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The University Library’s contract with Rosetta Stone is for one year as library leaders monitor the service's use on campus. If it's as popular as they think it will be, then the contract could be extended.
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The only things one needs to learn Mandarin Chinese or nearly 30 other languages is a computer with a microphone, a University of Illinois NetID and plenty of phonetic practice.
That's thanks to a new licensing agreement between the U. of I. and Rosetta Stone, America's premier commercial online language teacher.
"People have been suggesting we partner with Rosetta Stone for years, but it was nearly impossible for libraries to do that," said Paula Mae Carns, the head of the Literatures and Languages Library.
Carns said the partnership had been unachievable because the service requires users to sign in individually, an issue that has been resolved by the library's information technology department. Now, users can sign on as individuals using their NetIDs through the library’s website.
Using the service is as easy as finding it in the A-Z index on the Literatures and Languages Library's website.
Users first log on with their Active Directory password and before long will be conjugating a host of languages (though anyone looking for Swahili will have to wait for the upgrade).
Carns said Rosetta Stone differs from other self-taught language programs in that phrases are learned by their association to on-screen images.
The Chinese word for "hello," "Ni Hao," for example, would appear beside a picture of someone waving, but not alongside its English-text counterpart.
The language lessons touch on speaking and listening, pronunciation, spelling and grammar, and are offered at varying levels of fluency. Pronunciation and inflection also are tested through the Rosetta Stone service as students repeat the phrases.
The service works on mobile devices as well, though Carns said a desktop or laptop computer is the best way to utilize it.
She said the service doesn't replace face-to-face language teaching, but it offers a wide range of benefits to a large cross section of campus.
"This isn't just something for English speakers to learn," she said. "It's also great for international students who would like to improve their English. We buy a lot of language-learning materials, but we think this is what people want."
The price for the service is "significant," she said, but it was purchased through an institutional discount program with funding from several campus-based libraries. The contract with Rosetta Stone is for only one year as library leaders monitor the service's use on campus. If it's as popular as they think it will be, then the contract could be extended.