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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| larry Newbie United States Joined 7117 days ago 2 posts - 2 votes | Message 1 of 41 19 November 2004 at 12:42am | IP Logged |
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Does anybody have experience with the Rosetta Stone language programs? Are they worth it?
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| Malcolm Triglot Retired Moderator Senior Member Korea, South Joined 7116 days ago 500 posts - 515 votes  5 sounds Speaks: English*, Spanish, Korean Studies: Mandarin, Japanese, Latin | Message 2 of 41 19 November 2004 at 5:11pm | IP Logged |
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I've used Rosetta Stone to improve my Mandarin and to learn Japanese. I've also tried Spanish. There's a free demo on their website (http://www.rosettastone.com) where you can test out most of their languages. It's definitely not as good as Pimsleur or FSI for learning a language, mainly because you aren't forced to create sentences. The emphasis is on listening comprehension and vocabulary. With Rosetta Stone, you are given a sentence which you can hear over and over, and a choice of four pictures. There's no English, so you're supposed to be able to figure out the grammar and vocabulary on your own. The main problem is that the kind of sentences they teach are not useful in conversations.
For some languages, you can choose to display romanization or the actual writing system. For Chinese, you can switch between pinyin, simplified characters, and traditional characters. For Japanese, you can choose romaji, katakana/hiragana, and kanji/kana. I used Spanish briefly (the second level) but it was too easy so I decided not to buy it. Pros: -Good for developing listening comprehension and vocabulary. -An impressive selection of languages available, some of which are rather obscure. -Lots of material to go through. -Very good for learning pronunciation and script. Cons: -Expensive. -You won't be fluent, even after finishing both levels. -No grammar explanations or translations. -You can only use it on a computer. Bottom Line: If you're learning an obscure language with no other audio materials available (Vietnamese, Swahili, etc.), then you're lucky to have Rosetta Stone. On the other hand, if you're learning a language like Spanish or French, your money would be better spent on more effective programs. Edited by Malcolm on 19 November 2004 at 5:13pm 5 persons have voted this message useful | |
| manna Groupie Kyrgyzstan Joined 7059 days ago 94 posts - 112 votes | Message 3 of 41 10 January 2005 at 5:31pm | IP Logged |
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I'll second that experience... I haven't learnt anything useful with RS; but I cannot rule out that it had some impact on my general *feel* for the language. Check out the online demo...
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| administrator Hexaglot Forum Admin Switzerland FXcuisine.com Joined 7177 days ago 3094 posts - 2987 votes 12 sounds Speaks: French*, EnglishC2, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian Personal Language Map | Message 4 of 41 16 January 2005 at 6:43am | IP Logged |
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I think Rosetta Stone is quite fun to use for a couple hours, if you can afford such an expensive entertainment.
Using it for more than one language is not really possible since it's always the same phrases with the same pictures for every language. I think it must sell real well though. If you can get a copy for free go for it. But if you need to decide how to spend a certain budget for a given language, I'd go for Pimsleur or FSI anytime. Francois 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| heartburn Senior Member United States Joined 7008 days ago 355 posts - 350 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 5 of 41 02 March 2005 at 2:08pm | IP Logged |
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I agree with everything that the others have said.
For me, the biggest drawback is being chained to a computer. Even though I'm a computer programmer by trade, there is no way I'm going to study night after night at the computer. I bought Rosetta Stone Spanish and I do use it once in a while, just for a change of pace. But I think that for that price I should be getting a more useful tool. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| kidnickels Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 7051 days ago 124 posts - 119 votes Speaks: English*, SpanishB1, French Studies: Mandarin | Message 6 of 41 02 March 2005 at 2:34pm | IP Logged |
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I thought it was useless. It's just a vocabulary program (i.e., no grammar), it moves extremely slowly, and it's ridiculously expensive. For the same price, you can get a Pimsleur course where you might learn fewer words but will retain what you learn, will learn some grammar, and will come away with a much better accent. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Flori Newbie Romania Joined 7008 days ago 16 posts - 16 votes | Message 7 of 41 05 March 2005 at 7:04pm | IP Logged |
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I agree with what kidnicels's said. It's Useless and pretty expensive. A friend of mine bought the Italian course and was ridiculously slow and doesn't have grammar explanations. It's a waste of time and money.
I like online courses, I've used English Town and AulaDiez and was very happy with those but Rosseta isn't good at all.. not even as an entertainment . I know other resources to play that are much better. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| delectric Diglot Senior Member China Joined 6982 days ago 608 posts - 733 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin Studies: German | Message 8 of 41 03 April 2005 at 7:28am | IP Logged |
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My opinion is this...
Rosetta Stone is by far the best language computer software available. I've used a few! True it doesn't explicitly teach grammar but, did you need this for your first language? As for expense it's much cheaper if you download lessons directly from their website. The method they use is complete immersion. There's no translation. A phrase is said to you and you must pick the correct picture from four. The lessons start easy and get harder by introducing more complex sentences. The package is very intuitive to use. Some people don't like the fact that there is no translation. Well, use a dictionary! However, it's best if you first complete a lesson without a dictionary. Later, if needed, you could use a dictionary. As for being too easy! To give you some idea of its difficulty, I've completed all three levels of Pimsleur Mandarin and i've lived in China learning Mandarin for 6 months. I'm having simple conversations about many topics I can get by in this country very well. Despite this, the Rosetta Stone is still able to teach me a lot. By the way, I study like a slave, I only watch Chinese TV and I only have Chinese friends. I expect to be fluent in another four to six months, judging by my level of progress. I find it's a great way to learn new vocabulary. Within the two levels there must be at least 3000 words taught. It's also an excellent way to learn Chinese characters as the senteces start easy with basic character. You soon get to recognise the most common ones that pop up and at the momment i'm not even concentrating on reading. Yet, still, I find myself learning Hanzi. Oh and lerning tones and pinyin also very good (if you want to learn Chinese). It's true the Rosetta Stone software won't get you speaking straight away in the same way Pimsleur does. Pimsleur is a way to get you speaking fast. On the other hand the Rosetta Stone is more for the long term serious language learner. If you want to learn 2 languages then the Rosetta Stone is also for you as all the lessons for all their languages teach equivilent language structures. By learning one language with Rosetta Stone you will find it quicker to learn another language using Rosetta Stone (even if they're not closely related languages). The most important thing about Rosetta Stone is that it is FUN to use. You can move at you're own pace so your langauge learning experience moves with your own rhythm. I can't believe the negative responses I've read to this product. There are many inferior products that have had lots of positive responses. True, it's too expensive but then so are the FSI courses. And, I would rate Rossetta Stone alongside FSI. For me if I was learning any language I would want Pimsleur to start with then, Rosetta Stone to build up vocabulary and listening skills (though you can also learn to speak and write with it). Finally, FSI would be used alongside the Rosetta Stone. I can't help but think Rosetta Stone is the best kept secret on this web site. I can't believe it has been slated so badly. Well, I'm going to get back to learning with it. Edited by delectric on 03 April 2005 at 7:36am 1 person has voted this message useful |
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