User Reviews

1. Review Date: 2009-10-12

   I am still on the first disc but so far I have learned more with this system than anything else I have tried. Expensive but worth it.
   
   User: RAM54
   Rating:
   Summary: Good So Far
   Helpful Votes: 1
   Total Votes: 2
   

2. Review Date: 2009-09-22

   Agreed, Rosetta Stone is a waste of time and money. Using the program for about 3 hours a day, 2 weeks into the program and I got a little curious because my spanish friends had no clue what I was attempting to say. I skipped ahead to to last unit and realized that I will never learn in this way because the program doesn't even give you any "I" or "You" reference! How are you going to have a personal conversation with anyone. The verb endings are completely different. I got soooo sick of learning about and speaking of the ninos/ninas, mujeres and hombres. How ridiculous!
   
   I've since opted to get some books from the library and all is going very well. For me, I need to know how to conjugate verbs and be able to make a statement about myself or you. Rosetta Stone does not have that option. Try for one day to only talk about "he, she, or it" and see how far you get. You won't get very far at all. It's impossible. People talk about themselves mostly.
   
   How dissapointing!
   
   User: louder than they
   Rating:
   Summary: no me gusto Rosetta Stone
   Helpful Votes: 6
   Total Votes: 16
   

3. Review Date: 2009-09-17

   I rated this program five stars, and that rating is based solely on the quality of the product. Rosetta Stone is really fun, and it's wayyyyyyy more useful than most of the Spanish classes you'll come across. As far as helping you remember words and pronounce them correctly, Rosetta Stone is awesome. I am currently taking a Spanish class at my college, because I figured if I doubled up I'd have the best chance at learning how to speak (and write, ug ug ug) Spanish. The class is a good time, and my professor is a riot, but I must admit that the computer program is more effective. My feeble brain doesn't want to deal with verb tenses and formal and informal usage of words, and all that stuff that makes my attention wander away until I'm gazing out the window and not paying attention at all and writing really long run on sentences that end in ellipses... You see my point. The Stone is also cool because it makes me think of Sesame Street, which makes me feel sort of nostalgic and happy. Clicking on the brightly colored pictures takes me back to simpler times, sigh. And yeah, it is an expensive product, but pay for a college course and a Spanish book and guess what- you end up spending even more money, and maybe you'll get stuck with an unattractive professor who rants, and waves his arms around, and throws pieces of chalk at your head when you are gazing out of the window, and not paying attention. There are cheaper computer programs for learning Spanish, and you guessed it, they totally blow. I ought to know because I wasted upwards of forty-five dollars on such junky products. I would like to know how Rosetta compares to that other popular language program... Pilsner or Plodner or Pimsleur or whatever.
   Rosetta Stone is also known for having crappy customer service, and apparently if you try to resell one of their programs they will hunt you down like a dog and there will be a public stoning. Sometimes greed is so shameful that it becomes hilarious. This is the case with Rosetta Stone, and I guess that's too bad, but it gives people a chance to one-up the greedy buggers! Share the product with as many people as possible and then it will be as cheap as free! After all, it seems that many folks are just in a tiff because they can't get any money for a used product. For shame, you are being just as greedy. Give your copy of Rosetta Stone to some poor, sick kid who has always wanted to learn a bit of Spanish but never had the means.
   
   User: S. D. Paul
   Rating:
   Summary: learn some spanish, impress your friends!
   Helpful Votes: 7
   Total Votes: 8
   

4. Review Date: 2009-09-06

   I knew it was expensive but it is great program and it was cheaper here than anywhere else I looked,
   
   User: Craig A. Bradley
   Rating:
   Summary: Great!!!!!!!!!!!!!
   Helpful Votes: 2
   Total Votes: 5
   

5. Review Date: 2009-08-28

   Don't be fooled by this software. The basic concept is the Berlitz method: "Learn a new language the way you learned your first language."
   
   The idea was first proposed by Charles Berlitz more than 100 years ago. I majored in languages in college and spent a year in a Ph.D. program in linguistics. The problem is linguists have proved that fundamental changes occur in a human brain as the result of puberty. Once a person hits around the age of puberty, the human brain loses the ability to learn a new language (fairly well) just by "osmosis" like we learn our native language.
   
   The neuronal paths in the brain become hard-wired to the person's language. That is why full amnesia victims still can speak, read, and understand. It also means that we perceive the world through our language. If your native language is Russian (Latin, etc.) you perceive language as a bunch of grammatical "cases" where you put one ending on a word if it is the subject, a different ending if it is the direct object, different for indirect object, etc. If your native language is English, your brain doesn't perceive language that way. Hearing and repeating sentences won't "rewire" your brain.
   
   Yes, you may learn some conversational sentences useful for tourists. But try reading a newspaper article or writing a short letter. Or try getting directions more difficult than "Go down three blocks and turn left, then go two more blocks." Make a list of 10 things you'll need that aren't "Buy newspaper" or similar and see how far you get in trying to understand the answer.
   
   In language learning, there's no substitute for just plain rote memorization of rules and vocabulary PLUS practice. If there were, universities would be using it.
   
   As far as using this product in coordination with a standard language course, standard courses already have audio practice materials. What the author of the glowing review fails to realize is that no matter WHAT method you use, the more you practice the better you will get. If he was using these materials IN ADDITION TO his class and his classmates were only using the class materials, of course he would advance faster--he's spending more time studying. Regarding being able to write a few sentences in Arabic or Chinese in a short time, big deal. Anyone can learn a few sentences with a little practice. But "a few sentences" is far short of useful knowledge of a language.
   
   User: Joseph T. Reinckens II
   Rating:
   Summary: Berlitz rehashed - the concept has been disproved
   Helpful Votes: 42
   Total Votes: 65
   

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Editorial Reviews

Rosetta Stone Personal Edition contains everything you need to give the voice inside of you a new language. The method used recreates the natural way you learned your first language, revealing skills that you already have. This approach has won numerous awards, and has been adopted by countless organizations, schools and millions of users around the world. Join the language revolution today. Only with Rosetta Stone.

The comprehensive language-learning solution that fits your life.

Learn Naturally
Learn your next language the same way you learned your first language. Dynamic Immersion empowers you to see, hear and comprehend without translating or memorizing. You already have this ability. Rosetta Stone simply unlocks it.

Engage Interactively
Get feedback to move forward. You learn best by doing, and you'll apply what you've learned to get to the next step. Rosetta Stone adapts to your individual needs and skills, because you drive the program with your progress.

Speak Confidently
Start speaking immediately. From the very first lesson, you'll speak. You'll begin with essential basics, which form the building blocks of the language. Soon you'll create new sentences on your own, using words you've learned.

Have Fun
Best of all, Rosetta Stone is addictive. With every entertaining activity, you'll feel success. You'll want to use Rosetta Stone to have that next moment, that next breakthrough. So you'll keep using it, and you'll learn more!

That's language-learning success.
That's Rosetta Stone.

No translation or memorization required.

The most effective way to learn a new language is to be surrounded by it. When you were an infant, your parents taught you this way, by intuitively associating words with images. That's the ultimate language lab, but most language-learning programs completely ignore this.

Think about all of the ways you've tried to learn a language: classes at school, tapes and cassettes, even software that uses your native language as a base for your next one. What do they all have in common? Translation and memorization.

Instead of taking a "direct flight" from your brain to your new language, translation and memorization connects you to your old language. You always have to "fly" from your brain, to your native tongue ... and then translate what you've memorized to communicate.

That might work for a few words, but what happens when you get to a sentence or phrase? When you have to change tenses? You're going to make a lot of "connecting flights." That's why those other methods are so frustrating ... and why they fail.

Enter Dynamic Immersion.
This method encourages you to think like a baby. You'll pair words with vivid, real-life images and make connections between things you know and the new language. Soon, you'll be thinking in a new language, stringing words together into phrases that you create.

Innovative technology.
Rosetta Stone places this Dynamic Immersion method at the core of a suite of software that works with you to develop your skills. The simple, intuitive interface helps to keep you engaged in the solution, while advanced speech recognition technology makes certain that you're speaking correctly and accurately. Best of all, Rosetta Stone never leaves you behind. You'll only move forward when you're ready, when you've become comfortable and confident.

Levels 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5
Develop command of the language as you master conversational language skills across five levels. Gain the confidence to share your ideas and opinions. Develop conversational skills to plan adventures, care for your health and move abroad. Talk about government, work, movies and citizenship. Discuss family and traditions. And celebrate success.

Audio Companion
With Audio Companion, you'll enhance the Rosetta Stone experience wherever you go. You'll learn new skills on the computer, and then reinforce what you've learned with Audio Companion. Simply play the CDs on a stereo or download them to a MP3 Player. Each Audio Companion activity corresponds to a lesson in the Rosetta Stone software, so you can turn your travel time into productive language-learning time.

Inside the box, you'll find:

• Version 3 Personal Edition CD-ROM software for Level 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 (Windows/Mac)
• Headset microphone
• User's guide
• Audio Companion, a multiple-CD set to play or download to your MP3 player

Product Details

1. Rosetta Stone teaches you a new language naturally, by getting you to think, live and breathe the language.
2. Innovative solutions get you speaking new words, right from the start.
3. Rosetta Stone moves forward only when you're ready. You drive the pace. You set the schedule.
4. With Rosetta Stone, you'll discover a foundation of key vocabulary that you'll use to build into a whole new language.
5. Audio Companion lets you take the Rosetta Stone experience anywhere: in the car, at the gym, or on-the-go!