What has your experience been like with Rosetta Stone?

[motherdear]

We need a Spanish course.

[stephinsocal]

Rosetta Stone can be helpful as a supplement to practice pronunciation, but you need grammar, reading and writing instruction too.  The worksheets that come with the homeschool edition could be one component of that, but would be very difficult to use without someone who already speaks the language to give instructions in their use.  We've used Breaking the Barrier with some success, but intend to find a native speaker for weekly tutoring sessions to make our Spanish study better.

[dewdropfairy]

We're using it for elementary French. In my opinion, it's great for speaking, pronunciation, and understanding the language, but you really need to add grammar and more writing. I'm fine not supplementing at elementary because my primary goal is exposure to the language but as we move into Middle/High school I'll be looking for a different program.

[creekland]

Rosetta Stone is my one major regret with homeschooling.  My guys did 3 levels of homeschool version Spanish (getting straight As with their computer grading) and were unable to test out of even one semester of beginning Spanish at college.  What's worse?  A peer from the high school was working on his Spanish 1 homework and my guys had to ask him what several things were.

 

And, of course, it's illegal to sell it once you've bought it.

 

In hindsight, I'd have saved our money.

 

Middle son ended up getting basic "Learn Spanish" books from the library his senior year and told me he learned FAR more from them.

 

Just our experience.

[NancyNellen]

We're using it for elementary French. In my opinion, it's great for speaking, pronunciation, and understanding the language, but you really need to add grammar and more writing. I'm fine not supplementing at elementary because my primary goal is exposure to the language but as we move into Middle/High school I'll be looking for a different program.

This is what we do, as well, with the exception that we use German. Once my kids reach high school we use Oklahoma State's German Online.

[Matryoshka]

It probably could be a good supplement for speaking, pronunciation and understanding, but not for the $$!  Duolingo is a way better supplement for those things, and it's free! (and has more grammar included to boot!)

 

Find something else as a main program.  Something with a teacher - Homeschool Spanish Academy and Spanish 121 have Skype tutors in Guatemala for very affordable prices, or there are some decent online classes esp. once you get to high school level.  A local tutor could also work but be more $$.

[In The Great White North]

 

 

The worksheets that come with the homeschool edition could be one component of that, but would be very difficult to use without someone who already speaks the language to give instructions in their use.  

 

I do speak the language and still couldn't figure out how the kids were supposed to figure out how to do the worksheets.  They weren't related to the computer part at all.  And they certainly weren't clear and concise enough to make it worth the effort.

[Reefgazer]

Rosetta Stone was also my most expensive curriculum fail. 

Rosetta Stone is my one major regret with homeschooling.  My guys did 3 levels of homeschool version Spanish (getting straight As with their computer grading) and were unable to test out of even one semester of beginning Spanish at college.  What's worse?  A peer from the high school was working on his Spanish 1 homework and my guys had to ask him what several things were.

 

And, of course, it's illegal to sell it once you've bought it.

 

In hindsight, I'd have saved our money.

 

Middle son ended up getting basic "Learn Spanish" books from the library his senior year and told me he learned FAR more from them.

 

Just our experience.

 

[In The Great White North]

 

 

It probably could be a good supplement for speaking, pronunciation and understanding, but not for the $$!  Duolingo is a way better supplement for those things, and it's free! (and has more grammar included to boot!)

Duolingo's pronunciation sounds more like a computer.  

[Jamee]

My son wants to learn Italian, and really Rosetta Stone is our only option.  It's actually worked well for him.  He did it for awhile a few years ago, and I was surprised at how much he remembered when we talked about it last month.  He'll be starting it up again in the fall.  Right now, he's also doing Duolingo.  I think when you use RS, it does need to be supplemented.  Guess we'll find out in a few months.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Frustrating waste of money. Duolingo has been so much better for us.

[Julie in MN]

I am one of those who thinks Rosetta can be a main high school program.  We used the MFW lesson plans, which scheduled all the different Rosetta materials plus added an outside component for cultural exposure etc.  By year 2, I start adding more serious things (part of a grammar workbook, and a little time with a French speaker). 

 

I'm sure you can see by the posts so far that I'm in the minority.  However, I've had a range of experiences with high school foreign language (public schooled kid, homeschooled kid, a third kid who did some foreign language at home and some at public school for a total of 4 years, French exchange student staying in my home) and my opinion is basically this:

 

1. Students will not become fluent or really remember much at all unless they are exceptionally diligent, working every day, and choosing to investigate whatever they don't get, no matter what materials they use.  This includes the foreign exchange students we knew who had EIGHT years of English -- only those who were really passionate could speak a whit.  Most students just won't get much more than exposure after several years of high school foreign language, because they aren't immersed and aren't actively pursuing.  Of course that includes Rosetta students, where the hype sometimes makes folks think they can sit back and become fluent magically.

 

2. Textbook-based programs can be difficult to use at home (teacher materials in a foreign language by year 2) and can kill the interest for some students.  Of course, #1 again is diligence and passion, and some kids have what it takes.  The weakness I see with textbook programs is kids kind of skim over the speaking/listening component, similar to where Rosetta can allow kids to skim over grammar.  Even for those young people I know who have college degrees in a foreign language, it seems like kids who gravitate towards textbook programs tend to have an interest in getting written sentences correct but a kind of embarrassment about the whole speaking aloud thing and lack of confidence in listening.

 

3. Rosetta is more comprehensive (and better scheduled using MFW lesson plans) than some of the library alternative materials I've used such as Pimsleur.

 

4. Barron's E-Z French is an inexpensive, do-able workbook for grammar supplementing.  Tutors in-person and via skype also tend to be big on grammar.

 

Julie

[Matryoshka]

Duolingo's pronunciation sounds more like a computer.

Duolingo isn't perfect (for example, some of the sample sentences are... odd), but it would still be waaay better than RS, even if it weren't free.

 

Another thing I appreciate about DL is that dd does it daily without complaint. RS lasted less than a week, then no one would even touch it, no matter how much I begged.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Another plus is that Duolingo works...on our computers, on our phones....anywhere!

 

Rosetta Stone was a nightmare just to keep working. We were constantly needing to fix something just to get it to work.  When we changed computers we had to get a background check and sign over our home to be allowed to add it to the new computer. (OK, that's a slight exaggeration... ;) )

 

My daughter does DL for fun every day, even when she doesn't need to. She never did that with RS.

 

 

[creekland]

When we changed computers we had to get a background check and sign over our home to be allowed to add it to the new computer. (OK, that's a slight exaggeration... ;) )

 

 

That's truly only a slight exaggeration because we had the same issue/proofs needed.

[*****]

Years ago, my daughter took Rosetta Stone online as our partnership school provided it. My daughter enjoyed it and didn't want to use anything else. The school we partner with now doesn't offer RS online, but we were able to purchase the homechool version cd-rom pack.  After crashing twice and losing grades, we sent it back.  My daughter was frustrated because her grades were lost. By this point, we had to do something quickly to receive the 2nd Spanish credit to enter college. She did Odysseyware because this is what our school offered.  I was skeptical about the program, but see that it works well as a credit recovery.  I don't know how much of the language she will be able to speak, but she says it has helped, as she is understanding verbs better as well as a few other concepts. She seems to enjoy the cultural aspect of it and learning about different countries (this was the kid that couldn't see the use of this concept as she felt she was supposed to be learning the language). She is very motivated to get this credit, so needs no prodding on my part and seems to enjoy it. 

[EndOfOrdinary]

That's truly only a slight exaggeration because we had the same issue/proofs needed.

Ditto for us. I do not want to pay extra money for tech support. I want the five hundred dollar item to actually work as it is supposed to.

[Lori D.]

Rosetta Stone was a bust for us, too. DS#1 took Spanish as dual enrollment at the local community college, and not only learned quite a bit, but got it from an experienced teacher, had regular conversation practice, grammar and culture -- and the 4 semesters he took all transferred as college credit to the 4-year college he will be attending in the fall.

 

[Jamee]

Ditto for us. I do not want to pay extra money for tech support. I want the five hundred dollar item to actually work as it is supposed to.

I'm not sure why you all are having issues.  i've used my RS on at least three different computers and have never had a problem getting it to work or any hoops to jump though.  Not only that, I've received excellent customer service from them.  I recently discovered that I lost one of our discs.  After explaining through live chat, they immediately sent us out a new one and I had it within the week!  

[StillStanding]

When visiting colleges this year we learned that some colleges will not take credits done with RS.

[creekland]

When visiting colleges this year we learned that some colleges will not take credits done with RS.

 

Interesting - and I'll admit that I don't blame them, but I prefer when colleges do a placement test instead.  My oldest "failed" the placement test, so we had our answer after 4 years of the Homeschool version (getting As with their grading) of Rosetta Stone.  :glare:   I can understand colleges not wanting to accept RS even as high school credit for language.

 

[Lanny]

This is what we do, as well, with the exception that we use German. Once my kids reach high school we use Oklahoma State's German Online.

 

I believe they terminated that program, but I'm not positive that was the program that was terminated. I suggest you search for a thread about that here on WHT.

[Lanny]

I know a man here in Colombia who is happily using RS to learn English (ESL).   I believe he has completed several levels of RS, but I also suspect he got it free. For a  program that is extremely expensive, most of the comments I have read here on WTM about RS seem to be negative. 

[flyingiguana]

We gave up on RS.  It was fun and easy, but nobody learned much.  If it were a heck of a lot cheaper, I might have a better opinion, but the cost/benefit ratio is pretty awful.

 

We switched to Pimsleur and Destinos.  The kids had to work harder, but they actually learned something.  I've never worried about coordinating the programs so they line up.  If they don't line up, it just means one program is a review for the other.

 

However, we've also needed some grammar drill.  This site has been useful for that:

https://conjuguemos.com/

 

Nobody here is fluent, but they can understand a fair amount of spoken Spanish and it got the job done for college admission. 

 

On the CAPE test that my kids have taken for college placement, they've tended to place in the 3rd or 4th semester.  Depends on how much grammar review they've chosen to do.

[MistiDelaney]

We use and love Rosetta Stone.  I used it to study Spanish and my son is using it to study Swedish.

 

That said, we are learning the languages for practical use, not for credit.  Half of my work department is in Latin America so I wanted to brush up on my Spanish and and we have relatives who speak primarily Swedish, so my son has a need to speak some Swedish.

 

If you want language credit for college, RS is probably not your best bet.  The "grammar" is taught much as grammar is learned in infancy.  You will probably mostly speak grammatically, but you won't learn to conjugate verbs. If you want to prepare for an 'immersion" experience and are willing to spend the time and energy on it, RS works very well. 

 

So, as always, the effectiveness of the tool depends wntirely on what you are trying to accomplish with it.  ;)