Link to August 19 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, "Grant pays for laptops, software patrons can use".Excerpt: At the Pauline Haass Public Library in Sussex, however, thanks to a $10,000 technology grant from the library foundation, patrons now have access to an interactive language immersion software program on laptops that might be the next best thing to having a tutor at their side.
Library Director Kathy Klager said the reaction to the new Rosetta Stone language tool has been overwhelmingly positive since it was installed in June.
Patrons can check out laptops loaded with the software and, in the privacy of library study rooms where quiet is not a requirement, use a microphone and mouse clicks to advance through practical lessons in French, Spanish, German or Mandarin Chinese. The laptops can't be removed from the library.
The lessons are entirely in the language being studied and rely on photographs, repetition, verbal cues, voice recognition, role-playing, review and a go-at-your-own-speed approach. The user gets feedback on accent, inflection and pronunciation, as well as vocabulary and grammar.
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