The Best Way to Learn a Language: Rosetta Stone Reviews and Discussion
Rosetta Stone language courses are designed to be a world away from the language-learning experience you probably had at school: no tests, no endless repetition, no complex verb rules. Sounds great, but how do you know if you’re doing well, if there are no tests? How can you learn a new language without being taught grammar rules? Does Rosetta Stone really work? In order to find out, we searched for as many Rosetta Stone reviews as we could, written by real customers, and you can see our findings below. But first, what is a Rosetta Stone course like?
There is large number of courses to choose, and each one employs the same teaching method: Dynamic Immersion™. This technique involves immersing the learner completely in the new language. Courses are delivered through CD-ROMs, and do not contain any English. This means that all users hear and see written down is the chosen language. Although this may sound like lessons will be difficult to understand, this teaching technique actually mimics the way we learn to talk as children.
Learners are shown a picture of, for example, a brown horse. They will hear the word ‘horse’ spoken in the new language (by a native speaker), and also see it written down. At this point, the spoken word could perhaps mean ‘brown’ or ‘horse’. Then, a picture may be displayed on screen of a white horse, with the same word spoken and written in the new language. Learners will now associate the new word with the pictures of horses, and intuitively link them to the English word ‘horse’. The method is used to gradually build an understanding of whole sentences and phrases. This is the learning experience children have all the time, as they constantly hearing sentences and the names of objects until they start to take on meaning. Below you will see what real Rosetta Stone reviews said about this method.
Such effortless and instinctive learning should be motivating and fun. Learners can test out their own understanding by taking part in quizzes and games at the end of each unit. Courses are progressive in difficulty, so users gradually build up to the more complex material when they are ready.
Each CD-ROM includes interactive speech recognition technology. This means that, using the headphones provided, learners can check if your pronunciation is accurate. As all Rosetta Stone speakers are using their first language, the pronunciations learned will be correct. As well as this, there is a set of audio CDs that accompanies each course. These contain all of the speech from the CD-ROMs to allow for revision when you are away from your computer screen. They can also be downloaded to mp3 players. Many courses now come in Rosetta Stone’s new version, TOTALe. This means faster running speeds, improved speech recognition, and live online tuition from native speakers.
Product Details:
- 33 languages available
- Courses available with 3 or 5 levels of difficulty (varies between languages)
- TOTALe Edition (most languages) CD-ROM with interactive software (compatible with Windows/Mac)
- Live online tuition
- Mobile Companion – application to use on iphone or ipod touch
- Headset with microphone
- Audio Companion included – CD set to play or download to mp3 player
- 3User’s Instructions
Rosetta Stone Reviews Analysis
We searched for reviews written about all of the available courses, and were impressed to see the same positive comments, regardless of which language was being studied. The reviews that we will be discussing were written by people of all ages who were learning for many reasons: work, as a hobby, going on holiday or to converse with friends.
Without a doubt the highest praise went to the ease with which reviewers were learning. Courses were described as being instinctive and natural, even though many had been skeptical about there being no English on the Rosetta Stone software. A lot of learners said that their children were also following their course and were enjoying the quizzes and games. Rosetta Stone seems to be engaging for any age group. The pace seemed to be appropriate, and many users liked a feature of the CD-ROM where it automatically started each session with a quick review of what was previously studied.
The interactive speech recognition technology was probably the next most popular aspect of the course. This is where Rosetta Stone really shines as this feature takes the place of a tutor – something that books, DVDs or CDs can’t offer. A couple of Rosetta Stone reviews thought the microphone provided was a bit flimsy, but it did the job well so this does not seem to be an issue. One Greek student said they felt like they had a teacher in their living room, and others mentioned how they got compliments on their accents from native speakers that they knew or met on holiday.
The new TOTALe version of Rosetta Stone features online live tuition, and is a big hit. As it is a recent addition, there were not as many reviews for this aspect, but the ones we found said that it cemented all of the lessons they had studies and gave them a chance to go over any misunderstandings. This seemed particularly true of languages where the Roman alphabet is not used. One reviewer had studied Spanish in the past with Rosetta Stone and was now learning Chinese. They reported a big difference in the speed and quality of the new TOTALe version.
Other features that were deemed to be useful and effective were the audio CDs and the Mobile Companion. Again the ipod application is a new feature, and it is reassuring to see that Rosetta Stone want to keep updating and improving their products.
So, does Rosetta Stone work? On the basis of our research, we wouldn’t hesitate to say ‘yes’. However, like any course, you have to be willing to set aside time and provide some effort to get the best results. The Rosetta Stone reviews for all languages, whether it be French, Russian, Japanese or any of the other 33 available, found courses to be fun, interactive, motivating and accelerated their learning. There is a free online demonstration which we had a go at – just to check for ourselves. With absolutely no prior knowledge of Turkish, we were picking up vocabulary in minutes! Every CD-ROM in all courses is backed by a 6-month money back guarantee, so you have the option of testing one out before you are committed. We wish you every success in pursuing your chosen new language.