Customer Reviews

Rosetta Stone V2: Hebrew Level 1 [OLD VERSION]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I teach a special education program in a Hebrew day school. I use this program to introduce my students to Hebrew language. It works! Even if a child cannot yet read, he or she can still learn the language by connecting the words they hear with the pictures. They can then use this program to see how these same words are written. I have some students who can study a unit and take the test in the program and get 100% on the reading test first time. The test of matching pictures to the heard words takes a little longer. I also have some students who excel the other way: they find pictures easier, the reading is more difficult. This program enables my students to improve all aspects of their language skills.
P.S. Before I bought the program, I tried the sampler CD, and learned some Welsh myself. This is a language that has always intrigued me - and if I could learn Welsh from Rosetta Stone, I felt that my students could definitely learn Hebrew using it.
Again, it's not the most exciting game, but if you want to learn Hebrew, this is a great way to do it.

I began studying hebrew 2 years ago, but with only occasional classes, I found that I understood very little in conversation. This software helped me begin to do that. It has 8 'chapters', each with 11 or 12 'lessons'. The vocabulary starts out easy and slowly becomes more difficult. At the end, the vocabulary is probably intermediate level.

Within each lesson is 10 sets of 4 pictures. A statement is said aloud (there is also an option for reading only), and you click on the appropriate picture. It seems rather simplistic, but it really helps in understanding the language and associating the words and phrases with the actions being depicted.

Overall, excellent. My big regret is that they do not have a level II.

Fairfield's marketing is much better than their engineering. There are eight units with 11 or 12 lessons each. Each lesson has 10 parts. And each part has 4 phrases or sentences, arranged as picture (or cartoon) squares (sometimes related, sometimes not). In the preview for each each part, one selects a square and the phrase is uttered. Unfortunately the Hebrew is plastered on top of the picture, thereby preventing certain details from being decipherable. There is no English translation provided, nor are there any grammar lessons. One cannot click on a word to get its meaning. So what happens is that one has to make a guess as to the meaning, which may or may not be correct. In the guided exercises, the program rapidly goes through each of the four pictures, then you get quizzed. In the speaking section, you must mimic the speaker as best you can--but the Hebrew phrase is not displayed on the screen. Even worse, the voice frequency display does not readily halt. All in all, this product needs a lot of work before I will recommend it.

Although I did know some basic Hebrew, this program has begun to teach me Modern Hebrew in a very effective way. I definitely would recommend it.

Some issues: currently there is no Level 2. Even after completing Level 1, I think I will have a long way to go and will have to search out other learning approaches. Although it runs in an MS window, I don't think it is a real Windows program, so when going through the typing exercises, it gets glitchy at times. And some of the user interfaces are a bit awkward. For example in the typing exercises, it would be nice to be able to hit Enter to submit your response, but instead you have to switch over to the mouse to push a button. Also, to switch activities or lessons, there is no menu bar -- you have to hit their "Go Back" button.

But overall, I am learning to speak Hebrew.

This is a wonderful program, lots of fun, but could use just a LITTLE more English to figure out what each chapter is trying to teach.

This learning course does not allow you to go away from it without learning the language intuitivly...at least if you accually use it:)