Rosetta Stone Danish Personal Edition Level 1

Rating:
Summary: Ineffective method
Review: Before I start let me make it clear that I haven't purchased this item yet and I doubt that I will. Rather I wisely decided to check out the demo available on the Rosetta Stone website. In retrospect I'm glad I did so because I realized that this method is not for me. First of all, the lack of any English texts is very frustrating. Instead you're supposed to infer what each word means from the context and the pictures. It wouldn't be a problem if the pictures were clear and definite, but often they are blurry, distant and old-looking photographs that leave you in doubt about what they're talking about. For example I've lost count of the number of times I got "kvinden ---" wrong because the women look exactly like men. I also got "dreng" and "pige" mixed up because the boys either look and dress like girls and vice versa, or their faces and motion are blurred and I haven't a clue what is going on. This, coupled with the fact that every answer, right or wrong, is accompanied with a very annoying beep, is extremely frustrating. Furthermore, I didn't learn any pronunciation from the lessons, it focused more on identifying the pictures than on being able to say things yourself, which I thought was supposed to be the whole point of language learning. In short, Rosetta Stone Danish is completely inadequate for a complete danish user. The only reason I did not give it a lower score is that other people with a little danish background might find it more useful and easier to navigate.

Rating:
Summary: Good way to learn a language
Review: While I don't actually have the Level 1 software yet, I do have the 'explorer' version, and am looking into buying the level 1. So far I have really enjoyed it. Yes, it can be frustrating when you have no idea what types of words (genders, colors, etc) are being presented and you need to select the corresponding picture, however I have found myself actually thinking in Danish instead of in English (associating the pictures as I see them with the Danish words and not the English), a profound difference from high school and college level German classes that I have taken. I do believe that their approach does simulate the natural way you learn your first language and look forward to learning many languages through rosetta stone software! If you're uncertain I would certainly recommend the Explorer version software- I believe its under $10 on Amazon and should give you a good idea of what to expect!