Has anyone ever tried Rosetta Stone language software? Was it worth the price?

Answer 1

I tried Rosetta Stone for Spanish. It was effective to learn basic words and sentences. It does not have any translation, grammar or conjugation instructions though so it will be very hard to go beyond the basics with it. There is no way to be fluent with it

My college uses a software called TeLL me More, by Auralog. It covers not only the basics, but also intermediate or advanced level. It is also a lot less repetitive. My goal was to become fluent so it was perfect for me. It has a lot of different activities: picture/word association, videos, dialogues,..., includes also grammar and conjugation. It has also more content than any other language software. Their speech recognition is great so you can have a dialogue with the computer. You can check out their website at http://www.auralog.com for a free demo and compare too. You can check out independent reviews on the web too http://www.toptenreviews.com or about.com websites.

The best way to learn a language would be through immersion, visiting these countries. Learning a language will require some time. In addition to software, you can have books which are useful as well. Audio CDs like Pimsleur for instance might help you out but you cannot get any feedback on your pronunciation so I did not like it so much

Answer 2

I have used this software. I've actually used it online for a six month period. Here's the ups and downs of Rosetta Stone.

1) and this is a BIG one...if you ever cancel or if you purchase it to use online for a certain period of time, or if you order "X:" number of CD's, make sure than when you cancel or receive what you purchased, that they stop charging your account (if you purchased via credit/debit card. I had signed up for the six months, but they continued to charge me after that and had supposedly sent me CD's (which I never received) and charged for those. With my bank statement, every credit/debit card purchase has the phone number of online/phone purchases and their phone number. I called them and they did reimburse me for the fees and cancel the membership. But, I was upset that they even charged me in the first place.

2) NOW, for the program, itself, I thought that it was a wonderful program. It starts out teaching your simple things without using any of your native language. The ONLY language spoken is the one you're learning. This is a good thing with the way that they do it. I only got in the very beginnings of this because of my extremely busy schedule, but I realized that the further I progressed and the more they added to my list of items/phrases/short sentences, the easier it was for me to understand what I was learning. Rosetta Stone has several different levels, including advanced. My x-brother-in-law is also using the to learn Spanish. My sister, who works with him, says that he goes through the day repeating full sentences in Spanish. Obviously, he's further advanced than I am. But, personally, if I hadn't hurt myself and weren't out of work on workmans compensation, I'd still be using this. In fact, I do have their demo CD and I like to go over it. One day, I'll once again get this, but the next time around, I'll put my money into purchasing it so that I can download the program and can continue at my own level and at my own schedule.

My total take on the Rosetta Stone language software. From the info I've read and heard, it really is the best software out there.

Answer 3

I know a kid at high school that was going on a two week trip to Russia. He bought the Rosetta Stone softwqare and recieved tutoring. He said the software was excellent ut couldn't replace a real person.

P.S. Our community is near the College of william and Mary and they have a large exchange program that brings many students from Baltic nations to our community.

Answer 4

We have it at school for our English learners. I don't know how well it works on individual machines, but I do find the management system to be a bit cumbersome in the networked version.

Having said that, I think that the program is very good for learning the language. I would highly recommend it if you are looking to learn a new language. As for price, I don't know what it costs, but if it helps you to learn the new language, then it is worth the price!

Answer 5

You can learn a language with it if you have a slight idea about it or if you already know a similiar one. In this case it has proven to me to be worth the price.
On the other hand, if you can't read the language, I think you won't be able to learn much.

Answer 6

it does what it is supposed to do but it does not replace a human interaction

the best way for you to practice it is if you can find someone on skype or msn where you can get the other person fixing your errors.

Answer 7

no!
it wasnt i bought it to do french!
and Shoot i am never waisting my money on crap like that again!