Customer Reviews

Rosetta Stone V3: Japanese Level 1 [OLD VERSION]

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

 

 

First, let me say that the version 3 of Rosetta Stone's software is head and shoulders above version two, and this goes especially for the Japanese version. Level 1 is divided into 4 units, each of which consists of 4 lessons. There are no more "pages with the translation" followed by a flashcard style quiz, now it is substantially more dynamic and more immersive. The lessons are shorter, and take broken up into logical groupings that reduce frustration and allow for the user to task themselves out more effectively.

The four units are "language basics," "greetings and introductions," "work and school," and "shopping."

Each lesson consists of a "core lesson" which takes around thirty minutes, and a series of supplementary practices in reading, writing, grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, etc. that take between 5 and 15 minutes each.

Voice recognition is now actually usable as opposed to in version 2, which I always had trouble taking advantage of. Keyboard entry is similarly improved and--at least so far--allows me to type using my keyboard instead of dragging components around.

Specific to Japanese--and a frequent complaint in the reviews for version 2--it now supports romaji, kana, kanji, *and* kanji with the furigana.

That having been said, there are few caveats in the use of this software:

- It makes a good supplement, but should not be the only tool used. While this may go for any language, it is doubly true of this particular product and Japanese. There is simply too much that English does not have--levels of formality, for example, or gender-specific language--that is very difficult to absorb with this product.

- The pictures are fairly generic and sometimes difficult to interpret in context. In other cases they could be interpreted in multiple ways depending on cultural context (there is one photo where it appears that the person waving goodbye is actually waving to come over and vice versa, depending on which culture is interpreting it).

- The language is highly stilted. "What are you eating?" "As for me, I am eating rice." (watashi wa gohan o tabete imasu) as opposed to the more natural "It is Rice." (gohan desu). This is fine for learning, and I understand it as a decision. They may also drop it in the more advanced levels, but it can be a bit jarring if you've already read "Making Sense of Japanese" by Jay Rubin.

- While it is possible to learn some Kanji from this, such is not the focus. Hiragana is incorporated, but only very slowly. The "Remembering the Kanji" series is an excellent place to start for this.

- The lack of a clear plural or gender specific language is hard for this method to work with. It isn't crippling, but can create a few awkward sentences.

These all just mean that it is best used in combination with other books, workbooks, and methods.

More disturbing are the errors. None of these are outside of the scope of what can be fixed with a software update, but they are annoying nonetheless.

- When working on the writing exercise, it will require the user to type "wa" for "ha"--even when it is pronounced as "ha"--unless it is part of a word.

- It mixes "watashi" and "boku" in situations where either is appropriate. It then requires the user to pick between them and guess which one is "correct."

I've tried other language learning systems, and what I like about this one is that it is an actual curriculum. You don't just hunt and peck your way through vocabulary quizzes and crossword puzzles. You have actual lessons and units that continue to review and build as you progress. You can also decide what elements are important to you. For example, if you want to concentrate on speaking, you can leave out the reading and writing sections when you build your course, then come back and add those in later.

That said, I totally agree that you should supplement this system with other resources. While I agree that learning the new language as you did your native one is the best way, it can be frustrating when the intended idea is unclear in the picture and no translation is available. You can reduce that frustration by having a handy reference when you just aren't getting what it's asking you to do. For example, it was sure helpful to be able to refer to my copy of Japanese for Dummies AUDIO+CD to understand which particle words are for what purpose. I also have on my desk the following which are helping me enormously: Japanese in 10 Minutes a Day® (10 Minutes a Day Series), Conversational Japanese in 7 Days , and Random House Japanese-English English-Japanese Dictionary

I lived in Japan for a bit 10 years ago and bought this to brush up before going back for a visit. So I was familiar with most of the content of Level 1 but I still found it extremely helpful for getting my ear back in the right groove. There's a good balance of reading, writing, speaking and lots and lots of listening. All the vocabulary and grammar is explained with pictures of objects and people and situations, with no English in sight, which gets you thinking in the language rather than translating.

I have tried multiple Japanese programs, but I found Rosetta Stone to be the best for a straight beginner.

Pros:
- pronounces words correctly
- monitors to see if you are saying words correctly
- has fun matching games
- easy to navigate menus
- bright colorful imagery
- monitors your progress (good for my fiance to monitor that I'm actually practicing my Japanese)

Cons:
- its expensive
- does not always explain what every word(symbol) means
- no built in dictionary

Overall: there is a lot of material and resources involved in this 1 volume. Its worth the money to just buy this one version with a dictionary, rather than buying multiple books, cds, and flash cards to get the same experience.

My son, who is almost 15, loves this product. He has had another self learn Japanese product that we purchased for $40 that he did not like. The Rosetta Stone Japanese was well worth the money.

Ok. This is my second attempt at learning Japanese. I have tried instant immersion before, and by comparison, rosetta is way easier to use. It does a great job with getting your attention, and through interaction you do not get boared of memorizing lists of words. I was skeptical of learning to read, but it starts you off slowly and builds you up. even though there is no english narration of any kind, the pictures make it very simple to learn.
I have first learned of rosetta while I was in the army, and decided to give it a shot. It is way more expensive than instant emmersion, and may have a lot less features, but it works 1000% better (not a scientific statistic, but you get the picture.)
If you ever wanted to learn a new language, I thing it is the best program out there. After a week, I know words, and can somewhat form simple sentences, as well as recognizing very few characters, but it is level 1 after all, and I did not even get half way with it.
Enjoy speaking a new language, and be sattisfied.

I can say that without a doubt that this is one of my best investments! I'm learning so fast and retaining what i learn! I'm definitely going to buy levels two and three from Amazon.com! Excellent product at a great price!