I plan on using it, but I'm currently living in a country where these languages aren't spoken, so I was wondering if I can still effectively learn a language when I have noone to converse with.
I have noticed that there are Polish-American clubs in many cities, and German-American clubs, where you may have a opportunity to meet Polish speaking people.
In addition, there are meet-groups in a number of cities -- for hiking, golf, and some based on language.
I think you won't learn Polish from Rosetta Stone on it's own. It consists of lots of short drills, where you repeat sentences and learn their meaning from pictures. There is no vocabulary explanation or grammar analysis. I would suggest that you combine it with this course, which is a free download: polish.slavic.pitt.edu
Or buy an old Linguaphone Polish course, produced in the 1980s (on ebay for example)
think you won't learn Polish from Rosetta Stone on it's own. It consists of lots of short drills, where you repeat sentences and learn their meaning from pictures.
To be fair to it, there is also a pdf in polish with it, and one can be obtained in english too.So between the two, every word or sentence, can be translated.
I decided to learn a new language last year and chose Polish:
1. Because my travelling companion is Polish (30 holidays together), and she's gorgeous.
2. It is the 3rd most spoken language in Ireland. Chinese is the 2nd I would imagine, and that language scares me! A woman I know has been studying Chinese at university here and my Chinese travelling companion (another one! been to Shanghai, Hangzhou (spelling?) and Beijing together) says that after 6 months she can speak one sentence only.
3. I was always bottom of the Class in French and Latin, and top in every other subject, so it was always going to be a challenge.
4. I'm 76 next month, so I was determined to disprove the saying: "You can't teach an old dog new tricks."
I chose Rosetta Stone and it cost €620 delivered, including VAT.
I have studied the Rosetta Stone course for 409 hours this year (I keep count on my calendar) and that works out at two hours every day. However, I started haphazardly in October 2009 when I got the course, probably about another hour each day till January 1.
I find the course excellent and feel I've had great value for money. Of the three levels I'm now into the third and get 90% minimum in all my reviews, usually 100%.
I now have about 1,200 words, or more, in my Polish vocabulary, but, don't get me wrong, I still can't converse in the language. However, I can make up sentences.
I was sitting in a pub in Dublin one day and a Polish girl started talking to me. She asked me if it was ok to put her pint of beer in front of me as if it was mine; she was waiting for her boyfriend who objected to her drinking pints, so she had another half pint in front of her! After about ten minutes conversation, a young woman came on the TV. I said to the girl in Polish: "Młoda dziewczynka ma na sobie niebieskie kapelusz, czerwony sweter, i czarny płaszcz." "The young girl is wearing a blue hat, a red sweater, and a black coat". Well! I've never seen anyone so surprised! She nearly dropped her pint! And I, a Scotsman who has been in Ireland for 45 years, felt as if I had won the lottery. I had a great feeling of achievement.
I bought a children's book the other day, Little Red Riding Hood, and, together with the illustrations, was able to read a lot of it. A breakthrough. I think that in another year I'll be able to read a book in Polish. That's my goal.
Rosetta Stone is interesting, like doing Sudoku if you like that, working things out. The pictures are excellent in quality and I think there's probably about two years work there, not counting the audio CDs which I haven't started yet.
The downer. For someone who hasn't as much time as I have, whose brain is more active, or is in a hurry, I would say the 409 plus hours that I have spent would be better spent studying the language from books and tuition. But not so interesting. Incidentally, my Polish friend says my diction is really good. The trick is to learn the continental way of saying the alphabet, very different from our ABC. Unlike English, it never varies in Polish and you can pronounce every word, even though you don't know the meaning.
Thanks for sharing, that was a nice story and I wish you luck with your goal. Don't forget there's also some great resources on this website to help you with your study as well.
I’ve made more Polish friends around town than you would imagine, and another 38 million in Poland.
And I’ve discovered I’ve got close relations in Poland, on my father's side. Their ancestors emigrated from Scotland over 100 years ago. One, bearing my Scottish surname Baird (Tadeusz, 1928-81), was an important composer! His photograph on the website looks a bit like me.
Dzień dobry, Ja jestem z Kanady. I just finished the Rosetta Stone software Level 1 Polish and regularly order śniadanie at a local restaurant where the waitress, knowing I am trying to learn, will not let me order in English. Before Rosetta I used books with CDs to try to learn with limited success but have found huge improvements after using Rosetta. I have also been so impressed and touched by the generosity of any Polish person I have met and told I was learning the language as they have all been amazingly helpful, even strangers offer to assist me
i have recent got my hands on a copy of rosetta stone v3 level 1 polish, i seem to have some issues with the voice recognition, when i try to pronounce the words it doesnt even pick up, my girlfriend is polish and even when she says the correct word it just doesnt seem to pick it up.
Have any of you had this issue and if so how did you resolve it?
Have any of you had this issue and if so how did you resolve it?
Obviously you should make sure that your microphone is configured. Try recording sound in Windows sound recorder.
If you are unable to record, you may need to select the microphone you are using as the input device. Go to Start/Settings/Control Panel/Multimedia/Audio and choose the microphone you are using as the preferred device for recording. Click on the box below which says "Use only preferred devices." Go back and retry recording with Sound Recorder.
If it is an legit Rosetta Stone software version, then they should have a support section on their website.
i know the microphone works correctly cause we use it for skype to speak with my girlfriends parent in poland every night and i use it for gaming.
right now its not a legit copy, i wanted to try it and we are looking at buying all 3 levels in january. What happens is the mic doesnt want to seem to pick up what im saying most of the time.
i might just wait till i get the legit copy then speak with them, has anyone had any exp with the customers support from rosetta stone, are they any good?
I have Rosetta Stone Polish Level 1. If anyone interested let me know on: rafacorex@gmail It was gift for my wife but she decided to buy complete package level 1 to 5. She said it's good.
I bought Pimsleur learn to speak Polish about a year ago and it was Ok.. probably would be able to communicate somewhat but not using it I'd need a refresher. I do not know if Rosetta Stone is a better program or not? Heading to Poland in May.. I guess we'll see!
About a week ago I purchased Rosetta Stone Polish and its going really well, but there are a few things that have confused me which I need to rationalise before moving forwards, below are the several issues I have found thus far, help with any of them would be a massive help, thanks to anyone that can!
1. Kanapka (Sandwich) becoming Kanapki - i.e. Kobiety Jedzą Kanapki (even though earlier on sandwich was kanapka) 2. Woda (Water) becoming wode and then becoming wody - For some reason it becomes wode when a man and boy both have a glass of water and wody when their is no water i.e. kobiety nie pija wody.
3. Jajko (Egg) becoming Jajka. 4. Jabłko (Apple) becoming jabłka. 5. Kawa (coffee) becoming Kawe. 6. Pies (dog) becoming Psa when it is being walked? 7. Kot (cat) becoming kota when it is with a person. 8. Gazeta (newspaper) becoming gazetę when it is being held by two people.
Any help would be so appreciated as I cant move past this lesson without understanding everything! Thanks in advance!! Do Widzenia!
Please create a better title when creating a new thread in future,thanks.
Any help would be so appreciated as I cant move past this lesson without understanding everything! Thanks in advance!! Do Widzenia!
Lol Jake.
Rosetta Stone will not help you one iota there............
When I first came to Poland I was going to work (in Sosnowiec) and there was a sign saying "Objazd do Sosnowcu." (diversion to.........)
I ignored it - as it obviously didn't apply to me. I wanted to go to Sosnowiec, and the staff ****** themselves laughing when I told the story - late for my first day - starting as i meant to go on :)
Welcome to the land of declined language - and that means adjectives and nouns change their form according in some cases in 7 ways......
Somebody who actually has got beyond my pre-intermediate level and knows what they are talking about will be along shortly :)
In the meantime, there is loads of Polish help on here. Loads.
Most of the changes are because they are in the plural, while others are in a certain grammar case. You will need to study grammar along with this software, I'm afraid.
Don't use Rosetta Stone. It's ****. Krok po kroku Polski and Czesc, jak sie masz are good books. The fore is completely in Polish and the latter uses English.
If only to flog a dead horse (at the risk of being my usual boring self), ROSETTA will gently assist in:
1. gen'l daily chat 2. exposure to spoken Polish on the A-1/B level 3. allow the unannointed the priceless treasure of hearing native Polish speakers in their element
Apart from that????!!
Keep walkin':-) The infection of inflection, those quirky numerals, etc.. not within a thousand kilometers of the STONE. lol
Sadly, as with certain other languages in dire need of good PR, many take one look at Polish grammar, turn tail and run like the Devil, as far away from Polish as possibleLOL
Other lesser lights don't even bother, preferring to rely on the imperfect (and scarcely ever to improve) English of their Polish interlocutors; also a serious mistake!!
If I had to learn Polish at my age using Rosetta Stone.....I'd at best be able to order a meal, say a few courtesy phrases, read an easy paper, recognize some structures and that's about it:-) The more involved aspectual distinctions, much less the reasons why etc..., forget it!!
