Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

Rosetta Stone the key to learning Spanish for retired couple

When Elisabeth Raymond (66) and her husband Peter (69), both now semi-retired and living in Cheshire, bought a holiday villa in Spain in 2000, they wanted to learn the language in order to make the most of their new investment.

While both speak French, neither Elisabeth nor Peter had any previous knowledge of Spanish and they were finding it frustrating trying to communicate with the locals, many of whom speak very little English.

Initially the couple hired a tutor to give them private lessons, which they found very useful. However, the lessons focused on grammar and list learning, and their progress was slow.

Their next step was to attend evening classes as both Elisabeth and Peter were still working at the time. However, the only convenient class that they were able to find was aimed at beginners, and they found that they were repeating much of the work that they had covered with their tutor. Additionally, for a couple who travel frequently, the classes were proving to be too inflexible.

When Elisabeth saw an advertisement for Rosetta Stone, the idea of e-learning appealed to her and she decided to purchase the Spanish software and give it a go. Both her and Peter were surprised at how easy and fun Rosetta Stone is to use. Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion methodology, which teaches via context, means that the couple are able to avoid the tedium of list learning and grammar drills, while learning at their own pace, and in their own location.

Elisabeth commented: “As a couple we tend to travel a fair amount and we enjoy the flexibility that Rosetta Stone provides. We can dip into it at our leisure and not be restrained by class timetables or the cost of a tutor. My husband has recently had a hip operation and would find it very difficult to attend classes.

“With Rosetta Stone, vocabulary is repeated and reinforced throughout the course, meaning that retention is high. Additionally, I am able to return to previous lessons, if there's anything that I’m unsure about. Our Spanish is improving noticeably, which is important as we have just sold our villa in – an area of Spain in which English is not spoken widely.”

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About Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone is the leading provider of online and CD-Rom based language-learning courses. The courses are based on a Dynamic ImmersionTM methodology which means that they are fully interactive and use 1000's of real-life colour images to convey the meaning of each spoken and written phrase in the program. The program’s carefully sequenced structure, written texts and extensive use of native speakers helps the user to attain proficiency quickly, without memorisation, translation or tedious grammar drills. Teaching 30 languages to millions of people in over 150 countries worldwide, Rosetta Stone is the key to language learning success.

For further info, contact: Heather Baker: heather@hblmedia.com / 0207 612 1830