 "A great product!!" | 2009-11-19 |
| - Reviewed By User: ALO90636UKSYQ |
This is a GREAT product. I have never had any success with learning another language..Middle School and High School were just boring memorization. For the first time in my life, I was actually learning a language from native speakers. Also, I was having GREAT fun!! I am a Ph.D. and you would think with all that education that one would be smart enough to learn another language but I just couldn't "get it" and just got discouraged.
Now, there is no substitute for practice and that is also true with RS. It is not a magic bullet where you become instantly fluent but I have never seen a system that was so much fun and as addictive as this is. There are many people where I live who are either bilingual or are Hispanic and I was already speaking with them after I completed the first level. It helps to listen to Spanish TV as well as local conversations to pick up some of the slang but I am moving so quickly through this that my friends are amazed.
I live on the west coast where knowing Spanish is extremely important and I find myself being able to listen to people talk and really being able to follow the conversation! Yes, this is an expensive product but worth EVERY PENNY. RS is like having a private tutor. It is far more enjoyable and much less expensive than a single college course even at a community college. Unlike a class, you can spend more time on a section which is harder for you and move quickly through another section which is easier. I have purchased a SPA/ENG dictionary which helps with a tricky verb or word (not included in the vocabulary) and also have a good friend (Hispanic) when I am not exactly sure of the exact sound of a word. Other than that, I am SO impressed with this product!
By profession I have been a college professor for 25 years and I have heard so many students complain about how boring a foreign language class is as you just "sit in class and congugate verbs". True, you have to know the grammar just like in English but RS makes it so much fun you learn in spite of yourself. I have read reviews by some people who think this is either too expensive or you don't learn how to be fluent in "conversation" but I couldn't disagree more.
I don't work for RS so I have nothing to gain by writing this except that I am so glad it was developed to really help people learn in a fun way. |
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| "2nd only to actual immersion" | 2009-11-13 |
| - Reviewed By User: AOI5HL7QZ738A |
Here's the low down on Rosetta Stone - It doesn't work like other forms of teaching a foreign language, but that is the point. You will not be learning the same way as you will in a college class (I am in my 5th semester now). You will not know that you are speaking in the "preterit" conjugation by name, but you will know you are referring to the past (which is the point after all right?!?!?). Could you imagine trying to explain the complexities of the rules to a young child instead of just saying "No son, we are not WENT to the store, we're GOING to the store". Learning the rules after having a foundation is a tremendous help, trust me.
I studied abroad in Costa Rica with a Dora the Explora level of spanish (much less than my classmates) yet progresses much faster because I used Rosseta Stone simultaneously. I admit taking 4 hours-a-day of spanish classes while in a spanish-speaking country may have helped a little bit, but I went from 'hola, como es-TAH-sssss' to being able to carry a full conversation in 4 months.
That is obviously the most ideal situation for learning a foreign language, but I could see the confidence difference between me and classmates. When ever our class would go out (say to the market to practice names of foods) I was the only one with the confidence to start conversations with the merchants with out the professor prodding. That is because I had interactive feedback from RS and knew the words and that I was pronouncing them correctly.
Of all the complaints about this software I have read on Amazon, none are exclusive to RS but learning a foreign language in general. The best way to learn a language is to be immersed in it, which most people don't have the luxury of doing.
The bottom line is that using RS by itself is not the best way to learn a language, but nothing is. It is, however, the best you are going to get in a product. Vastly superior to any other product available. Taking spanish classes is great, if you have a basic foundation in the language. If you don't it is stressful and confusing. If you truly want to learn a foreign language, start here and move forward.
Learning a foreign language is difficult but one of the most rewarding things you can do. I have seen so many people start and give up because they were confused. They were confused because spanish classes are ridiculous and terrifying to most people. By practicing with RS before taking classes, you will have the confidence you need to excel.
PS: Rosetta Stone haters - relax. There is NOTHING that is going to teach you a language overnight. NOTHING. RS is like a treadmill. It's what you need to drop the pounds but it is just a starting point to a healthy life and you still have to get on for it to work. |
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 "not worth the price" | 2009-10-26 |
| - Reviewed By User: A19IMKZJHF6Z88 |
You're really excited about that trip you're taking to a foreign country. You want to speak the language and talk to the natives. So you dive right into Rosetta Stone and in the very first lesson learn how to say "The boy is sitting on the airplane" and "the girls are jumping." And it doesn't get very much more conversational from here until well into the program.
Save your money, get Pimsleur or Fluenz, which both teach you really useful phrases from the beginning, such as "do you understand English?" Or Living Language, which I believe is out of print for some languages but you'll be able to find used.
Oh, by the way, you won't be able to resell your Rosetta Stone software once you're finished with it, so YOU ARE STUCK FOR THE WHOLE PRICE! FOREVER! |
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| "Do not buy Rosetta Stone, it's a total ripoff!" | 2009-10-22 |
| - Reviewed By rob140 |
Before spending big bucks for this software, you should know that according to Rosetta Stone's licensing agreement, you are not purchasing the software as a physical product, but rather you are purchasing only the *right* to use it! In other words, Rosetta Stone is only granting you permission to use their software for the $400+ you spend for it. You do not have a right to sell or in any other way share the software with others. Legally, only you the purchaser have "permission" to make use of their software. This deceitful practice of "licensing" a product for use and not for purchase is now being challenged in the courts as a breach of the "First Sale Doctrine", and the best way to protest such tactics is to not buy Rosetta Stone software until the company changes its manipulating and deceitful practices.
My own experience with Rosetta Stone is that is way overpriced for what it offers. There is nothing revolutionary about its method, it is only using multimedia to guide you through learning a language. Rosetta Stone is a highly controlling company and its marketing machine makes it appear that you are getting something special for a very high price. Nothing could be further from the truth. You would be better served by less expensive and more advanced language-learning programs. |
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| "Good program" | 2009-10-14 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3RPW2WWUUX9LL |
| Well thought out approach that uses many different ways to get to the same place, which ultimately helps to reinforce what is being taught. And the actual program runs smoothly and is attractive to the eye. |
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| "Yes, I learned a language before using this, and I still recommend it!" | 2009-10-14 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2LBXJZK7S0D7N |
I cannot say I really agree with the negative reviews on here. I learned Spanish as an adult, and I've been trying to learn Russian for a couple of years now without much success. Everyone should know that there is no ONE method that is perfect for learning a foreign language. Every method works better in conjunction with something else.
Rosetta Stone uses the immersion method, and having lived in Spain for two years, I can say this program really does most accurately recreate that sort of setting more than any other program I've seen. When I lived in Spain and heard words that I didn't know, at first I wasn't sure exactly what they meant, but sort of understood the gist of what they were saying. But after hearing the same word in different situations, it would finally just click and then I never forgot it.
I spent over two thousand dollars on four semesters of Russian in college, and could read and write it well, but could barely put sentences together while trying to speak it. The professor explaining a bunch of complicated grammar rules to the class really didn't help me personally. I honestly couldn't memorize much vocabulary because once we finished a chapter and moved on to the next one, it was hard to revisit the older ones in order to not forget them. I can honestly say that I speak way more Russian after using Rosetta Stone for three months than I did in two years of taking small-sized college courses. Sure, it definitely helped that I was familiar with some of the most common stuff and the writing, but I'd never been able to remember a lot of common vocabulary or say full sentences easily until I used this program. Personally, I think I've been able to remember the words so much better for two reasons: 1) You have to actually think when you use this program. It doesn't just tell you stuff passively and expect you to memorize it. You have to put two and two together, and this helped me so much. 2) They do activities where you have to choose answers based just on listening, other ones just on reading, others on speaking, and writing. This is how I finally remember a lot of words that are really long or just difficult for me.
I think it's worth the money just because they give you a 6 month money back guarantee (if you buy from their website or a kiosk), and it's a lot cheaper than taking classes that may not work for you. Plus, once the classes are over, that's it as far as getting instruction. You pay as much for a semester, but you get to keep the program to work on it whenever you want and go back and use it to review.
I remember using Pimsleur before, and I used to think it was the best program until I tried this. But it's still basically just using memorization with listening, albeit slightly more effectively than other programs on CD.
Bottom line is get this if you're serious about learning another language, but don't expect any one program or class or method to teach you everything. |
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