Having a hard time getting started with platforms

[pelefrost]

Has anyone else had a hard time getting started with the use of platforms?

I want to take my language learning to the next level because I currently learn by ear. My husband is from Central America and speaks Spanish, I am a United States native. I understand maybe 1/8th of what he says when he speaks his mother tongue, mostly because I have asked questions about what he's saying and what the words mean. I also have interest learning Japanese and can understand little pieces of the language, but this is all by ear or Google searching what words mean.

I paid $200 for unlimited Rosetta Stone when it was on sale and I don't regret it because I do feel that it will help me, but while I'm taking the courses themselves I don't feel that I'm learning the language. I feel like I'm practicing for fluency. Instead of using Rosetta Stone's daily courses, I study vocabulary because that's how I learned English and I believe that's how I learned what Spanish and Japanese I know.

Is there a better way to go about trying to learn a language? Am I doing this right?

Thanks everyone for your time.

[Kraut]

You could learn with YouTube videos. Here is a good one:
Spanish Playground
It has Spanish subtitles already and you can add "Easysubs" which will provide a pop-up translation (either a single word or the complete line)

Learn Spanish Present Tense | Stories for Learning Language
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io4c1ZgcL3A

[Cavesa]

Sorry for a late answer, the panel with this page got lost in my overcrowded firefox window...

I don't think the problem is "getting started with platforms". Read a bit about language learning, look at our lists of recommended resources. RS is not there. It is considered to not be a good value not even for the money, but even for your time. The only learners happy with it are those learning rare languages, who appreciate having such a collection of flashcards with good audio as a supplement to their more serious resources. But a learner of a popular language can find such a supplement elsewhere, with better functions and for a better price (or free)

I want to take my language learning to the next level because I currently learn by ear. My husband is from Central America and speaks Spanish, I am a United States native. I understand maybe 1/8th of what he says when he speaks his mother tongue, mostly because I have asked questions about what he's saying and what the words mean.

Good, you're exposed to the language often, you already have some comprehension skill. That should help you use even a more demanding and efficient resource, instead of doing the slowest and least logical one on the market.

I paid $200 for unlimited Rosetta Stone when it was on sale and I don't regret it because I do feel that it will help me, but while I'm taking the courses themselves I don't feel that I'm learning the language. I feel like I'm practicing for fluency. Instead of using Rosetta Stone's daily courses, I study vocabulary because that's how I learned English and I believe that's how I learned what Spanish and Japanese I know.

So, you've paid 200 dollars for a nice feeling. If your budget is not too tight, it is not a big issue, it's like other people paying for occultism sessions. But the feeling that you are not actually learning much is more exact here.

You see, you are naturally drawn to more serious methods too. Flashcards with vocab are indeed useful, but they cannot be the only thing you do.

Is there a better way to go about trying to learn a language? Am I doing this right?

Yes. Get a normal coursebook to start with, or a high quality digital resource. For example the combination of Language Transfer, Assimil, and Kwiziq might be great to start with. Or many other options, you can find plenty of examples on this forum.

[rdearman]

Resources


https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 19&t=5377/

[tomos1729]

Read a bit about language learning, look at our lists of recommended resources.

For example the combination of Language Transfer, Assimil, and Kwiziq might be great to start with. Or many other options, you can find plenty of examples on this forum.

I'd like to see these, which threads do you mean in particular?

[Cavesa]

Read a bit about language learning, look at our lists of recommended resources.

For example the combination of Language Transfer, Assimil, and Kwiziq might be great to start with. Or many other options, you can find plenty of examples on this forum.

I'd like to see these, which threads do you mean in particular?

I will not look up individual threads, use the search function. There have been many about each of these resources.