Pro's & Con's of Rosetta Stone

[NavarreMan 10]

I have been looking at buying Rosetta Stone for Russian. It is pricey and I was wondering what comments ya'll might have about the program before i take the plunge.

[trueimage 0]

I have Rosetta Stone. It's ok. It's very monotonous and boring and requires alot of time. I paid half price for it on ebay and my company reimbursed me for it so I lucked out there. I wouldn't pay for it unless you have a lot of unneeded money. As far as software programs go, it's better than most I've seen, but honestly in my opinion, the best way to learn is hands-on. If you needed Latin American Spanish, I'd burn you a copy, but I'm assuming you need Russian.

I also went to Berlitz Language School for one week and I didn't like that either. My company paid for that also and it's extremely expensive. I wouldn't do that either.

[NavarreMan 10]

I would tend to think that yes, Spanish woould certainly throw a wrench into the machine LOL!!! I have the demo version and yep, it looks pretty boring but i also learned a couple of words right off the bat. So I am concidering it. My dime though.

[trueimage 0]

Hmmm...I dont know how you feel about this but I'll throw it out there....'

have you ever used Limewire or Napster? maybe someone has it and you could download if for free using shareware. Just an idea.

It's not a bad program..I just dont think it's worth the money. Ít doesn't hold my interest enough. And you certainly won't walk away bilingual. It can only show you so many scenarios, ya know? It does have a pronunciation section and has various ways you do it. With sound, with written words only, etc.

maybe instead of buying the whole program, you could just buy the 1st level. that would be another way to try out before spend a whole bundle.

But if you decide to buy, I would consider ebay. It's cheaper than the Rosetta Stone site and it'll be a brand new copy.

[mawilson 2,133]

I have to agree -- it's pretty damn boring

I haven't completely given up on it yet, after all, I paid more than $200 for the damn thing.

[trueimage 0]

I got all three levels for $260 and that's about half price I think. I've had it for over a year and just can't get through it. Not because it's hard, but because I can't focus my attention on it for very long.

Which version (language) do you have?

[mawilson 2,133]

I got all three levels for $260 and that's about half price I think. I've had it for over a year and just can't get through it. Not because it's hard, but because I can't focus my attention on it for very long.

Which version (language) do you have?

Latin American Spanish. I could buy the whole lot for less than $300, but I decided

to try the first level first, to see if it's worth it.

[Fandango 1,440]

Who wants to send me some? lol

[trueimage 0]

I got all three levels for $260 and that's about half price I think. I've had it for over a year and just can't get through it. Not because it's hard, but because I can't focus my attention on it for very long.

Which version (language) do you have?

Latin American Spanish. I could buy the whole lot for less than $300, but I decided

to try the first level first, to see if it's worth it.

I'll burn the other 2 levels for you for free.

[~Nini~ 2]

Bee and I have been considering Rosetta Stone for French. He's got the Russian one so far and he really liked it, but the price is driving me back.

[trueimage 0]

Navarre Man....There you go! Nini and Bee have the Russian!

[mawilson 2,133]

I'll burn the other 2 levels for you for free.

Thanks vismaster, I appreciate the offer!

[trueimage 0]

I'll burn the other 2 levels for you for free.

Thanks vismaster, I appreciate the offer!

Is that a yes? Do you want them? I'll have to get some CD's to burn them and then you can email me your address.

This is actually a good idea. I'm sure several members on VJ have different versions of Rosetta Stone. We could help each other out this way. Everything with this process is already expensive without trying to buy 'the luxuries'.

Edited July 16, 2007 by vismaster

[JODO 2]

I have Rosetta Stone for Arabic . I think it is pretty good and I like how you can speak into the microphone and it gages how closely you are to a native speaker's pronunciation. I will admit, I got bored though and have not used it in about 2 weeks,but when I do get serious about it, I think it will be a great resource. Also the pictures very much helped me remember words.

[mybackpages 0]

IMO Rossetta Stone is one of the best programs you can buy for learning a language. It will emmerse you in the language. The text are not in English. I think what makes it dfferent from other programs s that it breaks down the language into listening, speaking, writing and reading skills. You can focus on one aspect or all four.

You can spend as little or as much time on a lesson as you want, but I do find that it works best if you can dedicate about 1 hour a day rather than 5-10 minutes at a time.

The first level is repetitive and you won;t feel as if you are learning any language you can really use - but sticking with it you and supplementing newspapers, films etc int he language you will quickly realize you are actually learning something.

It is expensive, but there is a unconditional money back guarentee within the first 6 months.