Customer Reviews

Rosetta Stone, Version 2: Vietnamese, Level 1

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

 

 

I have been using this software for a while and it is my favourite tool to learn vietnamese. It really takes a lot longer than I would of thought, but this software really drills the words into your head in such a way that you remember a lot of it. Also, you read and hear the words so often that you just end up knowing them by heart, remembering how to say them, read them, etc. Unlike the flash cards systems though you don't get too bored out of your ming using it. I think it still makes sense to take an actual language class where you can practice conversation, but I really recommend this product. My kids use it sometimes for fun and it's pretty amazing how they walk around the house repeading the sentenses they learned in the sofware after, it does not seem that age is really a factor for using this. The only thing that does not work well in my experience is the voice recognition portion, it just doesn't do very well on my laptop because it does not recognise the sentences often, even though I know I didn't say it that bad. I tried it on desktop and I did not get better results, so I think this feature needs improvements; I just stopped using it. I would also like to be able to type the words using my keyboard in the writing part, instead of clicking on words. Regardless of this though I think the method is so nice that I give it 5 stars.

Rosetta Stone language products are one of the most effective ways of learning
a language on your own. I really treasure my Vietnamese software. I'm getting long
in the tooth so learning a new language, especially a tonal one, is a real challenge.
Being able to hear the words over and over and practice sounding them out in the
privacy of my home makes learning this language much more feasible.
I'm saving to buy the Mandarin software next.

Please note! This software teaches the northern Vietnamese dialect. Try talking to your Vietnamese friends in the U.S. (who are mostly from the south) and they will look at you funny.

It becomes clear early on in the lessons...... Yes is "Vang" northern dialect... "U" southern dialect. And from there it goes down hill.

If you plan to communicate with people from the north, you will be good to go. Otherwise, think long and hard before buying this program as you will spend some time "unlearning" some language concepts.

Rosetta Stone is supposed to be pretty good, I don't know. I bought it almost six months ago but I didn't have time to use it until now because of school so it just sat in the box. It won't install properly now.
Yes, I have tried all the fixes like trying to update safedisc and trying to install on another computer, no luck. Rosetta stone tech support won't help me because they say I bought from amazon so it's not there problem, when talking to them I sometimes get the feeling they are poking fun at me. I seriosly doubt Amazon will give me a refund at this point so I am probably out $200.

What works really well with Rosetta Stone's approach is that it is fun. The practice seems like a game. You can go through the drills as often as you want, and I always find it useful to review past learning before going into new material. The commercials for the software really are accurate in that there is not a lot of boring memorization and it is not an exaggeration to say that you can begin conversation fairly quickly.

As each unit starts, you are given pictures and captions that describe what is in the picture. If you know some basic words first, this process will go a lot easier. As the practice goes on, new material is added based on your past proficiency. It is really designed well for the non-native speaker. You really can learn phrases and vocabulary without even realizing it.

One criticism for the Vietnamese version, and this is very minor: Some of the pictures, especially of people, could be a little more clear. It is often difficult to learn phrases if you cannot tell if someone is a man or woman. Thankfully, this issue is pretty limited, but some of the pictures could be more clear.

As for the regional dialects, that is a valid issue, but my wife was born and raised in the south (HCMC), and can understand what I have learned. Keep in mind though that VN is a VERY hard language to learn. Practice, Practice, Practice!

Rosetta stone is good for beginners. Starts off with basic words and pictures. Hopefully by the end there will be some phrases and sentences to use in everyday conversation. I already know some words so it's not too hard for me but my kids who are young already picked up some words.

I work with a lot of vietnamese people at my job. That is why I got this product and it has helped communicate better with them. It is a great and very helpful product. I love the way it teaches and makes learning the language easier.

Not as intuitive as the commercials lead me to believe. Not much else out there so it's either this or a book and this is better than a book so.....