Language learning software

[rpayne88]

Any one know of any good language learning programs. I really should learn a second language to make myself a better candidate for employment after college. I don't have the money or time for immersion. Also, I don't want to take any formal classes in school and farther damage my already fragile GPA (I'm borderline failing in one class, the others are fine.)

[Specialist290]

I've heard Rosetta Stone is pretty good if you're looking just to learn a language. Don't know if you can get academic credit for learning one outside of a class, though.

[rpayne88]

I've heard Rosetta Stone is pretty good if you're looking just to learn a language. Don't know if you can get academic credit for learning one outside of a class, though.

I'm not trying to get credit outside of class.

[Jackissimus]

I've learned most of my English with Anki - http://ankisrs.net/

It's a great idea to start by reading this short ebook - http://dl.irpdf.com/ebooks/Part16/www.irpdf.com%285783%29.pdf

After reading that you will understand that to learn a language, you need to read maybe first 5 chapters of a grammar textbook, then throw it away and then build your vocabulary until your head spins. They say that when you know 10000 sentences in a language, you are fluent.

[Camacha]

First of all I would like to commend your idea. Learning a language is never a waste of time.

Do not forget to apply your knowledge. If going to countries where they speak this language is not an option, watching tv in that tongue or participating on internet forums is a good second.

Also, consider the usability of the language you are trying to learn. For instance, I really like Italian, but its usefulness is very slim. Spanish is spoken the world over (both Americas and you will be understood in a lot of southern Europe), and French is pretty useful in some places too (Canada and a lot of Africa). If you already speak English, two of those languages will help you in a huge part of the world.

I guess some oriental language might be useful too, but a big problem is that they are all very fragmented. There is no such thing as Chinese or Indian, which deminishes its usefulness. It is intesting from a cultural perspective though, and one can imagine that speaking such a language really makes you interesting for certain jobs.