Rosetta Stone Version 3: French Level 1, 2 & 3 Set with Audio Companion
Rosetta Stone Version 3: French Level 1, 2 & 3 Set with Audio Companion see short title
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Foreign language learning with Rosetta Stone French Levels 1, 2&3 you connect with the world around you. With level one you begin learning fundamental vocabulary and essential language structure, from greetings and introductions to simple questions and their answers. Gain the confidence and enter the intermediate level where you will be able to talk about your environment; give and get directions, tell time, dine out with self-reliance, shop and... » full description
Foreign language learning with Rosetta Stone French Levels 1, 2&3 you connect with the world around you. With level one you begin learning fundamental vocabulary and essential language structure, from greetings and introductions to simple questions and their answers. Gain the confidence and enter the intermediate level where you will be able to talk about your environment; give and get directions, tell time, dine out with self-reliance, shop and enjoy basic social interactions. Taking what you’ve learned in Levels 1 and 2, we help you reach an advanced level of competence. This competence allows you to connect with the world around you. You will learn to share your ideas and opinions, express your feelings and talk about everyday life; your work, current events and much more. Now Rosetta Stone with Audio Companion allows the learner to take Rosetta Stone anywhere: in the car, the gym or on-the-go! What is Audio Companion? Audio Companion CDs are activities that correspond to the Rosetta Stone CD-ROM software lessons. The learner can listen to Audio Companion and practice what they’ve been learning on the computer, turning travel time into productive language learning time. Audio Companion lets the student access the power of Rosetta Stone lessons whenever and wherever they want, they can play the CD’s on a stereo, or download them to a MP3 player. It empowers the student and helps reinforce the lessons in any busy lifestyle! « short desciption
User Reviews
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Review Date: 2009-11-19
We purchased Rosetta Stone and later had some computer problems so had to re-install on the same computer. I had the disks, the product keys and everything it should have taken to make this easy. It was a NIGHTMARE. The install didn't work because when it tried to re-register with the vendor, it said that the software was already installed on another computer. We called customer service (many times before the ordeal was over) and they suggested that our software wasn't "legal" and wouldn't help us unless we sent them a copy of the invoice. Luckily, we had purchased it on Amazon and not in one of their stupid kiosks so Amazon had the receipt on file. Eventually the problem get resolved, but it took 2 days and lots of phone calls to India.
I do like the software and had thought of purchasing it for my grandchildren as we now have some of our family living in France. I will find another product, however, as I would never want to subject anyone in my family to such terrible service.
User: Pamela Druhan
Rating:
Summary: Software works but TERRIBLE Customer Service
Helpful Votes: 0
Total Votes: 0
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Review Date: 2009-11-09
I have now worked my way through most of Rosetta Stone's French and Arabic courses (all three levels of each language) and must record a sense of disappointment with the system, especially given its high price. Let me briefly record my misgivings.
First, the directions for doing the exercises are frequently confusing.
Second, several of the pictures are unclear, so one does not quite know what is happening.
Third, one's grip on the grammar (especially of a complicated language such as Arabic) remains infirm; after quite a bit of work and guessing you can extract the main rules regarding words and syntax of the material in the course, but it can be difficult to extend this to fresh material, because there are always exceptions, many of them important.
Moreover, I am not sure that this method of learning a language, allegedly in the manner one learnt one's mother tongue as a child, is necessarily the most efficient for an adult. As Professor Horace Lunt of Harvard said of such a method: "Do you really want to spend five years learning to speak like a child of five?" This "Child(like) route to language learning" ignores two key differences between a child and an adult learner of a language. One, the adult already knows a language, and thus can learn a new one more easily by comparing its grammatical rules with those of the one he already knows. For example, an adult knows what a verb is, and he also knows how to negate a verb in, say, English, by putting "not" in front of it. He needs to be told only that to negate a verb in French one puts "ne" in front of the verb and "pas" after; he doesn't need to divine this from endless repetitions of negative phrases. This sort of thing becomes even more complicated in Arabic, where negating past, present, and future phrases requires different moods of the verb. A rule and some examples would suffice. Two, the adult has acquired the ability to think abstractly; he can therefore easily be taught grammatical rules as generalizations.
Fourth, in the Arabic course, I was a bit startled to hear a male speaker sometimes pronouncing the "j" sound as a "g" sound. This is the Egyptian colloquial pronounciation, not the modern standard (which is the one being taught). The female speakers were consistent in the use of the modern standard.
At the prices charged, Rosetta Stone could do better. One suggestion is to provide a booklet with a summary of the grammar. Those who felt insecure about having correctly derived the rules from the pictures could refer to it; those who did not see this need could ignore it.
User: Khalid Ikram
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing for the effort and the price
Helpful Votes: 0
Total Votes: 0
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Review Date: 2009-11-08
Rosetta Stone is a ripoff.
1. They limit downloads, so if your computer crashes, or you get a new computer, you are out of luck.
2. They are not people friendly, if you call. Hopefully, you can get a native English speaker you understand.
3. The method is ok for some people; it is a matter of personal preference. One should develop one's own method which works best for them. For example, repetition is best for some, memorization is best for others. Rosetta Stone has you figure out words based on the pictures and context, and this can be much improved. This much like how a child learns her/her own language, which is ok. However, I think someone can make a similar method more suitable for adults.
My suggestions
1. Start with Pimseur. This method teaches you good pronunciation from the beginning, and develops a basic speaking ability. It repeats a lot, which many don't like, but I'm not one of them. Repetition hammers it into your skull, so that you can automatically spit outa word without trying to remember the word. A shortcoming to many is the limited vocabulary. Well, this method is NOT supposed to include a large vocabulary; you can best get that from beginner readers and other materials such as French at the Wheel and Living Language courses. They expand your knowlege, and supplement Pimsleur beautifully.
2. Read French materials on the internet, and even tune in on sitcoms via the internet. See what the library has, and talk to others for their own ideas.
3. Carefully read reviews on Amazon and elsewhere. Many reviews for various items seem fake, to me. Or reviews are by people who are naive and easily impressed. So read reviews for substance, and if you have time, read what other items a reviewer has reviewed. Personally, I have no problem in harshly rating something. I tend to give better than average ratings because I've already studied other reviewers carefully, and end up with products deserving good reviews. This review was based on looking at what someone else bought; I knew beforehand from reviews of others what it was.
User: Jay H. Colborn
Rating:
Summary: Resist the Hype
Helpful Votes: 1
Total Votes: 1
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Review Date: 2009-11-01
I would not suggest the purchase of this product through amazon for the following reasons:
1. If it doesn't work, they will tell you to contact Rosetta Stone directly and in the event that RS cannot determine what the issue is with the software, the Rosetta Stone staff will tell you that they can not refund you because you did not purchase this item directly from them which brings me to my next reason which is
2. After many calls to Amazon they will tell you that they will not refund you after 30 days from (even if it took 2weeks for the item to get to you) and $400+ is alot of money to be out of therefore, if you want this software go directly to RS where you won't have to be the "go between" for the 2 companies which had no problems in selling the items.
User: D. Poles
Rating:
Summary: Extremely Disappointed
Helpful Votes: 1
Total Votes: 1
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Review Date: 2009-10-26
You're really excited about that trip you're taking to a foreign country. You want to speak the language and talk to the natives. So you dive right into Rosetta Stone and in the very first lesson learn how to say "The boy is sitting on the airplane" and "the girls are jumping." And it doesn't get very much more conversational from here until well into the program.
Save your money, get Pimsleur or Fluenz, which both teach you really useful phrases from the beginning, such as "do you understand English?" Or Living Language, which I believe is out of print for some languages but you'll be able to find used.
Oh, by the way, you won't be able to resell your Rosetta Stone software once you're finished with it, so YOU ARE STUCK FOR THE WHOLE PRICE! FOREVER!
User: CAW
Rating:
Summary: not worth the price
Helpful Votes: 1
Total Votes: 2
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Product Details
- Rosetta Stone teaches you a new language naturally, by getting you to think, live and breathe the language
- Innovative solutions get you speaking new words, right from the start
- Rosetta Stone moves forward only when you're ready--you drive the pace, you set the schedule
- With Rosetta Stone, you'll discover a foundation of key vocabulary that you'll use to build into a whole new language
- Audio Companion lets you take the Rosetta Stone experience anywhere: in the car, at the gym, or on-the-go
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