Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This is actually a review for more than one product (Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone)

If you are willing to spend 1-2 years learning a foreign language but have limited time (weekly), lack the ability to immerse yourself in that culture for 1 year (the best way to learn the language), can't attend classes, can expend some budget, and want the process to be challenging yet fun, here's how to do it:

1. Buy a good English-Foreign Language Dictionary.
2. Get the Pimsleur Course for that language. (Check Ebay for used copies)
3. Buy the Rosetta Stone Program for that language. (Costly. Try the online monthly subscription option if your budget is tight.)
4. Get a Basic Grammar Language Book (Barron's highly recommended)

Putting it all together.

1. Listen to the Pimsleur Program during your daily commute-1 lesson per day. (Take the weekend off) DO NOT go to the next lesson until you have a 80% recall of the material. THERE IS NO NEED TO BE AT 100% RECALL before going to the next lesson. (Trust me on this on-avoid my pain)
Using this method, you can get through ALL Pimsleur lessons (Levels I-III)in 12-18 months. THE FOCUS OF PIMSLEUR IS SPEAKING SKILLS.

2. At the same time, use the Rosetta Stone lessons on the weekend, with one 60-90 minute session. Go through the guided exercise followed by the test. THERE IS NO NEED TO GO THROUGH EVERY LESSON (TYPE) for each program. After you buy the product, you'll know what I'm talking about. THE FOCUS OF ROSETTA STONE IS LISTENING SKILLS.

3. Review the basic grammar of the language as you go through the 2 above.

4. Contrary to what Pimsleur says, look up any words for spelling, and likewise, for Rosetta Stone, look up any words for definition you don't understand.

Bottomline: Despite what they advertise, these are not stand-alone programs. Also the secret to recall is anticipation, meaning an 80% success rate for Pimsleur is ok and 70% success rate for Rosetta Stone is okay before moving to the next lesson.

You don't get any extra points for making 100% and this effort can be counter-productive (burn out, boredom, and frustration before finishing the lessons.)

Your goal should be to get through all of the programs and lessons and the experience should be challenging and fun. Afterwards, you can take your trip to that country for the total immersion experience, and after the first 2 weeks, you'll see how well spent your time was with the programs.

After you complete the above, and you are learning one of the romantic languages (German, French, Spanish, Italian) I HIGHLY RECOMMEND using the Michel Thomas programs-which are essentially Verb Conjugation 101 lessons-it is the glue that ties everything together you learned with Pimsleur/Rosetta Stone.

Note: I've used the Japanese, German, and Korean Pimsleur Courses, and Rosetta Stone German and Japanese Programs. I've also spent extensive time in all 3 of those countries. Learn from my mistakes.

Good luck and have fun.

The Rosetta Stone series of language instruction software is "Pimsleur" level of effectiveness and unfortunately, Pimsleur level cost as well.

The programs work on a total immersion basis, with no English used at all. There are several types of drills, ones where you hear a word or sentence and pick it out of a group of pictures, another where you read the text of the word and pick out the pictures, etc. There are also typing drills in your language to help you spell (without having to download special fonts), pronounciation drills that allow you to hear a word, speak it to your computer and hear your voice in comparison to the native speaker played back to you.

This is the first program of it's type I've found where this feature actually works!

I own both German and Russian 1 and 2. There is a LOT to learn here, especially if you do all the types of drills for each lesson. You learn grammar from inference, such as word endings when the subject is "in" something rather than "on" or "under" it. You see the same endings used, compare them with the pictures and you start to recognize patterns.

But one of the best things about this software is the user interface. Since it's an immersion program, there's no English used and by it's very nature needs to be intuitive. This is how it should be done. I've used other types of language software that had a klunky, confusing interface with features that didn't work, etc. None of that is the case with the Rosetta Stone software.

On another note, I switched to Mac about nine months ago and Fairfield Language Technologies sent me out a new Mac OS X systems disc for free, no questions asked. At this price level you'd think this would be commonplace, but it's not. Adobe allowed me to change from PC to OS X when I upgraded from Photoshop 6 to 7, but Macromedia wouldn't and expected me to buy all new software (I didn't). So kudos to FLT for their stellar customer service!

Is it too expensive? I'd say yes, but this is a serious language learning tool for serious self students, and it's a lot cheaper than classes at the U. The axiom is true with both this and the Pimsleur method tapes; you get what you pay for.

I would have given the product a 5 star review if it could have found the contents of the Lesson CD I copied to my laptop hard drive. You are forced to use the Lesson CD in the CD drive to work the program.

The program is a very good learing tool. You learn to hear, read, speak and write in the language. The early lessons at first seem too easy, until you get to the unit that has you type in the words or phrases for the image you are viewing. That's when the learning starts. The advanced lessons will have you typing whole paragraphs.

Better by far than any Berlitz programs etc. that you commonly find at a computer store.

You won't truly learn a language until you can write in it. This one gives you a really good start!

I have been using this product now for almost a year. The only reason I insist using it is because I feel really bad for wasting my money. First, this is not worth $300 bucks.
There are only still pictures and sound. No movies or any fancy graphics, so why the price? Second it is very repetitive and it does not advance in a very logical way so that you recognize the grammatical structures behind the ever changing sentences. Third, the sentences that you have to repeat over and over are not practical at all. You keep memorizing thins like "the boy is under the airplane" or "the ball is on the boy's head".
Initially I thought, well this is because it progresses very slowly which is not necessarily bad. But then I took a look at the last lessons; you just keep repeating useless senteces like these without real things used on a dialogue.
I cannot recommend you another course because I spent so much in this one that I do not want to try again and get disappointed. Don't be fooled by the wonderful reviews like I was. This is definitively NOT worth 300 dollars. It is not even useful for basic converstion. I have learned much more from simple travel books and cassettes from the library.
Ah, and if you think that by repeating these structures alone you will understand german grammar ...

I found this product to represent extremely poor value for money. I purchased the product based on all the marketing hype and testimonials. However, I have since come to the conclusion that these guys must pay people to write positive testimonials.

This product only covers the basics (levels 1 & 2). Then they try to rope you into paying even more money for their intermediate levels.

I have since purchased a cheaper 'Tell Me More' package (for Spanish) and have been highly impressed with the scope of it. They have packed so much more value into their package. And it is a complete package - all the way to advanced level.

I think it's really disgusting that Rosetta Stone get away with selling such a seriously inferior product at such a highly inflated price and people still buy it. I think it borders on being a scam.

This software ranks 5th among the top ten German language software.I bought Instant Immersion German and it was superior at only $39.95. I had to send back this software after 1 day of use and paying $300.00. It was very boreing and really not that exciting to keep you wanting to go back and learn more , not to mention some compatibility problems..Instant Immersion was so much better and more interesting and retainable..I don't know what NASA was thinking about when they bought this software for the astronauts? It would be great if you only had to say HI or Bye 278 miles above the earth with the Russians..Please don't put $300.00 dollars of your hard working money in this product..If you are on a low budget, buy instant immersion for $39.95...This is the best advice you can ever get..If you have $199.99 then buy the # 1 ranked German software "Tell Me More" it has 750 hrs. of total instruction with a speak recognition software built in that is 2nd to none..This will provide you with total fluency..Don't take my word for it...Go online and do your research and look up the reviews for the top 10 German software...I was too stupid to do that befor I plucked down $300.00 clams for this less than average software..I hope this helps you my friends!!!

I can't for the life of me understand why Rosetta Stone has garnered such good reviews (although I see a few negative ones here, so I feel validated) and seems to have such an outstanding reputation. I find it practically worthless, and it's expensive to boot. I'm sure that my experience with the German program would apply to Rosetta Stone's other languages as well, as they all taught via the same method.

I've been learning German for about 6 months and besides Rosetta Stone I have used Pimsleur, Rocket Languages, and have taken private instruction. Obviously, private instruction is best. But this review is about software, and Pimsleur is best. But Rosetta Stone has more bells & whistles, which is perhaps why people think it is so good. But it isn't. For example, nowhere in Rosetta Stone do you actually learn how to say useful things. Nowhere do you learn how to say "Hello," "How are you, "What's your name," or even "Where's the bathroom." Instead, you will learn how to recognize such useful phrases as "The woman and the boy have a ball on their heads" or "The man is under the donkey" or "These two fish are from the same species" or "The blue triangle is bigger than the red square." Ridiculous!! And note I said "learn how to recognize a phrase." This is the biggest weakness and disappointment with Rosetta Stone. It really doesn't get you to talk at ALL. You are not required to utter a word. You see four pictures, and the speaker will say (in German) "The boy is drinking milk." Now, if you have already heard the word for "boy" (Junge) and three of the pictures have no boys, you simply click on the picture with the boy and presto, you're correct! This multiple choice way of learning is not effective for learning a language! (There is a "practice speaking" mode, equally useless, which I mention below)

With Pimsleur, which is an audio only program, you hear conversations that will impart essential words and phrases. And they are repeated (and asks you to repeat) in such a fashion that it sticks. For example, it was weeks ago that it introduced "How much do I owe you?" yet I still remember it. (Wie viel shulde ich Ihnen?--No, I didn't cheat and look it up!) Pimsleur is brilliant in the way it gradually builds your knowledge and abilities. Of course, it isn't perfect as it doesn't explain the grammar. But neither does Rosetta Stone, and Rosetta Stone is worse because with Pimsleur there is also an English speaker who explains some things, while with Rosetta Stone you are left to twist in the wind. That's why software language learning programs should be seen as supplements--supplements to classroom or private instruction.

What are the bells & whistles on Rosetta Stone? You get to do a lesson in a variety of ways--seeing pictures with audio (the speaker), or pictures with audio and text, or audio only, for example. There is also a feature where the speaker on the program says a phrase, and you repeat it into a microphone and can compare your voice signature to the speaker's. But I found that this didn't work well at all and wasn't worth the trouble. And again, the phrases weren't useful.

The price alone is what makes this product a rip-off. On it's own, Rosetta Stone is great...I mean, it's probably one of the most effective and easily accessible vocabulary learning tools on the market. However, the value of this package is not more than...60-70 bucks. 150 is a fair price for the entire 2 level package.

The program lacks grammar explanations, and more importantly, it lacks conversational lessons. There is one actual lesson that briefly covers some casual speak, but the majority of the program is just vocabulary. After going through the entire 150 dollar first level, you still won't know how to say "Hallo, wie geht's?"--"Ah, es geht mir gut". I haven't completed the entire program, but I have skimmed it all, and I don't believe you ever learn conversational things like that.

In order for this program to even near the pricetag that they've put on it...it would need some type of grammar explanation...like perhaps a reading after each chapter or unit that would explain why things are done the way they are. It also needs several more units that intensely cover conversational things. The cheaper products out there like Instant Immersion do a MUCH better job of giving you conversational language.

Anyways, I'd reccommend...not paying for this. I managed to get a hold of it for free, and I'm glad. I once was at a booth at a mall where they tried to sell it to me, and I'm glad I wasn't suckered in. It's not a bad concept of a program, and as a program itself it is excellent. The price is unfortunately why it is bad. Borrow it from a friend, or acquire it some other way.

I would recommend in lieu of this program Pimsleur (don't pay for that either, rent it, or look on ebay), Instant Immersion (worth the full price of 40ish), and just a good internet connection. In truth, if you're resourceful you can learn a language without spending more than 20 bucks for a good dictionary and a grammar reference.

The Rosetta stone teaches by 'complete immersion'. Using picture context the student asborbs vocabulary with ease. Immediate rewards for correct answers help motivate the learner to keep working. However, there are some weaknesses. First, you need to have a reliable dictionary on hand. There are times that you come to wrong conclusions about word meaning and you must double check with a dictionary. Second, this course is weak in grammar. I recommend a text to demonstrate basic grammatical structures. Last, this software does not give separate phonetic information. you are expected to learn by listening. Certain individuals, based on learning style may want to see phonetic information in print.

The Rosetta Stone application requires that the language CD be present in the harddrive, and it *continuously* spins up the CD disk while the program runs. This unfortunate design will quickly run down your laptop batteries, making this application unsuitable for travel. My repeated requests to Fairfield Technologies, the Rosetta Stone software company, to remedy this problem were declined. Considering the substantial price paid for this software, it should *behave* like software, and not a DVD. If the application could be installed and run like normal software, it would not uselessly drain you laptop batteries.