What's a good alternative to Rosetta Stone/Pimsleur?

I've tried those two programs and I really don't like using them. I get bored after only a few lessons, and I feel like I'd learn quicker just by reading easy books with a dictionary. I want a newer more engaging approach, maybe something with humor, or some sort of interesting content.

If anyone has any suggestions, I really need help!

[Rusty]

Welcome to the forums! I'm sorry to hear that those programs aren't working for you. I don't have any program advice to offer. However, making friends with native speakers (if possible) and asking them to help you learn would be a great alternative. Native speakers are generally willing to help if they know you're sincere. You'll need to supplement your learning with reading, listening to radio stations and/or watching TV/movies in Spanish. And you can ask your questions here. We'll be glad to help you sort everything out. Your friends may not be able to explain the grammar.

[laepelba]

Although I have had a lot of success using Rosetta Stone (so far!), I understand that not every method works for everyone. My first recommendation is: TOMÍSIMO.org!!! This place is GREAT!! If you spend a good amount of time every day perusing the forums, dictionaries, grammar section, and blogs you will learn a LOT. You can supplement with google searches on points of grammar that aren't covered here. And, of course, as Rusty pointed out, it's very important to talk with someone who is fluent....

[Tomisimo]

Simply hearing and reading as much Spanish as you can is very important.

Tomismo is absolutely right about that, exposure is the most important thing. There are alternative programs that I recommend to my students, but watching Spanish television and listening to Spanish radio is also very helpful.

If you want to try another program for learning grammar, vocab, and conversational Spanish, you'd probably want to check out <snip>. A lot of my students have found it very useful. It moves very quickly and they recommend that you watch each segment multiple times, but it's laden with humor and explains concepts very clearly.

Feel free to send me a message on the boards if you have any questions.

[CrOtALiTo]

I can't recommend, you use the machine translate or other kind of machine translate from website as Google, Yahoo, or Altavista, because if you use the machine translate it would can result bad idea in your own translations, then I can telling you that the best idea or way to learn faster the language is if you can enter to websites where you can expressing you freely any comment or idea yours, for example, there are overmuch website seems to Tomisimo.org, or also you can find some website where you can talk with Latins, or if you have Latins friends, also you can talk with them, really if you do the practice more efficient in your conversations, you in a period near, you will see, you have learnt so much faster than entering to website and consulting a little words, look, I have around of nine months learning English here at Tomisimo, and at most never I have used the website or other kind of program for learn my English, but always there's a (but), only you can learn of a way very effect if you endeavor alot during your learning, if you are teacher then you must to know, I'm talking about, I don't know about programs of learning at Spanish, only I know above this website, but you are free to find other choses, you have internet connection, you can surf at the main internet middle websites and pages that speaks above sundries way to learn very fast languages, but I'm believer of the practice.

[ZeroTX]

I would recommend Learning Spanish Like Crazy. I found it interesting.

Frankly, if you're looking to be entertained while you learn, then you're not serious enough about learning and never will get where you want to be.

[Planet hopper]

I've been following Hola que tal, the TVE international programme. I believe on learning based on media, it works!

[CrOtALiTo]

Have you TV international on Kuwait?

[tacuba]

Originally Posted by Tomisimo

Simply hearing and reading as much Spanish as you can is very important.

I totally agree with David. Here are a few links where you can listen to dialogues in MP3 format and download the transcripts in PDF format. Each has a 7 day free trial, so try them out and see if either one or both work for you.

http://spanishpod.com/
http://www.spanishpod101.com/

Good luck in your studies

[ZeroTX]

I had suggested something, but it was deleted. My post above is very incomplete. It contained no advertising and still doesn't. Anyway. As mentioned in the OP, Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur are good, but both can be dry. Learning Spanish Like Crazy uses the Pimsleur method with a more lively conversation and more indepth vocabulary (IMO). I also subscribe to People en Español and for a while I subscribed to Selecciónes, but I found it was above my level (for now). I also watch telenovelas, which you can watch for free on TV or the internet or you can buy on DVD for pretty cheap (check Wal-Mart or Amazon.com).

-Zero

[Tomisimo]

ZeroTX,

I apologize for the mixup, and your edited post.

We have pretty stringent anti-spam rules around here because in the past spam has been a problem, and it continues to be.

In this case it was a false positive. When you posted above, it was one of your first posts and it mentioned the name of a product. That raises a huge red flag for us, since most spambots try to promote products/websites in their first few posts.

Bottom line: Spamming is not ok but legitimate discussions of language learning products are fine and encouraged.

I apologize for the mix-up and thank you for your participation.

David.

[ZeroTX]

Thanks Tomisimo, I love the forum so far and hope to learn lots from the folks here

Has anyone gotten into the telenovela "La Fea Más Bella?" It is a re-make of "Betty La Fea" which is the basis of "Ugly Betty" here in the U.S. La Fea Más Bella is hilarious! You can find the entire series on DVD at Wal-Mart for $15. I hope to catch the first run of some of the upcoming ones and use my DVR to get all of the episodes. It seems to be a good way to learn conversational speech, which I think has to exist before formal writing ability (though I hope to be able to write formally in Spanish someday).

Thanks!

[CrOtALiTo]

Yes, I saw the soap opera but I never found sence to that soap opera, then I can telling you, that the soap opera is very funny, because the version from Mexico is very nasty, but the version from Venuzuela is very fun, the soap opera from Venezuela liked me alot, beside I like the girls who protagonized the personage of Bety la fea.

[poli]

Originally Posted by CrOtALiTo

Yes, I saw the soap opera but I never found sence to that soap opera, then I can telling you, that the soap opera is very funny, because the version from Mexico is very nasty, but the version from Venuzuela is very fun, the soap opera from Venezuela liked me alot, beside I like the girls who protagonized the personage of Bety la fea.

Oye. Betty la fea is una novela colombiana.

[Apalánter]

Originally Posted by tacuba

I totally agree with David. Here are a few links where you can listen to dialogues in MP3 format and download the transcripts in PDF format. Each has a 7 day free trial, so try them out and see if either one or both work for you.

http://spanishpod.com/
http://www.spanishpod101.com/

Good luck in your studies

Thanks Tacuba for giving this "TroubledStudent" the link.

[tmember]

This is not spam....really.

I use Visual Link Spanish and have found it very helpful as I began as a stark raving beginner last summer. It gets you straight into conversation by teaching you various words that serve as the subject, verb, and direct object. It's a very common sensy program and you really feel like you're retaining all the words and learning to put them all together into various sentences. I'd say this program is for beginners.

I'm only about half way thru it now but I'm also working through some of the 'Practice Makes Perfect' workbooks. I'm amazed at how much more difficult learning another language really is. So far, listening to Spanish media hasn't helped me much. But reading Spanish does help....I think I've got the pronunciation down pat now, and can't believe how much faster and more accurately I can read Spanish now. This is fun.

I've got a ton of Spanish learning aids, including some great Spanish Apps on my iPod Touch. Having too much can get in the way though....so I'm concentrating on learning new words and solidifying my knowledge of all the little words (de, que, para, por, le, etc) that glue sentences together.

I really wish someone would come up with word lists that Mexican children learn during year one, year two, year three, and so on. And then teach us how those kids put their words together little by little to finally become fluent. I think if I can speak Spanish in 5 years as well as a 5 year old Mexican child, I'll be real happy!