Another Rosetta Stone post…

[deltasalmon]

I have tried Rosetta Stone Irish in the past when it was Level 3 and was unimpressed for the most part. Just another flashcard program. When Rosetta Stone TOTALe 4 came out I was excited because the new features online were interactive features where you use what you learn in the lessons to play games and speak with natives and other learners. It was great in theory but in reality there weren’t many other Irish speakers ever online when I was.

I’m thinking about renewing my online subscription (after a year or two of not having it) but I was wondering if anyone here uses v4 with the online features and if so do they like it? are there ever other people online to play games or chat with or is it still pretty barren?

Thanks

[peterdewolf]

No I’ve not tried Version 4 but have tried version 3 and found the ‘immersive’ technique ideal. I was able to retain what I had worked through and better still was able to understand what was spoken to me, so I’d recommend it EXCEPT that it’s not the Ulster dialect and as a beginner in Belfast, trying to support my grandson at Gaelscoil I’m worried about getting me and him confused as I don’t know how much variation there is between Ulster and Munster. BTW I also found the Pimsleur method equally good at ‘immersing’ me in the language while I was learning and it doesn’t feel like a drill or a chore, the included grammatical explanations are slipped in at appropriate times. Again it’s not Ulster dialect 🙁

[Séril Báicéir]

My set of discs came with a 3 month subscription to the online part of the program…the part with all the games and such. I never did find anyone online at the same time as me which made it not as useful as I’d hoped. And the games were not that enticing really…not to me at least. Though I love the program itself! The studio time at the end of each unit is very helpful but was intimidating at first since I’d never sat down with a speaker of any kind before the first time I scheduled a studio time. The lady was very patient with me and my spotty internet connection. On my second run through all the courses, I will definately do all the studio times I can get!

I think anyone in another dialect will be able to understand you no matter what dialect you taught yourself. It may be harder for you to understand them, but eventually through practice you’ll work out the details, I think. At least that’s what I would guess at. 🙂 The real difference may not be speech, but may be in the writing and spelling really from what I’ve been led to believe.

[peterdewolf]

Thanks for that, my class teacher is going to sit down with me and have a look at the courses I’m studying and I’ll see what she thinks of them.
Go raibh maith agat, is deas bualadh leat.

[Séril Báicéir]

Is deas liom bualadh leat chomh maith.

I find that though I really like the Rosetta Stone, I feel that by having the other study methods that I do, it helps me to piece together the “why” of what they have me do in those exercises and also gives me a wider vocabulary to work with. The other methods that I use are Teach Yourself Irish, reading articles as Gaeilge in Beo.ie and other online magazines/newspapers, watching videos as Gaeilge on Youtube or Cré na Cille that I bought from Litriocht.com, I also use Potafocal.com all the time while I’m reading, and I’ve bought two children’s books as Gaeilge so far from Litriocht.com that have gotten me started on that, and I also try to listen to Radió na Gaeltachta whenever I can. I can’t understand everything on RnaG just yet but it helps me with getting my ear used to the words and I also try to see how many words I can pick out as I listen; I also think it helps a bit with my pronunciation.

If you have a class teacher you are very lucky! Good luck with your studies!

[peterdewolf]

you’re covering all your bases, with that approach you should make good progress. I’ve managed to find mp3s from the ‘Irish on Your Own’ course, also called ‘Now you;re talking’ which is Ulster irish and it’s a big help. Yes an evening class is where I get to ask silly questions, like why can’t I distinguish t from d from v from b ????? You really have to listen. Even though normal speech is so fast that all four sounds seem the same it’s important to know what they are supposed to sound like :-).
Good luck to you too

[Séril Báicéir]

lol
Go raibh maith agat, a Peterdewolf. 🙂

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