Amy in TX Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Lot's of "Waiter! More coffee!" My kids found it boring. What age are you looking for? What price range? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 We love it, and would recommend it as a good first step to learning a new language. My advanced 6yo and I recently started Level 2. The CD-ROMs are more attention commanding than the equivalent books/CDs. Cathy Duffy has a detailed review in her 100 best curricula book; it's worth the trip to the bookstore to read and should give you a good idea about fit. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone whose child was not overly motivated to learn another language. How old are your kids? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted May 10, 2008 Share Posted May 10, 2008 it doesn't cover any grammar, just expects you to learn by rote repetition. There is no explanation of why you say some thing one way and some things another. That might fly in elementary, but not for older kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted May 10, 2008 Share Posted May 10, 2008 it doesn't cover any grammar, just expects you to learn by rote repetition. There is no explanation of why you say some thing one way and some things another. Not explicitly, but the Basic Structures books contain expansion exercises which clarify both word choice and grammar usage. The Learnables is a solid choice for a first program and is designed to get the student both understanding spoken language and reading. We do intend to follow it up at a later point with explicit grammar instruction. The program also ramps up substantially from Level 1 to Level 2. Level 1 is very gentle with limited vocabulary. For those with less time (i.e. high school) you could easily couple it with a second, grammar based program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just a Jen in Mississippi Posted May 10, 2008 Share Posted May 10, 2008 We liked it OK the first year (the computer version was pretty good), but I didn't care for the 2nd level using the books and audio cd's. We would be looking at the little black and white sketch and not have any idea what the picture was. I didn't fully understand the program either and just didn't get into it. We tried the second level for half the year and gave up. We ordered Rosetta Stone and we've liked that much better. I like having a real picture to look at instead of a cartoon sketch and the quality just feels better to me. But that's just my 2 cents! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloy Posted May 10, 2008 Share Posted May 10, 2008 Honestly, to learn another language it helps to have as many resources as possible. We'll use it for German, but also many other tapes and music cds and books and Saturday school... I think that if it is reasonably priced, then it is worth a try... more then spending 400 dollars on one program, it works better for us to spend 400 dollars on several materials... so if the children grow tired of one, they can use another. For younger children an attempt to explain grammar often times is a distraction, until they know some vocabulary and flavor of the language. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siloam Posted May 11, 2008 Share Posted May 11, 2008 For what ages? I used the first computer level for my young kids and it worked well. No it isn't that exciting, but it isn't that difficult either. We didn't continue with it simply because the basics for 4 kids took over. :D I did try the sample of Rosetta Stone and all my young kids did was guess. They didn't try to listen and discern what they were saying. From what I was told RS has less grammar then Learnables does, but I could be wrong there. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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