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Why don’t people here like Rosetta Stone? | ||
Tags: Rosetta Stone | Usefulness | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| dec_lan Newbie United States Joined 5056 days ago 18 posts - 23 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Mandarin | Message 1 of 93 20 June 2010 at 11:27pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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I was just lurking around the forums reading, and people kept saying not to use it. Is it only because of the price, or because of the actual way it's taught?
I've been using it for a bit, and it doesn't seem that bad. But am I missing something? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| The Real CZ Senior Member United States Joined 5434 days ago 1069 posts - 1495 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Korean | Message 2 of 93 21 June 2010 at 12:06am | IP Logged | ||||||||
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RS is thievery. Exorbitant prices for little return.
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| dec_lan Newbie United States Joined 5056 days ago 18 posts - 23 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Mandarin | Message 3 of 93 21 June 2010 at 12:16am | IP Logged | ||||||||
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So it's mostly the price? Or is it also ineffective?
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| DaisyMaisy Senior Member United States Joined 5165 days ago 115 posts - 178 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish Studies: Swedish, Finnish | Message 4 of 93 21 June 2010 at 1:21am | IP Logged | ||||||||
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I have used it a bit with Swedish. It's good for listening and practicing saying things, but I find I like a bit more structured learning in terms of having the grammar actually explained, rather than somehow magically re-engaging my brain to learn as if I were still a child. Also, for me personally, I learn much more effectively if I write things out and RS doesn't really promote that.
As mentioned, it is quite expensive as well. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| egill Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5481 days ago 418 posts - 791 votes Speaks: Mandarin, English* Studies: German, Spanish, Dutch | Message 5 of 93 21 June 2010 at 1:27am | IP Logged | ||||||||
(emphasis mine) That sums it up. There are also many many threads on this subject which you can skim over if you didn't know already. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| dec_lan Newbie United States Joined 5056 days ago 18 posts - 23 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Mandarin | Message 6 of 93 21 June 2010 at 2:22am | IP Logged | ||||||||
Ah, ok. I also did use the search function before asking, searched all forums for topics with "rosetta stone" in the thread title. It said no matches, which surprised me. I guess I screwed it up somehow? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| C6Silver Newbie United States Joined 5294 days ago 6 posts - 12 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 7 of 93 21 June 2010 at 4:20am | IP Logged | ||||||||
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You said it was working for you and frankly that is really all that matters. If you find it effective and are making the progress you'd hoped for then it obviously is doing its job.
I used their online demo some years back and knew right away that it wasn't for me. I didn't like the manner of teaching, the material being taught, nor did I find it interesting. I would have made these observations at any price point. I went on to use some offline methods but always pined for something more interactive. Last year I tried the Fluenz demo online and found it to be substantially better than RS. I would hasten to add that I never purchased it either as it wasn't clear how far the program would take me for the money being asked. So I cannot say that this would have been effective either, but from the free demo it appeared worlds better (for me). The bottom line is to use whatever makes you feel like you are accomplishing your goals and what keeps you motivated to keep going. If that has been RS then certainly there is no shame in that. 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| ALS Senior Member United States Joined 5589 days ago 104 posts - 131 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Norwegian, Finnish, Russian | Message 8 of 93 21 June 2010 at 4:22am | IP Logged | ||||||||
Pros: teaches decent amount of vocabulary, gives some listening practice (and reading for foreign scripts) Cons: Massively high price for what you get, speech recognition is garbage and does not help with pronunciation, can be very ineffective at teaching grammar since nothing is explained, pictures and sentences are largely the same for every single language so if you learn one you know others just by rote memorization If you have $500 that you absolutely must be rid of immediately, get it for the vocabulary if nothing else. But if you want to actually learn a language, spend that money on other things like Assimil, Linguaphone, Michel Thomas, or even Pimsleur is better than RS (but not much better with the price). 3 persons have voted this message useful |
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