Customer Reviews

Rosetta Stone V3: Spanish (Spain) Level 1-3 Set with Audio Companion [OLD VERSION]

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

 

 

I bought this product for my son, who was studying a foreign language in middle school. He did not find the software helpful and stopped using it completely after about a month. Because the software was quite expensive, I decided to try to recover part of my investment by selling the package on eBay. Rosetta Stone made eBay take down the listing, saying it was a violation of their copyright, even though I was selling the original product. Rosetta Stone told me that I didn't really buy the product when I paid $400 for it; they said I was only buying a license to use the disks and that I could not transfer that license to someone else. Technically, that's probably what some fine print on one of the installation screens said, but it's an unfair practice and I can't figure out why Rosetta Stone refuses to let customers resell their product the way we might sell a used book when we're done with it. I suspect that a lot of users find that they don't end up using the language DVDs they "buy" from Rosetta Stone, and preventing customers from recovering part of their purchase price is a bad and unfair corporate policy. I would strongly recommend that you find a way of trying these DVDs before you buy them and are stuck with an expensive mistake. The DVDs are OK (although they certainly do not make learning a language quick and painless, as the ads would suggest), but Rosetta Stone's treatment of its customers is unacceptable.

We have a home in Spain where our son and his family reside. I've been trying to learn Spanish for the last 8 years by buying and studying various programs, drill and classes. I've been a miserable failure. They say that the older you get - the more difficult. So, I was skeptical when my son and wife wanted me to try Rosetta Stone. I have a fairly unique learning style, and I didn't want to risk $500 on this program. Well, I have been surprised. The constant review and voice recognition attributes are great. The scope and sequence is well thought out.

As a retired educator, I find the program to be quite sophisticated. It's fun and effective. I try to do 30-60 minutes every day, and I am learning. The main drawback is that we wanted to install it on both my wife's and my laptops and also put one copy on our computer in Spain. Rosetta Stone only allows two installations.

So, bottom line, thanks to Rosetta Stone, with 30-60 minutes of study per day, I think I will finally be able to handle basic Spanish with fairly accurate pronunciation. I do recommend this program.

This prodcut is great. Easy to use and understand. The product is fun, its not like tradition learner PC games. i would highly reccommend this product for anyone interested in learning a language, who doesnt have a lot of money or time. However, i do suggest you buy a language dictionary because there is NO translation whatsoever. Therefore i suggest buying a dictionary to help you with the translations that are more difficult than others.

I am in the third unit of level 1 of the Spain Spanish (each of the three levels is split into four units). I had used the French previously and was very happy, so decided to try Spanish.

The pace of learning is definitely slower than many other products, but that's because you're actually learning the language and not just tourist phrases. I have learnt some of the different subject-verb-adjective agreement already. In the beginning, you learn individual words, e.g. man, woman, girl, boy. The software is intuitive - most screens use four pictures and there's no problem in figuring out the answer. E.g. after learning man, woman, boy and girl, you'll get an exercise with four pictures, each of them performing the same action. Later, you'll learn the pronouns "he" and "she" with the same verb so that your brain begins to form associations. I have moved on to longer sentences and am also forming questions.

The software consists of various types of exercises - some are selecting the pictures, multiple choice sentence completion phrases and speaking (a microphone is included). Also, every few weeks there are exercises based on what was learned earlier, so that you're encouraged to recall those points.

In version 3, you just need to install the CD and register the software with RS - no more keeping CD's in the drive. Also, you can register up to two computers.

I rated this program five stars, and that rating is based solely on the quality of the product. Rosetta Stone is really fun, and it's wayyyyyyy more useful than most of the Spanish classes you'll come across. As far as helping you remember words and pronounce them correctly, Rosetta Stone is awesome. I am currently taking a Spanish class at my college, because I figured if I doubled up I'd have the best chance at learning how to speak (and write, ug ug ug) Spanish. The class is a good time, and my professor is a riot, but I must admit that the computer program is more effective. My feeble brain doesn't want to deal with verb tenses and formal and informal usage of words, and all that stuff that makes my attention wander away until I'm gazing out the window and not paying attention at all and writing really long run on sentences that end in ellipses... You see my point. The Stone is also cool because it makes me think of Sesame Street, which makes me feel sort of nostalgic and happy. Clicking on the brightly colored pictures takes me back to simpler times, sigh. And yeah, it is an expensive product, but pay for a college course and a Spanish book and guess what- you end up spending even more money, and maybe you'll get stuck with an unattractive professor who rants, and waves his arms around, and throws pieces of chalk at your head when you are gazing out of the window, and not paying attention. There are cheaper computer programs for learning Spanish, and you guessed it, they totally blow. I ought to know because I wasted upwards of forty-five dollars on such junky products. I would like to know how Rosetta compares to that other popular language program... Pilsner or Plodner or Pimsleur or whatever.
Rosetta Stone is also known for having crappy customer service, and apparently if you try to resell one of their programs they will hunt you down like a dog and there will be a public stoning. Sometimes greed is so shameful that it becomes hilarious. This is the case with Rosetta Stone, and I guess that's too bad, but it gives people a chance to one-up the greedy buggers! Share the product with as many people as possible and then it will be as cheap as free! After all, it seems that many folks are just in a tiff because they can't get any money for a used product. For shame, you are being just as greedy. Give your copy of Rosetta Stone to some poor, sick kid who has always wanted to learn a bit of Spanish but never had the means.

The product is extremely helpful in learning Spanish; however, should you need Tech Support - you may have difficulty! Shortly after my purchase, I started experiencing intermittent microphone problems.

Unfortunately, unless the problems occur between the hours of 8:00-8:00 M-F, you are out of luck, because Tech Support will not even talk with you unless you are at your computer and the problem is occurring. After more than a month of dealing with microphone issues, it finally happened during Tech support hours, but the person on the other end was extremely difficult to understand due to his heavy accent. This difficulty in communication made solving the problem even more frustrating. It took close to 30 minutes to go over a few steps and then there was no real solution and there will not be a solution unless the problem occurs again and I can contact them - right when it is happening!

All in all, I like Rosetta Stone & feel it has been very helpful in learning Spanish - I just hope they can change their Tech Support system.

I bought this product about a year ago.

When I got it, it wouldn't activate properly. Rosetta Stone's customer
service wasn't available when I needed to activate it, but the
software let me start doing lessons without activating. A few months
later, I got to the point where it wouldn't let me go further.
I eventually had to update the software to get the activation to work.
So far so good, for some definition of good.

I upgraded to a new mac. The software said I needed to activate
again, but it wouldn't let me. I had to remove and re-add the
language course. It then didn't accept the activation. It turns out
I'd installed and activated the software on my old mac and on my
wife's mac. I'm only allowed to install it on 2 computers. It won't
let me install and activate on my new mac, even though I don't have my
old mac anymore. So, Monday, I have to call their "customer care" and
beg them to let me use the software *I paid a bundle for*.

I hate companies that hate me.

I purchased this product to help me learn spanish since I moved to Miami and I have yet to get it to work!This is a terrible product! It never works and the customer support is terrible. Like the other poster stated, if you purchase this product, you are stuck with it. The support is terrible, customer service is terrible and the program is basically nothing but flash cards. It is not worth the money!

I did a lot of comparisons and read a lot of reviews. The things said against this product are absolutely untrue! The Rosetta Stone course teaches grammar right along with the vocabulary (both reading and listening) and pronunciation skills. I got the Tell Me More for free, but use Rosetta Stone instead! Great course and now they have added two more levels...what more could be asked for?!?

I was able to place into intermediate spanish after using this program for one summer. It is a great program and teaches so much so easily. I studied in Spain and had an awesome time using the Spanish I learned!