Rosetta Stone V3: German Level 1-3 Set with Audio Companion [OLD VERSION]

by Rosetta Stone

Product Features

• Rosetta Stone teaches you a new language naturally, by getting you to think, live and breathe the language
• Innovative solutions get you speaking new words, right from the start
• Rosetta Stone moves forward only when you're ready--you drive the pace, you set the schedule
• With Rosetta Stone, you'll discover a foundation of key vocabulary that you'll use to build into a whole new language
• Audio Companion lets you take the Rosetta Stone experience anywhere: in the car, at the gym, or on-the-go

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001AFFRM0
• Item model number: 20585
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 9, 2008
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,127 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #13 in Software > Language & Travel > Foreign Languages > German

Product Description

Amazon.com

Rosetta Stone Personal Edition contains everything you need to give the voice inside of you a new language. The method used recreates the natural way you learned your first language, revealing skills that you already have. This approach has won numerous awards, and has been adopted by countless organizations, schools and millions of users around the world. Join the language revolution today. Only with Rosetta Stone.

The comprehensive language-learning solution that fits your life.

Learn Naturally
Learn your next language the same way you learned your first language. Dynamic Immersion empowers you to see, hear and comprehend without translating or memorizing. You already have this ability. Rosetta Stone simply unlocks it.

Engage Interactively
Get feedback to move forward. You learn best by doing, and you'll apply what you've learned to get to the next step. Rosetta Stone adapts to your individual needs and skills, because you drive the program with your progress.

Speak Confidently
Start speaking immediately. From the very first lesson, you'll speak. You'll begin with essential basics, which form the building blocks of the language. Soon you'll create new sentences on your own, using words you've learned.

Have Fun
Best of all, Rosetta Stone is addictive. With every entertaining activity, you'll feel success. You'll want to use Rosetta Stone to have that next moment, that next breakthrough. So you'll keep using it, and you'll learn more!

That's language-learning success.
That's Rosetta Stone.

No translation or memorization required.

The most effective way to learn a new language is to be surrounded by it. When you were an infant, your parents taught you this way, by intuitively associating words with images. That's the ultimate language lab, but most language-learning programs completely ignore this.

Think about all of the ways you've tried to learn a language: classes at school, tapes and cassettes, even software that uses your native language as a base for your next one. What do they all have in common? Translation and memorization.

Instead of taking a "direct flight" from your brain to your new language, translation and memorization connects you to your old language. You always have to "fly" from your brain, to your native tongue ... and then translate what you've memorized to communicate.

That might work for a few words, but what happens when you get to a sentence or phrase? When you have to change tenses? You're going to make a lot of "connecting flights." That's why those other methods are so frustrating ... and why they fail.

Enter Dynamic Immersion.
This method encourages you to think like a baby. You'll pair words with vivid, real-life images and make connections between things you know and the new language. Soon, you'll be thinking in a new language, stringing words together into phrases that you create.

Innovative technology.
Rosetta Stone places this Dynamic Immersion method at the core of a suite of software that works with you to develop your skills. The simple, intuitive interface helps to keep you engaged in the solution, while advanced speech recognition technology makes certain that you're speaking correctly and accurately. Best of all, Rosetta Stone never leaves you behind. You'll only move forward when you're ready, when you've become comfortable and confident.

Communicate and connect with the world: Level 1, 2 & 3 Set.
Rosetta Stone Level 1, 2 & 3 Set will take you on a journey from the basics to a whole new level of sophistication. You'll build a foundation of fundamental vocabulary and essential language structure. You'll quickly gain the confidence to engage in social interactions. Say "hello" and "goodbye," arrange travel, order food, go shopping and more! From there, you'll share your ideas and opinions, express feelings and talk about your life, your interests and more. You'll discover a voice. In a new language.

Audio Companion
With Audio Companion, you'll enhance the Rosetta Stone experience wherever you go. You'll learn new skills on the computer, and then reinforce what you've learned with Audio Companion. Simply play the CDs on a stereo or download them to a MP3 Player. Each Audio Companion activity corresponds to a lesson in the Rosetta Stone software, so you can turn your travel time into productive language-learning time.

Inside the box, you'll find:

• Version 3 Personal Edition CD-ROM software for Levels 1, 2 & 3 (Windows/Mac)
• Headset microphone
• User's guide
• Audio Companion, a multiple-CD set to play or download to your MP3 player

Product Description

Foreign language learning with Rosetta Stone German Levels 1, 2&3 you connect with the world around you. With level one you begin learning fundamental vocabulary and essential language structure, from greetings and introductions to simple questions and their answers. Gain the confidence and enter the intermediate level where you will be able to talk about your environment; give and get directions, tell time, dine out with self-reliance, shop and enjoy basic social interactions. Taking what you’ve learned in Levels 1 and 2, we help you reach an advanced level of competence. This competence allows you to connect with the world around you. You will learn to share your ideas and opinions, express your feelings and talk about everyday life; your work, current events and much more. Now Rosetta Stone with Audio Companion allows the learner to take Rosetta Stone anywhere: in the car, the gym or on-the-go! What is Audio Companion? Audio Companion CDs are activities that correspond to the Rosetta Stone CD-ROM software lessons. The learner can listen to Audio Companion and practice what they’ve been learning on the computer, turning travel time into productive language learning time. Audio Companion lets the student access the power of Rosetta Stone lessons whenever and wherever they want, they can play the CD’s on a stereo, or download them to a MP3 player. It empowers the student and helps reinforce the lessons in any busy lifestyle!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

126 of 127 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars UPDATE: Only 1 Star Buyer Beware September 6, 2008

By CST VINE™ VOICE

Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

UPDATE 23 March 2009

*SERIOUS WARNING* Rosetta Stone's customer support is awful. They will hassle you like no other software company I have ever dealt with in 16 years of computing. Should you have a system crash or two, good luck trying to reactivate. Their product activation policy (2x) is preposterous. Same machine, same IP address, same e-mail, same phone number, couldn't care less. Can you imagine if you're on the road?

For the money they charge, they should bend over backwards to work with you. I would not buy this software based on this "policy". How sad and stupid. Be very careful or you'll have a $500.00 useless Yellow Box.
*SERIOUS WARNING*

There is a lot to be said for the Rosetta Stone method of picture recognition. Also, it is set up very intuitively requiring minimum computer skills on your part to engage. I was able to get it running on both a Vista x64 desktop & a Vista x32 notebook for test purposes.

The instructions are clear and easy to follow. You have a main program disc and then the level 1, 2, 3 discs as you progress. There is nothing confusing about the process. Registration is not required. However, for activation and update of downloads I strongly suggest an Internet connection be available. Immediately upon install there were updates waiting for me. Should you not be connected, there is a toll-free phone number to call that will enable you to activate and unlock all features.

My 82 year old mother was able to negotiate and understand the program as was my 10 year old nephew. Neither one was interested at first but they admitted to having fun with it.

The quality and production values of both the software and packaging are first rate with one personal annoyance. Given the dependency on images that Rosetta Stone utilizes I would have preferred more specific Germanic cultural associations and quite frankly, less multiculturalism. The picture of a couple eating soft boiled eggs from egg cups...very German; the picture of women in robes walking across the desert with bowls on their heads...not so German. This diversity is unnecessary as far as immersion is concerned, though I assume it saves on production costs since one size seems to fit all languages, however I want to learn German, not Esperanto!

That said, this is an excellent language program, especially for the beginner. It's fun and lively. Having lived in Berlin for a year (back when there was a wall) I find the accents used by the actors to be clear and precise. And the the speech recognition very forgiving. This is a good thing because there is nothing worse than impeding progress over pronunciation. Proper pronunciation comes eventually. If you are having problems with pronunciation there are a couple of things you can do. There is a slider bar in the setup to adjust the strictness of the speech recognition engine. Also, you can click on the items causing issues and there is a more intense pronunciation sub lesson complete with graph and syllable breakdown.

I like the visual associations because you are figuring things out for yourself and really building on what you know to learn something new. It's a subtle process...but it works...at least so far. German grammar has always driven me nuts but somehow this program has really polished my grammar. I only wish I had had this software when I was in Berlin. But then there were no PCs either!

The included USB microphone, while a bit flimsy and sans volume control, is none the less accurate, lightweight and perfectly up to the task. And since it's USB it makes connecting a whole lot easier. Great for a notebook.

This package also comes with the audio discs for when you're on the road or in your hotel room and need a jolt of subliminal/revisional learning without the computer. Plays in a CD or MP3.

I will have to save my pennies for the Spain-Euro-Spanish version because if this is any indication it will be superb as well.

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent learning tool, but be sure of your purpose September 18, 2008

By Truth Teller

Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I've become interested in going to Germany and although I know that English is spoken there, I'd like to be able to go off the beaten path and immerse myself in the culture. I'd also like to be able to understand the conversations of people around me. This is why I really was interested in Rosetta Stone versus a quick and dirty travel language CD.

This product allows you to customize it to your goals (read, write, listen, speak) through a very simple startup screen (which can be setup for different users) and then it automatically builds the lessons for you.

I find the lessons to be enjoyable and very useful. The speech recognition aspect is awesome. It lets you even customize how precise you want the software to grade your pronunciation.

Aside from the computer aspect, this product provides a whole set of CDs that complement the main software. This is great for reinforcing your learnings when you aren't in front of the computer.

The downsides of the product do NOT outweigh the upsides in my opinion. However, I should list a few for you. 1) It is pricey. 2) It doesn't allow you to run it on more than one computer (you can move it to a new computer, but you have to uninstall it from the first computer). 3) The included headset is a bit flimsy.

Bottom Line: If you are wanting to learn the language, excel when presented with multiple ways to learn it (visual, auditory, and written), and want to do it at your own pace, I really think this is a great option and can recommend it. If you are only wanting to pick up the bare minimums for surviving travel in Germnay and are on a budget, find another product that focuses on getting you into the basic phrases you'll need. Overall, a great product.

51 of 53 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars HIT AND MISS May 14, 2009

By EMAN NEP

Of all the things that require dedication and persistence, the effort to learn a language has got to be somewhere in the top ten. Rosetta Stone (RS) is often regarded as the best in language software. We'll see . . .
This review covers German lessons 1-3 of the OS X version.

HITS:

1) Even in light of my criticism of RS, I think the software is worth the price. For one, there are not many language software programs that are OS X friendly. The ability to learn on your own time and at your own pace is a huge plus. Finally, there is a LOT of material here. Doing three "blocks" a day took me roughly 3 months to finish all 3 lessons.

2) RS tries different ways of getting one to use the language. But the method that works best is the one that RS was designed for in the first place--mixing and matching words with pictures. The READING, LISTENING, LISTENING AND READING, and VOCABULARY courses are great for learning new words at your own pace.

3) I found the REVIEW lessons useful in making sure that I didn't forget some vocabulary from a past lesson.

4) I had no install problems, only occasionally had bugs (screen freezes, etc.), and the user-interface is very intuitive.

MISSES:

1) SPEAKING and PRONUNCIATION. RS does not teach you the German alphabet. Instead, they have you learn different sounds in actual German words. I disagree with this method because what German I learned previously was mostly self-taught and I found that knowledge of the alphabet came in very handy when it came to proper pronunciation--not to mention the time I took my vision test at Brille Fielmann in Muenchen.
The Speaking portions are better, except when they expect you to repeat a quickly-spoken sentence that is not shown on-screen. If your short-term memorization skills are not up to snuff, you might have a hard time.

2) The voice recognition is terribly inconsistent. There were times I said a sentence EXACTLY as I have in Germany and was 100% understood by the locals, but the RS software insists I'm saying it wrong. There were times my occasional STUTTER got me tongue-tied and somehow I got the sentence RIGHT. You can change the "Speech Precision Level" but I found that even setting it to Easy didn't make matters better.

3) GRAMMAR. RS does a poor job of teaching Grammar. In fact, the only reason why I knew the answers to some of the slides was because of my previous knowledge of the Dative, split-verbs and other rules. RS only informs you that you got the question wrong, but it doesn't inform you at all WHY you got it wrong, why you would use the word "seit" instead of "vor" in the sentence.

4) WRITING. To give credit where credit is due, the ability to have your keyboard virtually become a GERMAN keyboard is way cool and earns many practicality points. However, the Writing lessons are very scarce (4 per Unit). When you do get to the Writing lessons, not even all the slides have anything to do with writing. So out of 7 slides, maybe you do some actual typing on 5 of them. What was most frustrating to me was this: You can stutter and butcher a spoken sentence and get it right, but God forbid that you forget to capitalize the "S" in "sie"--meaning you get the entire sentence WRONG--it doesn't matter if you spelled everything else correctly.
My last straw with the Writing lessons was this: You sometimes can't make out words in the sentence! Is the speaker saying "diese" or "dieser"??? Because the two sound awfully alike. And remember, if you forget just one letter, you get the whole thing wrong.

OVERALL: If you have never tried learning German I would pass on RS. Although it might help you learn a few basic sentences and vocabulary words, it will most likely frustrate you with the voice recognition, inconsistent grading standards and lack of grammatical explanation.
If you do already know some German, I DO recommend RS, but only as a SUPPLEMENT.
Finally, there are MANY ways you can learn German. Sign up for a German epal. Take other free online courses--they're out there! Listen to German music like Rammstein and Fanta Vier--their MFG song is great for testing out your alphabet skills!

Good luck with your learning!