Rosetta Stone Turkish Explorer

Rating:
Summary: Probably the quickest way to learn Turkish.
Review: Teaches you turkish...but not without frustration

The "Rosetta Stone" Turkish Explorer is a CD rom with a program designed to teach you Turkish. Overall, I give
the program 4 stars, which is the average of 5 stars for the program's effectiveness in teaching Turkish, and 3
stars for the program's performance, with regard to errors, crashing, and overall design.

The program is easy to install, however when you use Explorer, you need the CD Rom in the drive. The program
operates only in full-screen mode. In spite of this, the window in which all activity takes place is only about
an sixth of the total screen area, which does not make sense. Especially considering that in some of the
pictures shown, it is difficult to see what is going on. And through pictures are how one learns Turkish using
this program. The pictures should be bigger.

The Explorer CD is the first two sections of a larger CD-Rom set on Turkish by Rosetta Stone. Each section has 11
lessons. The last lesson in each section is a review.

Each lesson has 5 different "modes:" (1) listening and reading, (2) listening only, (3) reading only, (4) speaking
and (5) writing. Within each mode, there is a preview, several quizzes and and with the exception of (4), an exam.
In each mode, the quizzes are essentially the same as the exams, except with the exams, the program keeps score,
and so in my opinion, there is no need to use the quizzes--after previewing a lesson, I go directly to the exam.
The program also saves the exam scores.

Here is how the exams work: In all cases, there are 40 questions, divided into 10 segments. With the exception of
the writing exam, it is all multiple-choice. In each segment, a question is asked, and you are given four choices
for answers, each inside one of 4 windows. Each window may have a picture or words in Turkish, depending on the exam.
Sometimes, nothing is written in the window, but the window lights up while words are spoken. (This does not
apply to the written exam; see below.) Once the first question is answered, it asks another question, whose
answer is one of the three remaining choices. And so on for the 3rd and 4th questions. So if you're good, by
process of elimination, you can figure out what the last answers are. This is a weak point of the program. After the 4
questions have been answered, the program proceeds to the next segment where four new questions are asked. Often,
the selection of questions are challenging, but sometimes they are not. For example, in one segment of an exam,
you are given 4 pictures of numbers, and are asked to translate. The choices are, 1; 3; 5; and 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9.
So any fool can at least get one of the questions right.

Here is how the exams look: in the mode (1), there are 4 exams. These are 4 "variations" of listening and reading
comprehension: (a) the question is given by voice and writing, and the answer selections are pictures, (b) the
question is given by voice and a picture, and the answer selections are wrtten words, (c) the question is spoken only
and the answer selections are words only, and (d) the questions are written only and the answer selections are voice only.
In mode (2), there are two exams, (a) the question is given by voice and the answer selections are pictures, (b) the
question is given by a picture and the answer selections are voiced. In mode (3) there are two exams: (a) the question
is written and the answer selections are pictures, and (b) the question is a picture and the answer selections are written.
Mode (4) is speaking, and there are no exams. The main activity here is to speak in a microphone and have the program
rate your speech with the native speaker. I did not use this activity much. The last mode (5) is writing. There is
one exam, and out of all exams, this is the most difficult. The questions are given with a picture and is spoken also.

After the speaker is finished, a pop-up window appears, and in the window, you type what the speaker has said. Sometimes
what is said is long, so there is a button which allows you to repeat the question. Turkish has some non-English
characters, so you have to learn how to type these. They are not laid out on the keyboard well, however once you take the
exam several times, you learn pretty quickly how to type them. Be careful of commas and periods, as the program is
not forgiving with regard to these.

While taking an exam, you have to be patient. Sometimes when you select an answer the program does not respond immediately.
If you hit the button twice, it will usually respond that your answer is incorrect. If you do this, stop the program and
restart, otherwise it will commit errors. It may also not record your score, and erase some of your previous exam scores.

Overall, I was satisfied with the program. When I was in Turkey last month, I found that I could get by with what I learned
from the Explorer, and Lewis Thomas' book, "Elementary Turkish." I recommend buying the book with the program, and reading
the first 10 chapters, as Turkish has some general rules which you might not pick up while using the Explorer. And yes, I
eventually plan to get the Rosetta Stone Turkish Level 1 CDRom.

Rating:
Summary: Probably the quickest way to learn Turkish.
Review: Teaches you turkish...but not without frustration

The "Rosetta Stone" Turkish Explorer is a CD rom with a program designed to teach you Turkish. Overall, I give
the program 4 stars, which is the average of 5 stars for the program's effectiveness in teaching Turkish, and 3
stars for the program's performance, with regard to errors, crashing, and overall design.

The program is easy to install, however when you use Explorer, you need the CD Rom in the drive. The program
operates only in full-screen mode. In spite of this, the window in which all activity takes place is only about
an sixth of the total screen area, which does not make sense. Especially considering that in some of the
pictures shown, it is difficult to see what is going on. And through pictures are how one learns Turkish using
this program. The pictures should be bigger.

The Explorer CD is the first two sections of a larger CD-Rom set on Turkish by Rosetta Stone. Each section has 11
lessons. The last lesson in each section is a review.

Each lesson has 5 different "modes:" (1) listening and reading, (2) listening only, (3) reading only, (4) speaking
and (5) writing. Within each mode, there is a preview, several quizzes and and with the exception of (4), an exam.
In each mode, the quizzes are essentially the same as the exams, except with the exams, the program keeps score,
and so in my opinion, there is no need to use the quizzes--after previewing a lesson, I go directly to the exam.
The program also saves the exam scores.

Here is how the exams work: In all cases, there are 40 questions, divided into 10 segments. With the exception of
the writing exam, it is all multiple-choice. In each segment, a question is asked, and you are given four choices
for answers, each inside one of 4 windows. Each window may have a picture or words in Turkish, depending on the exam.
Sometimes, nothing is written in the window, but the window lights up while words are spoken. (This does not
apply to the written exam; see below.) Once the first question is answered, it asks another question, whose
answer is one of the three remaining choices. And so on for the 3rd and 4th questions. So if you're good, by
process of elimination, you can figure out what the last answers are. This is a weak point of the program. After the 4
questions have been answered, the program proceeds to the next segment where four new questions are asked. Often,
the selection of questions are challenging, but sometimes they are not. For example, in one segment of an exam,
you are given 4 pictures of numbers, and are asked to translate. The choices are, 1; 3; 5; and 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9.
So any fool can at least get one of the questions right.

Here is how the exams look: in the mode (1), there are 4 exams. These are 4 "variations" of listening and reading
comprehension: (a) the question is given by voice and writing, and the answer selections are pictures, (b) the
question is given by voice and a picture, and the answer selections are wrtten words, (c) the question is spoken only
and the answer selections are words only, and (d) the questions are written only and the answer selections are voice only.
In mode (2), there are two exams, (a) the question is given by voice and the answer selections are pictures, (b) the
question is given by a picture and the answer selections are voiced. In mode (3) there are two exams: (a) the question
is written and the answer selections are pictures, and (b) the question is a picture and the answer selections are written.
Mode (4) is speaking, and there are no exams. The main activity here is to speak in a microphone and have the program
rate your speech with the native speaker. I did not use this activity much. The last mode (5) is writing. There is
one exam, and out of all exams, this is the most difficult. The questions are given with a picture and is spoken also.

After the speaker is finished, a pop-up window appears, and in the window, you type what the speaker has said. Sometimes
what is said is long, so there is a button which allows you to repeat the question. Turkish has some non-English
characters, so you have to learn how to type these. They are not laid out on the keyboard well, however once you take the
exam several times, you learn pretty quickly how to type them. Be careful of commas and periods, as the program is
not forgiving with regard to these.

While taking an exam, you have to be patient. Sometimes when you select an answer the program does not respond immediately.
If you hit the button twice, it will usually respond that your answer is incorrect. If you do this, stop the program and
restart, otherwise it will commit errors. It may also not record your score, and erase some of your previous exam scores.

Overall, I was satisfied with the program. When I was in Turkey last month, I found that I could get by with what I learned
from the Explorer, and Lewis Thomas' book, "Elementary Turkish." I recommend buying the book with the program, and reading
the first 10 chapters, as Turkish has some general rules which you might not pick up while using the Explorer. And yes, I
eventually plan to get the Rosetta Stone Turkish Level 1 CDRom.

Rating:
Summary: Effective learning tool
Review: The "Rosetta Stone" Turkish Explorer is a CD rom with a program designed to teach you Turkish. Overall, I give
the program 4 stars, which is the average of 5 stars for the program's effectiveness in teaching Turkish, and 3
stars for the program's performance, with regard to errors, crashing, and overall design.

The program is easy to install, however when you use Explorer, you need the CD Rom in the drive. The program
operates only in full-screen mode. In spite of this, the window in which all activity takes place is only about
an sixth of the total screen area, which does not make sense. Especially considering that in some of the
pictures shown, it is difficult to see what is going on. And through pictures are how one learns Turkish using
this program. The pictures should be bigger.

The Explorer CD is the first two sections of a larger CD-Rom set on Turkish by Rosetta Stone. Each section has 11
lessons. The last lesson in each section is a review.

Each lesson has 5 different "modes:" (1) listening and reading, (2) listening only, (3) reading only, (4) speaking
and (5) writing. Within each mode, there is a preview, several quizzes and and with the exception of (4), an exam.
In each mode, the quizzes are essentially the same as the exams, except with the exams, the program keeps score,
and so in my opinion, there is no need to use the quizzes--after previewing a lesson, I go directly to the exam.
The program also saves the exam scores.

Here is how the exams work: In all cases, there are 40 questions, divided into 10 segments. With the exception of
the writing exam, it is all multiple-choice. In each segment, a question is asked, and you are given four choices
for answers, each inside one of 4 windows. Each window may have a picture or words in Turkish, depending on the exam.
Sometimes, nothing is written in the window, but the window lights up while words are spoken. (This does not
apply to the written exam; see below.) Once the first question is answered, it asks another question, whose
answer is one of the three remaining choices. And so on for the 3rd and 4th questions. So if you're good, by
process of elimination, you can figure out what the last answers are. This is a weak point of the program. After the 4
questions have been answered, the program proceeds to the next segment where four new questions are asked. Often,
the selection of questions are challenging, but sometimes they are not. For example, in one segment of an exam,
you are given 4 pictures of numbers, and are asked to translate. The choices are, 1; 3; 5; and 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9.
So any fool can at least get one of the questions right.

Here is how the exams look: in the mode (1), there are 4 exams. These are 4 "variations" of listening and reading
comprehension: (a) the question is given by voice and writing, and the answer selections are pictures, (b) the
question is given by voice and a picture, and the answer selections are wrtten words, (c) the question is spoken only
and the answer selections are words only, and (d) the questions are written only and the answer selections are voice only.
In mode (2), there are two exams, (a) the question is given by voice and the answer selections are pictures, (b) the
question is given by a picture and the answer selections are voiced. In mode (3) there are two exams: (a) the question
is written and the answer selections are pictures, and (b) the question is a picture and the answer selections are written.
Mode (4) is speaking, and there are no exams. The main activity here is to speak in a microphone and have the program
rate your speech with the native speaker. I did not use this activity much. The last mode (5) is writing. There is
one exam, and out of all exams, this is the most difficult. The questions are given with a picture and is spoken also.
After the speaker is finished, a pop-up window appears, and in the window, you type what the speaker has said. Sometimes
what is said is long, so there is a button which allows you to repeat the question. Turkish has some non-English
characters, so you have to learn how to type these. They are not laid out on the keyboard well, however once you take the
exam several times, you learn pretty quickly how to type them. Be careful of commas and periods, as the program is
not forgiving with regard to these.

While taking an exam, you have to be patient. Sometimes when you select an answer the program does not respond immediately.
If you hit the button twice, it will usually respond that your answer is incorrect. If you do this, stop the program and
restart, otherwise it will commit errors. It may also not record your score, and erase some of your previous exam scores.

Overall, I was satisfied with the program. When I was in Turkey last month, I found that I could get by with what I learned
from the Explorer, and Lewis Thomas' book, "Elementary Turkish." I recommend buying the book with the program, and reading
the first 10 chapters, as Turkish has some general rules which you might not pick up while using the Explorer. And yes, I
eventually plan to get the Rosetta Stone Turkish Level 1 CDRom.

Rating:
Summary: Effective learning tool
Review: The "Rosetta Stone" Turkish Explorer is a CD rom with a program designed to teach you Turkish. Overall, I give
the program 4 stars, which is the average of 5 stars for the program's effectiveness in teaching Turkish, and 3
stars for the program's performance, with regard to errors, crashing, and overall design.

The program is easy to install, however when you use Explorer, you need the CD Rom in the drive. The program
operates only in full-screen mode. In spite of this, the window in which all activity takes place is only about
an sixth of the total screen area, which does not make sense. Especially considering that in some of the
pictures shown, it is difficult to see what is going on. And through pictures are how one learns Turkish using
this program. The pictures should be bigger.

The Explorer CD is the first two sections of a larger CD-Rom set on Turkish by Rosetta Stone. Each section has 11
lessons. The last lesson in each section is a review.

Each lesson has 5 different "modes:" (1) listening and reading, (2) listening only, (3) reading only, (4) speaking
and (5) writing. Within each mode, there is a preview, several quizzes and and with the exception of (4), an exam.
In each mode, the quizzes are essentially the same as the exams, except with the exams, the program keeps score,
and so in my opinion, there is no need to use the quizzes--after previewing a lesson, I go directly to the exam.
The program also saves the exam scores.

Here is how the exams work: In all cases, there are 40 questions, divided into 10 segments. With the exception of
the writing exam, it is all multiple-choice. In each segment, a question is asked, and you are given four choices
for answers, each inside one of 4 windows. Each window may have a picture or words in Turkish, depending on the exam.
Sometimes, nothing is written in the window, but the window lights up while words are spoken. (This does not
apply to the written exam; see below.) Once the first question is answered, it asks another question, whose
answer is one of the three remaining choices. And so on for the 3rd and 4th questions. So if you're good, by
process of elimination, you can figure out what the last answers are. This is a weak point of the program. After the 4
questions have been answered, the program proceeds to the next segment where four new questions are asked. Often,
the selection of questions are challenging, but sometimes they are not. For example, in one segment of an exam,
you are given 4 pictures of numbers, and are asked to translate. The choices are, 1; 3; 5; and 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9.
So any fool can at least get one of the questions right.

Here is how the exams look: in the mode (1), there are 4 exams. These are 4 "variations" of listening and reading
comprehension: (a) the question is given by voice and writing, and the answer selections are pictures, (b) the
question is given by voice and a picture, and the answer selections are wrtten words, (c) the question is spoken only
and the answer selections are words only, and (d) the questions are written only and the answer selections are voice only.
In mode (2), there are two exams, (a) the question is given by voice and the answer selections are pictures, (b) the
question is given by a picture and the answer selections are voiced. In mode (3) there are two exams: (a) the question
is written and the answer selections are pictures, and (b) the question is a picture and the answer selections are written.
Mode (4) is speaking, and there are no exams. The main activity here is to speak in a microphone and have the program
rate your speech with the native speaker. I did not use this activity much. The last mode (5) is writing. There is
one exam, and out of all exams, this is the most difficult. The questions are given with a picture and is spoken also.
After the speaker is finished, a pop-up window appears, and in the window, you type what the speaker has said. Sometimes
what is said is long, so there is a button which allows you to repeat the question. Turkish has some non-English
characters, so you have to learn how to type these. They are not laid out on the keyboard well, however once you take the
exam several times, you learn pretty quickly how to type them. Be careful of commas and periods, as the program is
not forgiving with regard to these.

While taking an exam, you have to be patient. Sometimes when you select an answer the program does not respond immediately.
If you hit the button twice, it will usually respond that your answer is incorrect. If you do this, stop the program and
restart, otherwise it will commit errors. It may also not record your score, and erase some of your previous exam scores.

Overall, I was satisfied with the program. When I was in Turkey last month, I found that I could get by with what I learned
from the Explorer, and Lewis Thomas' book, "Elementary Turkish." I recommend buying the book with the program, and reading
the first 10 chapters, as Turkish has some general rules which you might not pick up while using the Explorer. And yes, I
eventually plan to get the Rosetta Stone Turkish Level 1 CDRom.