Rosetta Stone Spanish (Latin America) Level 1

by Rosetta Stone

• Interactive language software with proprietary speech-recognition technology
• Build a foundation of fundamental vocabulary and essential language structure
• Master basic conversational skills; receive immediate and ongoing speech assessments
• Enhance your learning on-the-go with Rosetta Stone mobile apps for the Kindle Fire HD, iPad and iPhone .  Access included with purchase.
• Language-enhancing games; live online lessons; includes headset with microphone

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: 1617160822
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: September 14, 2010
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (88 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #4 in Software > Language & Travel > Foreign Languages > Spanish & Portuguese
  • #4 in Software > Language & Travel > Foreign Languages > Universal Translator
  • #21 in Software > Education & Reference

Product Description

Platform: PC/Mac

Amazon.com

Build a foundation of fundamental vocabulary and essential language structure. Begin to learn and speak with confidence. Master basic conversational skills, including greetings and introductions, simple questions and answers, shopping and much more.

What Will I Learn

 

This level will help you:

• Build vocabulary and language basics
• Spell and write accurately
• Speak without a script
• Retain what you've learned
• Read and understand in your new language

Sample topics include:

• Age, family relations, household items
• Introductions and greetings
• Times of day and calendar terms
• Buying and selling

What Do I Get?

Interactive Software

Our award-wining version, complete with proprietary speech recognition technology.

Audio Companion

For your CD or MP3 player so you can review while on the go.

Headset with Microphone

For use with our state-of- the-art speech-recognition software.

Live Online Lessons

Practice sessions led by native speaking tutors.

Games & Community

Language-enhancing games move you towards real-world proficiency.

Mobile Companion

Learning application for your iPhone or iPod Touch device.

Our Method

Recreate the natural way you learned your first language and reveal skills that you already have using Dynamic Immersion. This award-winning method has been adopted by countless organizations, schools and millions of users around the world.

Learn Naturally: Discover how to speak, read, write, and understand--all without translating or memorizing. Our award-winning solution recreates how you learned your first language, unlocking your natural abilities.

Speak Confidently: Perfect your pronunciation with speech-recognition technology. Gain the confidence in your new voice as you practice with other learners in our exclusive online community and participate in online sessions coached by native tutors.

Immerse Yourself: Be surrounded by your new language. From core lessons to online sessions, Rosetta Stone gets you engaged and interacting with others.

Stay Motivated: Experience accomplishment with each moment of achievement; with dedicated success agents you will never lose sight of your language-learning goals.

Your Natural Ability. Awakened.

Natural Discovery

Learning your first language is as natural as smiling. Effortless. Rewarding. Every step in Rosetta Stone feels like that. Clear, compelling images appear precisely, in juxtaposition, conveying meaning. Intuitively, you just know what it means.

• Our puzzle-like environments--a systematic presentation of sounds, images, and text--help learners absorb meaning intuitively.

Rosetta Stone's award-winning software, where you will interact by speaking, clicking, selecting phrases and writing.

Speech Activation

Rosetta Stone's proprietary speech-recognition technology provides immediate and ongoing feedback.

Build your confidence and polish your pronunciation skills with state-of-the-art speech-recognition technologies and success-filled dialogues.

• Our software provides immediate and ongoing assessments of your speech through Actionable Feedback, which helps you pronounce syllables, words and sentences correctly and easily.

• Based on a collection of literally millions of speech samples, our proprietary speech-recognition algorithms and speech models were engineered with a singular purpose--to help you communicate with accuracy, confidence and ease.

Native Socialization

Language-learning games will keep you motivated along the way.

Practice with native speakers in our live interactive sessions and our online community. Every conversation gives you the confidence to communicate in your new language.

• For many, traditional language-learning fails because it lacks real conversation. With Rosetta Stone you'll play games and chat with native speakers and other learners in our online language community.

• Hundreds of native-speaking tutors trained in the Rosetta Stone method are ready to help reinforce the language you're learning through live, online conversations. From Day One you'll be speaking your new language with confidence and ease.

Product Description

Build a foundation of fundamental vocabulary and essential language structure. Gain the confidence to master basic conversational skills, including greetings and introductions, simple questions and answers, shopping, and much more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

288 of 297 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy to use software August 27, 2010

By A. Boston TOP 500 REVIEWER

Platform for Display:PC/Mac|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I've always considered myself a bit of a language idiot. I barely scrapped by in French 1, and I don't think I ever passed Spanish 2. Honestly, I know I just didn't put that extra special effort in. I was in high school and though eager to learn a new language, when it turned out to be not as easy as I expected, I pretty much gave up. Now, at almost 30 years old, I still always wish I had really mastered a language.

First, I'm going to give you my language know-how so you can see if we might be on similar levels. My biggest problems are tense, plurals, conjugation, the whole male/female thing(o or a?). Just all around construction of a sentence. I can pick up words, I know numbers and food, hello, goodbye, please and thank you: the general stuff. While I'm not good with speaking, I can usually get by reading menus or maps. I'm visual, I can get the gist from a native speaker if they don't talk too fast, but forget my response, I probably sound like a caveman...for instance, recently I was in Spain. I needed a train ticket for December 2nd to Madrid. I smiled at the guy(showing him my silent plea of forgiveness for butchering his beautiful language)and said "El Tren billete, Diciembre dos, Madrid" So I said December two instead of December 2nd... I knew he'd be able to figure me out, but I also knew I sounded like a buffoon.

When I got the software for Level 1 Rosetta Stone, I was really excited. I had a little trouble getting my computer to load it, but after 10 or so minutes of trying different things, it loaded up and I got started. One thing I particularly like is that they judge your actual speaking voice and pronunciation, via a microphone headset included, that is plugged in by USB.... It's great to learn speaking Spanish in the privacy of your own home, instead of being 15 and sitting in a class next to that cute guy who's going to think you're an idiot for not being able to properly say "I'm going to the library to get a book".

It is repetitive, but also fun if you don't do too much of it at once. I'm really good with vocabulary, but still having issues with conjugation & tense. The entire program is in Spanish, so sometimes I have to guess the meaning of small words like es, tiene, son, etc. Then they want me to change them to male or female, but I don't know what the word is to begin with! You'd think with software as expensive as this, you wouldn't have to spend extra time googling words to find out their meaning.

Level 1 is all the basics that you might learn in your first year of a Spanish class in high school. If you've really got those down, you might want to move on to Level 2 of Spanish, which is a completely different set, and additional cost.

The BIG con is that Rosetta Stone seems a little money hungry to me, both for the cost of the levels, and that your online part of the software expires and doesn't last indefinitely. I don't have another two hundred and fifty plus dollars to move on to level 2(or seven hundred plus dollars to complete the set).

The online aspect of the software is pretty nice, but unfortunately is limited to 3 months time, after that you can chuck over MORE money if you want to continue using it(you can use the other, non-online dvds indefinitely, this time expiration ONLY applies to the online activities). I liked the online games and stories in Spanish. Besides those, there's practice sessions led by native speaking tutors and other Rosetta Stone users online that you can do games and such with. Lastly, the box included cds you can load onto your ipod for practice.

All in all I'm really glad I gave it a try. I'm hoping to become better at Spanish all around and in the end at least be able to make up a proper sentence because as of right now I just completely failed a grammar section and have to redo it. If anything, using level 1 would just be good as a basics brush up before a trip, but it certainly won't make you fluent. Read more ›

122 of 128 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars It reminds me of language courses in high school and college February 24, 2011

By Ulalume Jones VINE™ VOICE

Platform for Display:PC/Mac|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I am usually not the greatest at language. I took three years of Spanish in high school and blew through one disappointing semester of French in college, since I was studying European literature and wanted to know a main language besides Spanish connected with that. I've tried learning Italian and Gaelic (yes, Gaelic) on my own with books and also on trips abroad. But unless you have a relative or friend who is a nature speaker, it can be hard to practice. Even more so if you want to pay for a college course for a refresher. I do believe Rosetta Stone bridges this gap for the person who doesn't want to go back to college to learn this or perhaps a person who needs to learn basic Spanish for a job.

At first, I had a hard time installing this on my desktop. I've bumped this down to four stars because you can't install it on more than one computer, so I had to choose between computers. This, I didn't like at all. For the price of this program, you should be able to install it on both a work and home computer. I wish there was a way to validate your purchase so you could do this. I do notice another person with a MacMini had some of the same problems I did getting it installed. In the end, I felt it should have been more easier to do. I am not sure if my computer was the problem or maybe I didn't get good disks that can be read well. I was happy to find out, however, you can have up to five people on your one computer learning, which is nice. I can share it with my boyfriend, who also wants to learn.

The lessons, however, are very good. I was taught in high school and college in the same way, which is nice. It is advantageous for me to use this over taking a class at my local college since I can do it on my own time. I can also make mistakes without getting an F.... :) In my old classes, we used to use flash cards in a similar way Rosetta Stone does their visuals. I learn pretty fast this way. It builds a simple vocabulary, mostly using present tense. Basically, if you took classes before, what two first year Spanish classes would cover, maybe a little less. It focuses also on strict pronouncing. Which is what I didn't get in school. Very personalized training. A Spanish teacher might skip over a syllable you don't say right, especially if you do well with reading and other activities, but Rosetta Stone will red you out if you don't say something clear. I like this feature. It helps me out a lot.

It took me a long time to get confidence enough to try their 3 month interactive program online. I shouldn't have been afraid of it. I enjoyed the games and got paired up with a speaker of my level. I was never once corrected in a way that made me feel stupid. I think that is very important. I feel people tend to get frustrated with learning languages because they feel, especially on a basic level, if they don't get something, it's over. They tend to quit. It is overwhelming. But this system doesn't overtax the learner. Some things I found I wasn't quick on the draw with were, finding out the balloons used were sometimes for the first person, getting the pace of the dialogue in exercises (sometimes they aren't in order) and sometimes I wouldn't catch on to games like the matching game right way, since there is no English in the program. It's nice though, it makes you not cling to anything. If reminds me of having to spend a whole hour in Spanish classes only speaking "en Español".

I do wish you got unlimited online service with this product since it is so expensive. If you paid the price of it for a college class for a year, you'd have access to co-students and a teacher to guide you, not three months of interaction. I am not sure how long the current program lasts. Can you keep using it even if RS releases version 5 without paying an extra $50? I am assuming all the audio and video stuff still works and doesn't go away once the next version comes up. The problem happens when your computer doesn't work or you want to upgrade. No way to do that or is there? I also can't find the subscription rate for this after my 3 month trial expires. I have been looking at the website for ten minutes now and can't find a simple answer. Ugh. I think I may knock it down a star for that. Information like that should be easy for anyone, owner of RS or not, to find. It makes me feel like they are keeping information away from the consumer until after they buy the product.

Overall, it's a good refresher course. The first level won't make you a master, but it can help you learn enough to form basic conversations and use it in different situations. It can push you to learning on your own as well. I am not convinced it is the best way to go to learn language, but will give it a few more months before I completely say yea or nay. Wait, wouldn't that be sí or no?

Note: I have been using this and another Rosetta Stone for several weeks now and the headset that comes with it has a microphone that isn't so good. Both my boyfriend and I have trouble getting the microphone to register words we say, even if we say it correctly. For example, even simple Spanish words like Si and Hola get a negative signal even though I am saying it perfectly. I continue at the same volume about 5 times and then, it finally takes it. I wonder if it will become frustrating on high levels where you have to repeat back longer sentences. My Mac doesn't have an external mic, so I have no option but to use the headset and take it off to speak as loud as I can into the microphone. It doesn't seem to matter if I do their "1,2,3,4,5" test at regular voice, louder or softer. After having to repeat one word twenty times before they accept it, even though I know I am doing it right, tires me out! Read more ›

The manufacturer commented on the review below

50 of 52 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars why do i only have 3 months period on an item I paid over 150 dollars for ? January 26, 2013

By Hyun Jae Lee

Platform for Display:PC/Mac|Amazon Verified Purchase

this is one of the most expensive self learning tool I would say. to start things off, you only have 3 months to learn and use the program. Anything over 3 months, you gotta pay MORE MONEY to have an access or to finish/redo the program.

that is just a smart business on their side, but a business I do not want to deal with ever again

The manufacturer commented on this review (What's this?)

Rosetta Success saysFebruary 6, 2013

Hello Hun Jae Lee,

The Version 4 CD program includes a trial feature of the supplemental online features (Rosetta World and Rosetta Studio), such as games, stories and Rosetta Studio sessions with native speakers of your new language. Once that trial period expires, you still have access to Rosetta Course, the foundation of your language learning experience. One level of Rosetta Course includes four Units, and each Unit includes a variety of lessons to teach you your new language.
In one level, you'll have access to 16 different Core Lessons, which are 30 minute lessons that introduce new material: new vocabulary, new sentence structures and new grammar points. In addition to the Core Lessons, there are also focus activities which usually take 5-10 minutes to complete. Each focus activity helps to reinforce a specific skill set, such as vocabulary, pronunciation, speaking, listening, reading, writing and review activities. The number of focus activities per level varies, depending on which curriculum you choose. In my standard curriculum, I have over 100 focus activities in the first Level. At the end of each Unit there is a Milestone activity which simulates a real conversation in your new language.

I hope this helps to better explain how Rosetta Stone works, and if you need any assistance accessing your Rosetta Stone program please feel free to submit a case at http://success.rosettastone.com/ We would be more than happy to help!

Jessica
Rosetta Stone Customer Success

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Don't like it July 30, 2012

By Charles T. Dowis

Platform for Display:PC/Mac

I know several languages, and decided that I wanted to learn Spanish to speak with some of my friends. I looked over several programs, and tried this one to get started. It seemed to go very well at the beginning, but I discovered a major problem. As I get more into the language, the "learn the language with pictures" did not work very well. I remember learning "left and right" but discovered later that the words actually meant "tall and short".

I looked around and discovered other Spanish language programs like LiveMocha which were very similar but either free or a reasonable cost. I suggest that you look around on the internet before mortaging your home to buy this program. It is just too expensive for what you get.

And that is opinion and I hope I can help you avoid a very expensive mistake.

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Expensive, rarely updated, and behind-the-times June 15, 2011

By Ken in Denver

Platform for Display:PC/Mac

They say you can run a retail business two ways: charge a lot and have only a few customers, or charge as little as possible and make it up in volume. Rosetta Stone has the former business model, and then some. Its price is, in a word, indefensible.

This product was not that difficult to make. Its technology amounts mostly to showing you pictures, playing sounds, and having you click certain places. And yet, it's hundreds of dollars just for a few modules. Worse yet, upgrades are not free and while this product would be ideal to use either over-the-web or on a smartphone, neither option is available, nor will it be until Rosetta Stone gets some real competition. As it stands, you're tied to your desk, with only a supplemental iPad app available (Android, Blackberry, and other tablets are out of luck!).

Despite their general state of being caught long in the past, the lack of innovation in each release, and their shocking price tag, Rosetta Stone is *still* probably the best language learning software you can get, and it does help you get the vocabulary and conjugation down, mostly through repetition. That isn't so much an endorsement of Rosetta Stone, however, as it is a statement about the utter lack of competition they face.

Hopefully soon someone will knock Rosetta Stone from its complacent place at the top of the hill, but that day has not come yet. You should buy this product, but don't feel good about it.