i like rosetta stone...
but the lesson menus are in the target language. its a little hard to read kanji if your going for the jap level 1

oh well, cant complain too much. i got a real good price on all the languages

LMAO

That was going to be my next question. Where can I get a deal on it? Couldn't find anything on ebay for much less than retail.

If you signed up on for the demo, they sometimes have 20% off deals. I get them a lot in email. That's all that I know of.

yeah, I know a guy who knows a guy who found it on isohunt[dot]com

Rausch is really the guy to ask about this language.

Send a PM.

Take a class at the community college. It's much better than trying to learn from software.

The only real way to learn a language is to immerse yourself and live in a country where that language is spoken for a few months. Understanding the grammar rules and having some basic vocabulary (that's what you get with classes) will only speed the process up.

I'm speaking from experience. :)

I agree.

That's all I'm looking for. I don't expect to be able to carry on a conversation or anything. But I'd least like to look like I'm putting forth a little effort before I get there.

I think it's an awesome idea to do what you have in mind. I wasn't trying to say you shouldn't do it, quite the contrary. I think it's a very good way of starting to learn a new language, which, in itself, is a massive undertaking. It's certainly much better than taking juco courses, IMO. No pressure, you go at your own pace using a proven method and it's much, much cheaper.

Okay. Now, let's be realistic, here. Most of us can't just pick up and trot off to a foreign country to learn the language. Of course that's the best way, but it's not entirely practical for most people :)