Rosetta Stone

[Jilly6]

I am wondering if anyone has used Rosetta Stone and is it worth the money?

Are there other better or just as good programs cheaper?

 

Thanks!

[Rosie_0801]

Some people like Rosetta Stone. Most people don't think it is worth the money. If you want program recommendations, you need to tell us what language you are after. Sinhala? Arrante? Or Spanish? ;)

 

Rosie

[Jilly6]

Spanish.

 

Thanks!

[ma23peas]

I am one of those that struggled paying for that first course...they ran a special and I got 3 years for the price of 2 so I bought it....I have to say, it's worth the money....when I look at all the other subjects I teach and how inexpensively I can teach them (math book was $4 used, science book was $12 used)...I believe it's worth it to fork it over for something. We have German and Italian and it's amazing what they learn from just 20-30 minutes a day. I also like that it's easy for me as the parent to gauge their progress...

 

We agree to a certain number of blocks to do per day and complete a certain unit by x date...I can go on their profile and confirm they are where they need to be. Plus, it gives them grades...they usually make all A's b/c the program won't let them advance unless they get 90% or better....rarely have my children had to repeat sections...I attribute that to how well the program teaches.

 

HTH!

[Tokyomarie]

I have to say that I recently bit the bullet and bought the current Version 3 in Japanese. I already own Version 2 and there are many things I don't like about it. My son has also worked in several traditional texts for Japanese language. The latest text has been my favorite but due to his particular needs (he's dyslexic), he doesn't work well on it by himself. I needed something else for him to work on this summer.

 

I have to say I am MUCH happier with Version 3 than I am with the previous version. The material is much better sequenced in this version. I will say that students need to have strong cognitive problem solving skills to do well with Rosetta Stone. They have to be able to do well with taking their time & looking carefully at the pictures, finding the similarities & differences, deducing which of those is key for the concept being taught, and matching the prompt to the correct photo. Students who have no cognitive glitches and do this intuitively will do fine. Students who have ADHD, visual processing glitches, and/or have some weaknesses in cognitive processing skills may find Rosetta Stone to be very frustrating.

 

My son, who- though very bright- has some of these weaknesses, was extremely frustrated by Rosetta Stone at first. He wanted to be taught explicitly through the medium of English and growled through the entire first month we used it this summer because, in his words, "the program isn't teaching me anything." For the first 6 weeks, I sat next to him and gave him clues when he got stuck, or even outright told him the correct answer on occasion so he wouldn't get too frustrated. I also cued him in to how to determine which concepts are key. In some screens, there is a particular grammar concept the student is supposed to notice and the program will highlight those words in red. I sometimes stopped him and helped him notice the differences the curriculum is trying to teach. Now he is far enough along that he's catching on to how Rosetta Stone teaches and I can let him work on his own when necessary.

 

Spanish and some other languages have a supplemental workbook, which I have not seen because Japanese does not have one. So, unfortunately, I cannot give a review of what's in the workbook.

 

I am one who believes in using a variety of resources for teaching foreign language. I probably wouldn't use Rosetta Stone as the only resource but having used Level One of Version 3, I have decided that I do like Rosetta Stone's current version and will continue to use it for the next couple of years.

Edited August 5, 2011 by Tokyomarie

[Jilly6]

Thanks. I think I am going to just bite the bullet and buy it! :)

[curlylocks]

We purchased Rosetta Stone several years ago. My middle child used it last year and she really liked it and I feel she learned a lot. (She was able to converse in Spanish with a missionary that visited our church.)

 

I believe we have Version 2 -- Levels 1 and 2. So far, so good.

 

We did have to replace the headset, but it wasn't a big deal. We found a replacement at Amazon. ;)

[Julie in MN]

you need to tell us what language you are after. Sinhala? Arrante? Or Spanish? ;)

 

Rosie

 

:lol::lol:

 

 

We used RS-I (newest homeschool edition) for 9th grade French. I was quite happy with the variety of methods -- listening, speaking, reading, typing. We used the MFW lesson plans, which tell my son what to do each day, and that really helped at our house last year. MFW suggested cultural activities every so often, and my son just did French In Action videos, which were cultural I guess in the sense that they were in France :)

 

I did French 2 at home with my older dd and then she did levels 3 & 4 at the public school. She didn't use RS, but it was a lot more work to pull things together, so I'm grateful for RS this time around.

 

I'm not sure yet whether I'll use RS for level 3, since I know the focus for my older dd was learning to read The Little Prince in French that year, but first I'm going to try RS level 2 this year, after a good year with level 1.

 

Julie

[Jilly6]

What about Live Mocha? Just as good?

[MommyThrice]

We had one of the earlier versions and hated it. I sold it quickly. In a moment of weakness I decided to try it again (Sonlight had it on sale) and we are very happy with the newer version. I bought version 3, homeschool edition, and we are all using it. It comes with a weekly lesson plan, including worksheets which can be printed at home. So easy to use! It even comes with an audio CD we use in the car for review.

[Orthodox6]

Same as I say in any thread. Buy something else.

 

I have heard of, or met, so many people who bought RS. Nobody, ever, has learned the language truly well, by their own admission.

 

Still interested to hear of someone who has !

[Jilly6]

Am I just as good than with Livemocha?

[Tokyomarie]

Same as I say in any thread. Buy something else.

 

I have heard of, or met, so many people who bought RS. Nobody, ever, has learned the language truly well, by their own admission.

 

Still interested to hear of someone who has !

 

Have you actually used the current version, or for that matter, any previous version? I used a previous version and did not much care for it, though it was good in some ways. I do like the current version much, much better.

 

Would I rely on a software program such as Rosetta Stone to teach every aspect of a language? No. One thing no curriculum can help a student learn is language comprehension & production in the natural language environment. Only live immersion in that environment will create the conditions for a person to develop truly strong language proficiency. I have experienced learning a second language in high school and college classrooms. I have also experienced learning a different foreign language using a combination of direct instruction methods by a native speaker teacher and immersion in the language of the community in which I lived. There is a night and day difference in the level of proficiency I was able to attain.

 

I have enough proficiency in Japanese language to help my son learn it using a traditional curriculum. However, I am not a native speaker and my language skills are a bit rusty from lack of daily use. I am very happy to say that my son's listening comprehension is growing quickly with Rosetta Stone. He is getting good practice with speaking, though of course he needs a live speaker for actual conversation practice. I am also extremely happy with the way Rosetta Stone builds in the repetition necessary for building vocabulary.

 

I would not have used previous editions of Rosetta Stone as the cornerstone of a foreign language curriculum. Though there are things I would like to add, such as direct instruction in grammar & writing practice on paper, I now feel I can rely on Rosetta Stone to provide the structure for sequencing the language concepts and practice of the same, as well as necessary practice in listening to a native speaker voice. As I said in another post, I prefer to use multiple resources for foreign language instruction, in much the same way I have often combined math resources from different publishers. But I would hate to have someone choose not to use the current version of Rosetta Stone at all based on a terse sentence or two that repeats tired old refrains.

[laughing lioness]

Positive review here!

 

My dh has the Hebrew and LOVES it. He is conversant in German, knows enough Greek to translate (2 years of seminary greek)- in other words, he understands language learning. He thinks RS is the BEST way to learn. We like it so much we are getting German for our 2nd language this year.

[ma23peas]

Same as I say in any thread. Buy something else.

 

I have heard of, or met, so many people who bought RS. Nobody, ever, has learned the language truly well, by their own admission.

 

Still interested to hear of someone who has !

 

We we!!

 

We started out taking German thinking we'd go to Germany first, but our travel plans took us to Italy so we started the Italian, I did it alongside them and we amazed ourselves at how well we could converse with our tour guide (was with him for 8 hours) in Naples/Sorrento....he was impressed! I love, love it, have used Barron's many years ago and learned more through RS...we also have the latest versions...not sure about the earlier ones.

[Orthodox6]

I understand that you did not care for my post. I agree that I did not provide the analysis to support my opinion (although I could).

Your final sentence, however, did not motivate me to answer.

I'm glad that you and others were pleased with the product.

 

 

Have you actually used the current version, or for that matter, any previous version? I used a previous version and did not much care for it, though it was good in some ways. I do like the current version much, much better.

 

Would I rely on a software program such as Rosetta Stone to teach every aspect of a language? No. One thing no curriculum can help a student learn is language comprehension & production in the natural language environment. Only live immersion in that environment will create the conditions for a person to develop truly strong language proficiency. I have experienced learning a second language in high school and college classrooms. I have also experienced learning a different foreign language using a combination of direct instruction methods by a native speaker teacher and immersion in the language of the community in which I lived. There is a night and day difference in the level of proficiency I was able to attain.

 

I have enough proficiency in Japanese language to help my son learn it using a traditional curriculum. However, I am not a native speaker and my language skills are a bit rusty from lack of daily use. I am very happy to say that my son's listening comprehension is growing quickly with Rosetta Stone. He is getting good practice with speaking, though of course he needs a live speaker for actual conversation practice. I am also extremely happy with the way Rosetta Stone builds in the repetition necessary for building vocabulary.

 

I would not have used previous editions of Rosetta Stone as the cornerstone of a foreign language curriculum. Though there are things I would like to add, such as direct instruction in grammar & writing practice on paper, I now feel I can rely on Rosetta Stone to provide the structure for sequencing the language concepts and practice of the same, as well as necessary practice in listening to a native speaker voice. As I said in another post, I prefer to use multiple resources for foreign language instruction, in much the same way I have often combined math resources from different publishers. But I would hate to have someone choose not to use the current version of Rosetta Stone at all based on a terse sentence or two that repeats tired old refrains.

Edited August 6, 2011 by Orthodox6

[Rebookie]

My sis in-law and I are sharing the Version 3 levels 1-5 in Latin American Spanish....I will update our progress!

 

I don't think the program is the final decision on how well the person learns a language. I think it also takes a motivated person to learn something new. =)

[Tokyomarie]

I understand that you did not care for my post. I agree that I did not provide the analysis to support my opinion (although I could).

Your final sentence, however, did not motivate me to answer.

I'm glad that you and others were pleased with the product.

 

I'm sorry for the irritation present in that last sentence. I usually try to be more gracious when expressing disagreement.

 

I've followed the foreign language discussions for years here, and while in the past I have agreed with many of the sentiments about Rosetta Stone, in its current version we are experiencing success. There are some skills that Rosetta Stone's format targets that a student attempting to study a traditional curriculum at home usually can't get. Is that to say I believe RS is the perfect curriculum which will never require any supplementation? No. Just that it is a good tool, and a much improved tool over previous versions.

[Jeanne in MN]

Don't know how good LiveMocha is, although I know what you are talking about. Many here have also used and raved about Visual Link Spanish. They have good sales-cheaper than RS. Do a search for it. There are many conversations on RS and VL here.

[flyingiguana]

The earlier versions of RS seemed to only be vocabulary builders. I was so unimpressed that I've never bothered to look into the latest version. There would have had to be significant changes to make it worthwhile. It would have to be a totally different program. Maybe it is, but they didn't exactly sell me on it with their previous version.

 

We used Pimsleur and Destinos for Spanish. My kids really liked Pimsleur as it got rid of all that tiresome mouse clicking to keep the program going. One daughter managed to place into the fourth semester of college Spanish using these -- and she didn't even finish them all the way, or work very hard at them.

 

The Destinos videos are free at the Annenberg site. We checked Pimsleur out of the library, so it didn't cost us anything.

 

My kids didn't care for Live Mocha or Tell Me More, but that might say more about how they learn than the quality of the programs. However, Pimsleur was such a hit that they've gone on to dabble in French, German, Chinese, and Russian with it. Pimsleur seems like a very easy way to pick up a lot of a language, but I've found (for myself) that despite how easily it happened, I did learn quite a bit.

[Joan in GE]

I like RS for late primary or middle school as a precursor to a regular program, and have used it for that in German. (We also used it in French and Mandarin - but with an earlier version. As others say, the later version is much better.)

 

I like the Pimsleur method and have listened in the car for ages, but would count it as a supplement more than a base. It too is on the pricey side if you can't get it for free.

 

We tend to get as many language materials as we can afford, since 2nd and 3rd languages are so important over here.

 

Joan

[Jilly6]

Destinos for Spanish.

 

The Destinos videos are free at the Annenberg site. We checked Pimsleur out of the library, so it didn't cost us anything.

 

 

Wow, I have never heard of that site. It looks amazing!