[thursday915.2008]

...with college admissions? Especially with ROTC and U.S. federal service academies...

[RoaringMice]

Learning Arabic will certainly help you, no matter how you do it. Rosetta Stone isn't a bad program. I've used it. But you may also want to pick up the Pimsleur language CDs.

Rosetta gives you lots of vocabulary, but not a lot of sentences, so you'll know words, but not how to actually speak. Pimsleur gives you very little vocabulary, in reality, but it's all in context, so what you can say, you can *really* say, and with good accent as well.

Combining the two would be very good. I'd do Pimsleur first, and then Rosetta, in that order. The first, more limited, but great pronunciation and in context. The second, to expand vocab. Then also add a book, once you're done with those; or take a course at your local community college this summer.

Arabic is one of the languages that's in very high demand by the US foreign service, the US dept of state, and the US military. It's also very difficult to learn, and to speak well.