Rosetta Stone

[Robin in DFW]

Has anyone used Rosetta Stone with success?

 

We are considering this for the next 2 years.

 

How many levels would one need to complete to count for 2 or even 3 years of foreign language?

 

 

[regentrude]

From all I have read on these boards, Rosetta Stone is insufficient for high school foreign language. It lacks systematic grammar instruction.

 

If you search this board, you will find many threads critiquing the program. Most users report that their students were not able to learn the foreign language with RS.

[Juliegmom]

From all I have read on these boards, Rosetta Stone is insufficient for high school foreign language. It lacks systematic grammar instruction.

 

If you search this board, you will find many threads critiquing the program. Most users report that their students were not able to learn the foreign language with RS.

 

 

:iagree:

This has been our experience with our older two who have been using Rosetta Stone through an online charter school. My oldest had used it for 2 years and my middle has just finished her first year. We will be making some changes next year for my middle dd who really wants to learn the language. It's been a challenge trying to figure out what to use after Rosetta Stone. I feel that its unique methodology has the potential to leave too many gaps. I have a friend who loaned me Abeka Spanish and we are going to give it a go next year, although it looks like we will need to begin with their Spanish 1 book. It seemed too big of a jump to go from Rosetta Stone Spanish 1 to Abeka's Spanish 2.

[creekland]

My oldest used Rosetta Stone for 4 years (and got As with their auto grading), but was unable to test out of even one semester of beginning Spanish at college.

 

After that experience we switched middle son for his final two years opting to have him use "Learn to Speak Spanish" types of books from our local library. He felt he learned a LOT more from them than he ever did from Rosetta Stone...

 

Rosetta Stone is my one big regret with homeschooling. It was quite expensive - and not resellable - and totally worthless IMO.

 

YMMV

[Pegasus]

I don't mean to pile on but I have to agree with the other posters. We do use Rosetta Stone for language exposure but I assign no credit for it. Instead, we are planning on dual enrollment at the CC for foreign language.

[Susie in CA]

I would not use Rosetta Stone for highschool. It is a great and easy to use option for the middle grades, imho. We have used it from 6-8 grade and it worked just fine. Both boys are able to use German. However, they do have more exposure to the language through my family.

For highschool level language study I would defenitively look for something more intense. I would want it to include vocabulary, grammar and literature.

[stephinsocal]

We use RS as the listening/pronunciation component of a broader program. I think that someone who has previously learned a foreign language well, with a solid grasp of grammar, would be able to piece together the framework behind the lessons; but a kid starting to learn a 2nd language would be completely at sea without systematic grammar instruction besides.

[Lanny]

FWIW I know a man here who is using RS to learn ESL and he is very happy with it and very dedicated to it. However, he is not planning to apply to a university with it... Also, I suspect he got it free...

 

My memory tells me that I have read many posts, by people who wrote that RS is very expensive and did not help their kids...

 

We are "Distance Learners", but if we were in your shoes, we would look for another program and not risk the time and $ with Rosetta Stone. GL

[Julie in MN]

Well, you certainly have lots of "no Rosetta" answers, so I'll add to the few yesses on this expert board :)

 

I've had 3 kids go through high school foreign language now, one was public schooled, one mixed public & home, and one homeschooled 2 years of foreign language and did 1 college language class in Latin.

 

First, I like to point out to nervous homeschool parents that there is no magic key to learning a foreign language. Two years in a textbook grammar program does not guarantee learning it or retaining it beyond the next test, any more than Rosetta Stone or any other program will. Fluency after 2 years of study in any program is not realistic, and passing out of first semester college language on a test is not all that common. The high schools in our area have different forms of "college in the schools" credit and test-prep-credit, but most require either 5 years of high school or 4 years of high school at an advanced pace to get credit for 3rd semester of college, and none of them expect all students to achieve that level.

 

Add to that the fact that homeschoolers can't necessarily use typical textbook programs because by about the 2nd year, they teach in the foreign language.

 

Rosetta is one of the "immersion" method programs, like Pimsleur and Learnables and others. Some feel it's too little, too late to use immersion in high school, others feel it's much more successful in real communication than plodding through grammar sentences. I've watched my grandson in a partial immersion kindergarten this year, and it is a completely different brain process. He can't really translate his Spanish into English easily, because he doesn't translate. He simply has a part of his brain that knows how to express his thoughts and desires in Spanish, and out they come. (It's especially funny when he's frustrated and it comes out in Spanish :) .)

 

In my opinion, the biggest factor for really learning a language is consistent effort on the part of the learner to figure out what they need to piece everything together in their own brain. MFW has lesson plans for Rosetta that help push the student to do these things, but it takes student initiative to work even then. My son wanted Rosetta and I like all the components being connected, so he used that. It was easier than my eclectic mix used with my older dd. But my son didn't have that extra initiative so by 2nd year I pushed him into some grammar and a bit of speaking with a tutor.

 

I just think folks will have better success if they are realistic about what to hope for and what it takes. Some folks get so upset that a particular program didn't make them fluent or doesn't easily transfer to a different program (that taught a completely different set of vocabulary). The first year of foreign language is mostly vocab and the second year you do need to understand the various tenses and other basic grammar, and those are the main years folks do a foreign language in high school. I feel Rosetta is a perfectly good tool, if all components are used (listening, writing, speaking, etc) and if it's done consistently, with either some student initiative to clarify details by looking them up as needed or pulling in some extra resources along the way. The third year becomes very hard for a non-language speaker to teach 100% because it usually involves reading a book like The Little Prince in the language and translation needs some give-and-take ability, plus 3rd year you would want to start to see some ease of speaking. At that point, I think Rosetta would be a smaller part or possibly be replaced by someone the student could dialogue with.

 

Julie

[cbollin]

Has anyone used Rosetta Stone with success?

 

We are considering this for the next 2 years.

 

How many levels would one need to complete to count for 2 or even 3 years of foreign language?

 

Yes, we used RS with success for our goals in high school year 1 and 2. We used the MFW lesson plans to round out the program so it wasn't just the computer program, but including books, dictations, cultural learning, etc. With MFW's plans it is level 1 = 1 year of high school, level 2 = 2nd year.... and then, they seem to suggest community college or other routes for furture study if I'm reading their info correctly.

 

For us, our goals were exposure, vocab, speaking, able to have short dialogue. not be nervous about another language. read at beginning level. I don't know the language that my oldest wanted to study (Russian), so it was nice to use RS for her to hear the language and see it. And we had a few people in real life who she could speak with.

 

When I was in college, our college used immersion study. so I was comfortable with that approach.

 

I don't know yet if my dd will continue in Russian study at college or pick a new language. She did RS in 9th and 10th... and I don't know either way if she'll place out of first semester or not. That was never a goal of ours. Part of me would like to see how she would place after using RS and having 2 years break.. but more than likely she wouldn't test out. but she might pick another language anyway.

[creekland]

For comparison only... students who get As at our high school with 4 years of the same language do tend to test out of the first semester college class.

[Robin in DFW]

Thanks for the replies.

 

I was just wondering if it was worth switching. Ds has been using AOP Life Pac Spanish 1. It has taken a whole school year to get through 5 Life Pacs. I don't know how anyone can get through them any quicker. There is a lot there. We do the lessons together.

 

We will continue with AOP at this point.

[jhschool]

My DS used RS German I at home, but did find it frustrating that he "wasn't learning anything." He then took two classes of German at the cc, and his instructor asked him, "Where did you learn to pronounce your words so well?" DS and I credit RS for that ability. Now that he's learned the grammar, he's going to jump back in with RS III to increase verbal fluency.

 

 

I agree with this. Also it increases confidence.

Kids who have done Rosetta Stone are much more confident in speaking

and listening. They freak out less when they hear it and they are more

comfortable in attempting to speak it.

 

I would get it if it were inexpensive.