Rosetta Stone: Korean Explorer

by Fairfield Language Technologies

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 8 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00002S9FU
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 6, 2001
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,674 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #92 in Software > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Asian
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Now you can learn a new language with the award-winning method used by the U.S. State Department to train diplomats. Proven effective by NASA astronauts, Peace Corps volunteers, and millions of students worldwide, the Rosetta Stone Language Library teaches new languages faster and easier than ever before.

We all learn our childhood language by associating new words and phrases with the world around us. The Rosetta Stone method replicates this process by presenting vivid, real-life images to convey the meaning of each new phrase. Instead of translating, memorizing, and studying rules of grammar, you actually learn to think in the new language. Vocabulary and grammar are integrated systematically, leading to everyday proficiency. It's the natural way to learn.

The Rosetta Stone Explorer contains 22 lessons for beginning learners with nearly 900 real-life images and phrases spoken by native speakers. It develops all key language skills--listening comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing--while its systematic structure teaches vocabulary and grammar naturally, without lists and drills. Includes previews, exercises, and tests for every lesson, with automated tutorials throughout the program. (Ages 6 and older)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT C.D.! I REALLY LEARNED SOMETHING NEW!, March 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Rosetta Stone: Korean Explorer (CD-ROM)

The Rosetta Stone c.d. has been just what I've been looking for! I am a first year Korean language student who is a non-native, and this program has been a tremendous help. First it is fun, second it is simple and uncomplicated to use and last the pictures are coordinated with words and phrases that you not only see but hear as well. Immediate positive reinforcement is offered in the forms of applause or cheers when you answer correctly, and giggles when you don't. The c.d. is great for first year students, or for those who speak but want to "brush up" on their pronunciation or spelling skills. It offers you a choice of several ways to learn. You can see and hear the words and picture together, see just the words and match it to the picture, see just the picture and match it to the words, and even lets you compare the tone and inflection of your voice with that of the native speakers. The c.d. offers several different modes also in which you can choose how you want to learn and how much you want to "participate". Each picture and phrse builds upon the next and reinforces ideas and concepts through repetion that somehow does not seem boring or redundant. There are ten different levels and you may jump around as you chooose focusing on the key areas you want or coordinating them with what you are concurrently learning. Not recommended for people with absolutely no background in korean in that it does not teach the intricacies of grammar or the beginning alphabet and pronunciation rules. Fantastic for everyone else however in that it reinforces the basics and builds vocabulary and sentence structure as well as good pronunciation.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BEST KOREAN LANGUAGE TEACHER I'VE FOUND, April 7, 2001

By 

MMO - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rosetta Stone: Korean Explorer (CD-ROM)

As a Korean-American with no Korean language background but with Korean speaking relatives in the US and Korea, I've been trying to learn Korean via tapes, books, dictionary, videos (Disney is available in Korean), CD's, and family, etc. This is the best program I've found so far. It's something that is not tedious or boring to use. In fact, it is easy to lose track of time with its game-like learning process reminiscent of flash cards, only more fun if you're into puzzling challenges. I highly recommend it to anyone trying to learn Korean.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good method for learning a new language, June 20, 2003

By 

Kyung Hei "Smart Shopper" (Southeast, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rosetta Stone: Korean Explorer (CD-ROM)

I found this method made this language very accessible to a native English speaker. It shows pictures, shows the word, and plays the sound of the word so that they can all become connected together in the mind - a method that brings the learner much closer to fluency. I was glad that the method didn't rely upon connecting the Korean word with the English one - a method that requires the learner to first recall the "English" word in order to access the memory for the Korean one.

Unlike one of the other reviewers, I was also glad that the interactive version allowed the listener to listen to the properly pronounced word instead of showing a "phonetic" spelling. The Korean language has many consonants for which there is no English equivalent, like a letter between k and g, a letter between l and r, and a letter between p and b, and those can be extremely difficult and even more confusing to describe than simply listening to the properly pronounced word and trying to mimic it. The native Engligh speaker who tries to substitute an English "equivalent" for one of the actual sounds will be learning to pronounce the word incorrectly! And a language learned improperly in the first place is much more difficult to correct than simply learning it correctly the first time.

My biggest gripe about this method is that it doesn't take advantage of the inherent logic in the Korean alphabet - which is phonetic itself! If there was only a single chapter on the characters and their pronunciations, then this program would be complete. As it stands, I would recommend that the student of Korean first study the alphabet before beginnning this program. The lack of focus on the Korean characters and their pronunciations is the reason that I give this program only 3 stars.