Rosetta Stone V2: French Level 1-2 [OLD VERSION]

by Fairfield Language Technologies

Product Features

• This powerful 2-CD set of learning tools adapts to your personal needs and imparts a strong foundation in a new language
• With this award-winning method used by NASA and the Peace Corps, you'll learn the way children do -- by associating words and phrases with the world around you
• Participate in over 200 lessons where you'll interact with fluent French speakers to build speaking & vocabulary skills
• Get a full tutorial in speaking and syntax skills
• Graphical speech recognition displays your voiceprint and compares it to native speaker to help improve pronunciation

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000077DD2
• Item model number: 224-12
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 14, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,166 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #32 in Software > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > French

Product Description

Amazon.com

Looking for an effective way to get lasting language skills? Rosetta Stone's unique learning approach is designed to get you there, with faster results and a deeper understanding and mastery of the language. With Rosetta Stone, you will learn French the way you learned your own native language, without translation or memorization.

Develop your skills in four key areas...

Reading. View larger.

Speaking. View larger.

Writing. View larger.

Listening. View larger.

Native speakers, real-life images, speech recognition and fully interactive software teach you like you learned your first language -- naturally. The Rosetta Stone French Level 1 and 2 set combines the content found in Level 1 and Level 2 to take you from no knowledge of the language to advanced proficiency -- in one easy purchase.

Rosetta Stone is self-contained and intuitive to use. There are no complicated lists to memorize or handbooks to read. With Dynamic Immersion, you can start learning immediately. Join NASA, Fortune 500 executives, U.S. diplomats and millions of learners worldwide in discovering the fastest way to learn French.

And what exactly is Dynamic Immersion? Studies show that learning exclusively in the new language -- without translation as a crutch -- is crucial if you want to communicate. Grammar drills and rote memorization never develop this skill. Dynamic Immersion helps you think in the new language and quickly develops the language skills and structures you need to for everyday communication. Rosetta Stone teaches French through a step-by-step sequence of carefully structured Dynamic Immersion lessons. New words become associated with familiar objects, actions, and ideas. Words build to phrases and sentences in a systematic progression.

The Dynamic Immersion method reconnects people to the language skills they used successfully to master their first language. With Rosetta Stone, you start from a position of strength -- your own strength. First, Rosetta Stone allows you to learn through context. The software presents a carefully chosen selection of four images and asks you to select the image that matches the written text and the voices of native speakers. Building on the knowledge you've already gained and your intuitive grasp of the meaning of each picture, you make a choice. There's absolutely no translation or memorization to hold you back, so you start making progress immediately.

Next, Rosetta Stone offers immediate reinforcement. The very second you complete a task, the software provides feedback. Speak a word and our unique voiceprint technology automatically rates your pronunciation. Connect an image with a phrase and you'll immediately learn if your choice was correct. Complete a set of exercises and you'll instantly know how well you did. With Rosetta Stone, you always know where you stand. Recognizing that dynamic immersion is a continuous process, Rosetta Stone also employs a systematic sequence that gradually incorporates new words, phrases, and more complex grammar as it reinforces existing learning. As a result, your understanding of your new language grows naturally.

Levels 1 and 2 includes more than 8,000 real-life images and phrases in 210 lessons, as well and an average of 450 hours of instruction depending on your learning style. Rosetta Stone also incorporates a balanced curriculum including listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing, as well as speech recognition for accent perfection. The program's systematic structure teaches vocabulary and grammar naturally, without lists and drills, and there are previews, exercises, and tests for every lesson with automated tutorials.

Rosetta Stone's lessons will quickly get you up to speed on a wide range of language topics, including directions; affirmative and negative verb forms; food, eating, and drinking; family relationships; direct objects; telling time; shapes, colors and locations; greetings and conversations; travel, transportation, and transactions; shopping and dining; and much, much more.

Product Description

Rosetta Stone French Level I & II opens up a new world to you by teaching you how to communicate with a new culture! Reviews and testing features help identify weak points and work harder on them Comes with illustrated User's Guides and Curriculum Text books Ages 6 & up

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

499 of 511 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun to use, very extensive, April 23, 2003

By 

+++ (OR, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rosetta Stone V2: French Level 1-2 [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)

The Rosetta Stone language learning system is based on the idea that foreign languages should be learned the same way as children learn their very first language - not by learning words isolated from their content and later putting them into sentences using painfully learned grammar rules, but by direct association of words and sentences with visual images. The Rosetta Stone contains no instructions in your mother tongue. If you bought German, the program communicates with you only in German. The only means which the program uses to explain you the meaning of the foreign words are pictures. You may not understand the meaning of the new word or phrase immediately. However, the program will use this word over and over again, and soon you will get an idea what it means. Remember how parents teach their children to talk, repeating the same thing again and again in different combinations? This is what Rosetta Stone does to you. You do not get a translation - insted, you get an image, an idea, a feeling.

I purchased French, but all 24 languages supported by Rosetta Stones use the same software and the same or nearly the same structure of lessons and images. The program works as follows. Once you have chosen a lesson out of a list, you have a selection of several modes of learning. In one, the program tells you phrases, and you have to choose one of four pictures which fits the phrase. In another, you see a picture and chose one from four written words/phrases. In the third, you chose the written phrase which matches what you just heard. In the fourth, you see a written word/phrase and match it with one of four phrases read to you by the computer. The program keeps on making new and new combination of the words and phrases for as long as you need to start feeling confident. If you want to practice your writing, Rosetta Stone will offer you either to put together sentences by dragging whole words with a mouse, or will suggest you to type them in from scratch and will correct you mistakes along the way. Finally, another part of the program works on your pronunciation and intonation. It not only records your voice as you repeat after a native speaker, but also provides graphical analysis of the patterns of your speach, thus helping to identify mistakes. This part of the program requires a high quality headset..., a cheap computer microphone will not work.

This program costs much more than the other programs on the market, but it also has a lot more to offer. Levels 1 and 2 combined contain over 200 units, and each unit may take several hours (depending on your age and language learning ability) to master. A great advantage which helps to make the buying decision is that Rosetta Stone offers a fully functional demo version of the program, which can be downloaded from their web site (rosettastone.com). This demo differs from the real thing in that you can try only 5-6 units out of 210 in any of the languages. This is sufficient to get a very good idea of how you like the program, as well as to understand how the level matches your prior knowledge of this language. Actually, I must say that Level 2 goes pretty far, I was surprised how advanced the sentences were when I opened one of the level 2 units in a language which I learned before.

In French which I bought each level came on 2 CDs, one with the software, the second one with the language library. Probably as a heritage from 1993, when the disk space was scarce, the program reads language data straight from the CD instead of copying them to hard disk. One has to keep the language library CD in the CD-drive, where it starts spinning every half a minute or so. With a noisy 40x drive it is rather annoying. The program runs on any Windows version after 3.1 (including XP) and on the Mac.

Besides CDs, the program comes with a manual (how to install and run the program) and a booklet with cirriculum, which contains a list of all words and phrases used in the program. There is no booklet on grammar, and no dictionary because any of these items standard in adult learning would contradict the spirit and the method of The Rosetta Stone. Both the manual and the booklet can be downloaded in PDF format from The Rosetta Stone's web site (another good way to evaluate how much you can expect to learn if you buy the program).

The developers claim that the program covers 5-year middle/high school program and includes around 2500 words. I had several other language programs in the past, and there is no doubt that Rosetta Stone covers a lot more language than any other program I saw.

Overall, it is a good learning tool, fun to use. It is not cheap, but if you divide the price by the number of hours of patient instructions which you get from your computer, you will end up with a cost which is way, way lower than any teacher would charge per hour for individual or group lessons. All of us used The Rosetta Stone method of learning between the ages of 1 and 7 and keep on using it when teaching our little ones. The fact that the developer remains in business for over 10 years and keeps getting new awards shows that it is also good for adults. I liked it. Check out the demo version, you probably will like it, too.

168 of 171 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Beginning, September 23, 2006

By 

James D. Michels "jdmichels" (Springfield MO, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rosetta Stone V2: French Level 1-2 [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)

This is a great product for learning French, but it is not a complete solution.

I have been working on the French language for the past year and have tried many products. Assuming that many people who are looking at this product are just beginning to learn French, I will share my experiences and recommendations on various products.

There are two products that are fabulous for getting you started.
* French for Dummies
* Rosetta Stone French

Please note that these two products will not actually teach you to speak French, but they are an excellent introduction to the language. These products will get you ready for the real work which begins when you get face to face instruction with an experienced French language teacher.

I am completely convinced that the best way to learn French is in a classroom. I have found no other method that works for me. All other avenues can be useful additions, but classroom instruction is what it takes to make progress.

Notes on Products:

* French for Dummies. This is the most clear and accessible source for an overview and introduction to this strange and challenging language. I got this book after a couple of months of French lessons and the book provided a huge number of aha's. Things that were just a mystery to me where simply explained in this book. Highly recommended.

* Rosetta Stone French Level 1. This is an excellent acclimation to French. You can easily tune your ear to the sounds, pick up rudimentary vocabulary and learn basics of sentence structure. I still use it for practice drills and to check my pronunciation. (which is always a challenge)

* Movies. You may not know this, but many DVD's have multiple languages on the disk. You can rent DVD's, set the language to French and the subtitles to French and then learn the language. Start with movies with a simple dialogue. Something like Shrek, simple is good. Look on the back of the DVD case for a list of included languages.

* Tell me More French. Complete dog, never worked right on my computer. The concept is great, execution is awful.

* Pimsleur French Audio. Decent set of audio instruction. Useful for memorizing phrases and listening for pronunciation.

* Berlitz French CD Pack Audio. I didn't like this as well as the Pimsleur audio, but it's OK.

* Berlitz Virtual Classroom. Berlitz has a program where you work with a live person over the internet. You talk on a headset and share a whiteboard on your screen. It's OK for people who have a tough schedule and can't get to in person training but it is far inferior to a classroom setting.

* Berlitz Classroom Training. One-on-One and class room training. Quality is inconsistent, completely depends on which instructor you get. My experience was poor to medium. The best part of Berlitz is their printed material. The Berlitz verb, grammar, and phrase books are my favorite references.

* L'Institut de Langue et de Culture Françaises de Paris (ILCF Paris). I did a one month course at ILCF in Paris. Six hours of French classes for one month. After struggling for months with books, tapes, programs, phone work etc. I finally got to learn French. My instructor was excellent. The class was intense and very very productive. I know many people will not be able to take a month off to go to Paris and learn French, but this is the ultimate in learning the language. There are dozens of school in Paris that teach French at all levels. ILCF is the only one that I have experience with.

My summary of how to learn French:

1. Spend several weeks with the Rosetta Stone French system and the French for Dummies book as an introduction.

2. Then enroll in a classroom for as many hours per week as you can manage. Use the Rosetta Stone material for supplement and maybe another tape set for more practice.

3. Watch lots of movies in French.

4. Schedule a visit to France and practice.

J'aime Paris.
Bonne chance.

204 of 218 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blows the competition out of the water!, March 10, 2004

By 

T. Martin "mart0063" (kingston, new york United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rosetta Stone V2: French Level 1-2 [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)

Nothing I've seen comes close to this program. It's an entirely different level. But do yourself a favor before shelling out the $300. Go to the rosettastone.com web page and ask for a demo cd. They'll send you a sample with every language they offer included. It gives you a very good sense of what it's all about.