put off it early on by this and by old-school classics teachers, who are legendary for their boringness. But if you're going at your own pace, there's no rush and it's very rewarding if done well.

All said, don't let me put you off interlingua if it's that or nothing.

Yea, Latin really isn't in the question right now. :( I just want to learn a quick language, and I heard that Interlingua was fast and easy, and would help you further comprehend other languages. I don't really want to pour in hours of time in learning another language. But thanks for the suggestion, I will consider learning it at a later date.

[sXeChris]

Okay, well, I spent my entire high school years learning French as a hobby. For some reason, I just had a sudden burst of interest in it. Obviously, I wasn't going to spend $400+ on Rosetta Stone. So I used these sites:

I started off on livemocha.com, they have EXCELLENT courses for absolute beginners and they match you up with people that already speak your language. I added a lot of those people to my MSN contacts, they helped me a lot when I had a doubt and were very friendly. This site also has great practice drills in which you can learn new words and practice words you have already learned.

I used Lingq.com also, they have great courses to learn phrases and common street-speak. They also have their own built-in translator, which, in my opinion, works just fine.

When I was bored of learning and I wanted to to test out my French skills, I went to ICQ.com. In there I joined #french, a channel in which people speak French. Here, I learned all the slang and how people actually use French amongst themselves.

I don't know if all or any of these sites will work for Interlingua. This post was only to tell you how I did it. After 4 years I can say that I speak French perfectly.

[CJ Master]

Okay, well, I spent my entire high school years learning French as a hobby. For some reason, I just had a sudden burst of interest in it. Obviously, I wasn't going to spend $400+ on Rosetta Stone. So I used these sites:

I started off on livemocha.com, they have EXCELLENT courses for absolute beginners and they match you up with people that already speak your language. I added a lot of those people to my MSN contacts, they helped me a lot when I had a doubt and were very friendly. This site also has great practice drills in which you can learn new words and practice words you have already learned.

I used Lingq.com also, they have great courses to learn phrases and common street-speak. They also have their own built-in translator, which, in my opinion, works just fine.

When I was bored of learning and I wanted to to test out my French skills, I went to ICQ.com. In there I joined #french, a channel in which people speak French. Here, I learned all the slang and how people actually use French amongst themselves.

I don't know if all or any of these sites will work for Interlingua. This post was only to tell you how I did it. After 4 years I can say that I speak French perfectly.

Congratulations! Unfortunately, none of those really have interlingua... (well, maybe except IRC. Did you mean IRC? Because IRQ.com doesn't have anything like chatrooms.)

[MasterNetra]

lol What Chinese Language does rosetta stone teach, there is more then one after all.

[CJ Master]

lol What Chinese Language does rosetta stone teach, there is more then one after all.

Please check their website.

[executorvs]

Mandarin with either traditional or simplified characters. however I've found that the tonal speach analysis is crap. set at normal you can say different words and still get it to pass you, at difficult it seems less worried about tone and more worried about pacing.

all in all not worth the price tag. some universities have it installed on a computer in their language labs, if that's an option for you.