Rosetta Stone V3: Italian 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: B001AFD8XK
• Item model number: 21685
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 9, 2008
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,525 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #7 in Software > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Italian
  • #53 in Software > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Spanish & Portuguese

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 Italian 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!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Italian for You!, September 7, 2008

By 

Sandy "Sombra del Monte" (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rosetta Stone V3: Italian Level 1-3 Set with Audio Companion [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)

(What's this?)

This is a great product that has some installation and minor sound system issues that go along with it. I am running Vista on the computer I installed the program on. Although I followed installation directions faithfully, I was unable to update the product when following the suggested steps. I could not update it until after I had completed registration, so I would advise registering the product before trying to do much else. After registering the product, updates were installed seamlessly. Updating was time-intensive, taking over ½ an hour over a DSL connection. Luckily, this appears to be an infrequent occurrence. After installing the updates, I set up the headset (a minor repair had to made--an ear piece had come apart and was easily fixed), and proceeded to try the program.

At first I was unable to try the program because of sound issues. Although my system volume was not set high, the sound coming through the headset was entirely too loud to be listened to. I had to go into my volume mixer and reset a variety of sound levels--and located the separate Rosetta Stone volume control--before volume was at a workable level. All of the tries at updating and then sound issues made for a very slow start to beginning to enjoy the software. But once all of the "dust" settled and I was able to begin the program, I was very favorably impressed.

The language-learning portion of the program is easy to use and customizable to what you wish to learn. Are you more interested in spoken language? Well, you can emphasize that and spend less time with written language. The program's approach is indeed an immersion approach and doesn't require that you spend time overtly memorizing by rote, as many approaches to learning a language seem to take. This makes the program a pleasure to use, particularly for visual/auditory learners. The more you use the program, the more you will find yourself remembering and the more success you will have in your chosen language. And, the more success you have in learning Italian, the more you will find yourself wanting to use the program. You will be learning language in the same way a native speaker of the language learns. The program creates such a positive learning experience, I find myself not wanting to miss a day of practice!

Currently, three of us are using the program, as the program does let you add users on the same computer. Everyone proceeds at his or her own pace, and you may revisit lessons and set your user interface to learn whatever aspect of language interests you most. The ability to go back and review is invaluable. You may also set up your voice recognition software to be more or less "strict" about what it finds acceptable in terms of pronunciation. One of the three program users in the household is taking an accelerated course in Italian at the local university and finds that this program is a wonderful adjunct to the live class, giving them extra practice and a pronunciation leg-up. Other than the initial set-up hurdles, the three of us give the program a very big "thumbs up." The program is well worth the price. I've taken many language classes over the years and find this to be one of the easiest and most fun approaches I've been presented with.

50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars acceptable but easily improvable, January 8, 2009

By 

my review (los angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rosetta Stone V3: Italian Level 1-3 Set with Audio Companion [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)

The weakness of this product, staring into and responding to a computer screen: your learning experience lacks the language reinforcing mechanism of emotions inherent in human conversation, but traditionally as that can only be captured by expensive school attendance, RosettaStone is a broad-beginning-learning tool which will strongly familiarize you with a language.

Have been extensively using Rosetta Stone for the past month; deeply "immersed" to use the word of the product. It is a good tool for speaking a learned language. But having almost completed the first of three levels (complete package available for a language), I find the written instruction very lacking. The headset came broken which was obviously packaged broken as the box was undamaged--poor quality control. It took four phone calls and a fax to get a replacement headset. This is very poor for such an expensive product. Tech support is there via phone with not much difficulty, but customer support is poor. I would check out the competition, Pimsleur, were I to start again. Also, RosettaStone way over rates how well one can speak the language once the sections are completed. I say this objectively because one is graded how well one performs in learning. Good performance (say over 90% correct responses, your performance graded by the program) does not equal good language skills.

I would recommend this product to be complemented by the traditional method of textbook learning -on your own or better in a class room. But the best use of this tool is as a precursor and compliment to speaking the language with other people. In this context, RosettaStone really shines and will propel your linguistic skill faster than any other method alone.

5/09 Six months after starting program, I am almost half way through (of all three levels; advancement slows as reviewing takes up more time) and I have same opinion as before.

Bad: poorer product for learning to write in the foreign language; I am good at achieving high program scores (it ranks your performance), usually scoring above 95% but I feel i am not equally proficient at the language as the program or the people at RosettaStone suggest; i have found errors in vocabulary, i.g. a photograph of the inside of a bookstore and calling it a "biblioteca" when it is actually a "libreria"; cultural errors such as teaching time in a 12 hour format rather than expressing the time in a 24 format as is customary in Italy; pronunciation inconsistencies (ig "portrai" -you may- pronounced both with a hard "I" and a hard "A" at the end of the word); errors in grammar as well; there are program glitches which are annoying: in pause mode, often the audio fails to work on replay and the program's ability to asses the first verbal response on a screen is very poor (this is annoying as you pay more attention to over-pronunciation as opposed to learning). For a $500 product these errors are not acceptable.

Good: irrelevant of drawbacks, I feel a growing grasp of the language and a confidence at this level which I did not feel during 1 year of college classes in Spanish. The program does work. I recommend this program but would still review more the Pimsleur product were I to start again. I do not know which product covers more language ground; it is not only the method of teaching and the price difference to consider. I have and still advise to supplement the RosettaStone product with a text book. In addition I transcribe/read a newspaper in Italian (using a two-way dictionary and Google Translate) from which I make vocabulary flash cards, as well as listen to Italian radio (Radio Uno via RealPlayer) over the net and watch Italian movies (tv would be better though).

Particularly regards "reviewing": the RosettaStone program has review sections which are vastly insufficient. I would recommend using the "Core Lesson"s in each unit as a means of reviewing; although it takes more time and slows progress thru the program, it is learning the language for practical application that counts and not program completion. And as to the the program's weakness in learning method (staring into a screen and lack of emotions in conversation which reinforce learning a language), I recommend when reviewing, speak your response whilst not staring at the screen and feel yourself (use imagination, w/out going overboard) in the context of the pictorial context.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Next best thing to being there, September 4, 2008

By 

Rebecca Haden (Fayetteville, AR) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Rosetta Stone V3: Italian Level 1-3 Set with Audio Companion [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)

(What's this?)

I knew no Italian before working with this program, and I found that I was easily able to follow it. It's efficient, enjoyable, and practical.
Initially, I questioned whether I would actually remember the new things I was learning. It seemed as though getting the right answers -- which I did -- had more to do with problem-solving skills than with actually learning the language. However, I found that I was able to build on what I had learned,and the program has review designed into it.
This really is painless language learning.
I had worked through the French language as well, to brush up on and improve my language skills, and I found that installing a second language with the Rosetta Stone software was easy and convenient, though Italian did require a lengthy "update" session which kept it from being fast. I was also able to put it on my laptop, so I could take it along with me and practice while traveling.
The other concern I'd had was that the two language programs might be identical apart from the language itself --the same pictures, the same sequence, etc. -- and thus confusing. This was not the case.
I strongly recommend the series.