cm006j Newbie United States whitehindu.blogspot. Joined 5322 days ago 23 posts - 28 votes Studies: Mandarin, Hindi, Sign Language
| Message 65 of 93 01 July 2010 at 10:40pm | IP Logged |
Cainntear wrote:
cm006j wrote:
I think they tested with Spanish because that is their most popular language. |
|
|
If you want to show off, you learn Chinese, right? Not "just" Spanish.
If RS really had something to show off, I would have expected them to go for a show-off language
Quote:
I'm curious about this Pimsleur thing, people seem to like it so much and I'd like to
give it a try.
Tell me, does it teach different scripts (as Hindi has a different script, I've been
pleased with my reading ability through Rosetta Stone)? |
|
|
I'd avoid the Pimsleur Hindi course. It's almost entirely audio based and they never explain phonetics, so there's no way of knowing whether the guys saying the retroflex or dental, aspirated or unaspirated version of a sound. I stopped after one lesson because of this. |
|
|
Thanks. I wouldn't use it for Hindi because I already know a lot of Hindi by now (from Rosetta Stone, which I am not going to stop loving!) I'm thinking of trying it for one of the other languages I want to start. I'm sure most of the languages I learn will have some of that trouble because none of them are romance languages, so they all have sounds that are hard for my native-English ears! But I'll give it a try for free at the library and see what happens.
1 person has voted this message useful
|
stout Senior Member Ireland Joined 5399 days ago 108 posts - 140 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French
| Message 66 of 93 12 July 2010 at 5:58pm | IP Logged |
Rosetta Stone is rubbish!...
I tried the demonstation part on the RS website and frankly I was not impressed.
For the price that RS are asking is frankly highway robbery.Do not buy RS!...
There are cheaper courses which are a lot better that RS.I would not buy the RS course and I would recommend that other language learners do not buy the RS course too...
1 person has voted this message useful
|
cm006j Newbie United States whitehindu.blogspot. Joined 5322 days ago 23 posts - 28 votes Studies: Mandarin, Hindi, Sign Language
| Message 67 of 93 12 July 2010 at 6:05pm | IP Logged |
stout wrote:
Rosetta Stone is rubbish!...
I tried the demonstation part on the RS website and frankly I was not impressed.
For the price that RS are asking is frankly highway robbery.Do not buy RS!...
There are cheaper courses which are a lot better that RS.I would not buy the RS course
and I would recommend that other language learners do not buy the RS course
too... |
|
|
You tried the demo only and you feel qualified to tell everyone else how they should
learn language?
If you don't want to buy it, no problem, it doesn't mean that it isn't worth it for
lots of people.
I fully believe that what you get is worth the price and that it is a very impressive
product for which they ask a fair price.
1 person has voted this message useful
|
Ocius Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5618 days ago 48 posts - 77 votes Speaks: English*, German, Ancient Greek Studies: French, Latin, Sanskrit
| Message 68 of 93 12 July 2010 at 6:20pm | IP Logged |
ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278951725&sr=1-1">Assimil - New French With Ease - $32.97 (amazon)
Rosetta Stone French Levels 1-5 - $699
(RS site)
Frankly, that's why. Assimil will take you farther, too.
Edited by Ocius on 12 July 2010 at 6:22pm
1 person has voted this message useful
|
cm006j Newbie United States whitehindu.blogspot. Joined 5322 days ago 23 posts - 28 votes Studies: Mandarin, Hindi, Sign Language
| Message 69 of 93 12 July 2010 at 6:27pm | IP Logged |
I don't care for the way that Assimil teaches. I don't think it's for me.
Rosetta Stone three levels teaches me more than two semesters in college and still
costs less than one. I think they have great software, talented developers, and a lot
of people working really hard and they deserve to get paid.
1 person has voted this message useful
|
Ocius Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5618 days ago 48 posts - 77 votes Speaks: English*, German, Ancient Greek Studies: French, Latin, Sanskrit
| Message 70 of 93 12 July 2010 at 6:35pm | IP Logged |
They essentially re-use the same images and phrases for every language. Whoever came up with the idea in the
first place was the one with the great idea. Marketing it this way and making the price nearly that of a college level
course (which, if you have a small class size and a good teacher, you will get more out of) seems silly. Even if I
did like the Rosetta Stone "method" more than, say, Assimil's or even Teach Yourself's (which I don't), how can I
justify spending over $600 more for something which will, at best, teach me just as much? I used levels 1-3 for
German and, frankly, I wish I hadn't spent the money. While it certainly does help you learn a language, it's not
good enough to justify the cost compared to other methods.
Unfortunately, RS's marketing team is incredible and, despite the current economy, they don't seem to lack the
ability to find people with $600 to spare. Nevertheless, I'm sure their sales would go up (and perhaps their profits,
as well, though I don't know how much it costs for manufacturing purposes on their end) if they lowered the price.
Edited by Ocius on 12 July 2010 at 6:37pm
1 person has voted this message useful
|
cm006j Newbie United States whitehindu.blogspot. Joined 5322 days ago 23 posts - 28 votes Studies: Mandarin, Hindi, Sign Language
| Message 71 of 93 12 July 2010 at 6:42pm | IP Logged |
Ocius wrote:
They essentially re-use the same images and phrases for every language.
Whoever came up with the idea in the
first place was the one with the great idea. Marketing it this way and making the price
nearly that of a college level
course (which, if you have a small class size and a good teacher, you will get
more out of) seems silly. Even if I
did like the Rosetta Stone "method" more than, say, Assimil's or even Teach Yourself's
(which I don't), how can I
justify spending over $600 more for something which will, at best, teach me just as
much? I used levels 1-3 for
German and, frankly, I wish I hadn't spent the money. While it certainly does help you
learn a language, it's not
good enough to justify the cost compared to other methods.
Unfortunately, RS's marketing team is incredible and, despite the current economy, they
don't seem to lack the
ability to find people with $600 to spare. Nevertheless, I'm sure their sales would go
up (and perhaps their profits,
as well, though I don't know how much it costs for manufacturing purposes on their end)
if they lowered the price. |
|
|
I figure it would cost more than twice what it does now if the images were reshot for
every single language.
I know that I personally have never regretted spending the money for it. I'm extremely
happy with what I learned, even as I've now moved on to more advanced material.
Certainly not everyone will want to spend that, which is fine. I just don't understand
why people are so hateful about it.
1 person has voted this message useful
|
hobbitofny Senior Member United States Joined 6261 days ago 280 posts - 408 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Russian
| Message 72 of 93 12 July 2010 at 6:43pm | IP Logged |
cm006j wrote:
I don't care for the way that Assimil teaches. I don't think it's for me.
Rosetta Stone three levels teaches me more than two semesters in college and still
costs less than one. I think they have great software, talented developers, and a lot
of people working really hard and they deserve to get paid. |
|
|
I think people should get paid for their work. I think for software series from the Transparent Language called Transparent Language Complete Edition™ is a better designed and cheaper program. I am sure a lot of time had gone into the v3 RS and part of the price is the TV spots. v3 RS is a major rewrite from v2. It shows improvement. Still, it is over priced for what you get.
Edited by hobbitofny on 12 July 2010 at 6:45pm
1 person has voted this message useful
|