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Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic learning tool for the beginner to intermediate stu
Review: I would have given the product a 5 star review if it could have found the contents of the Lesson CD I copied to my laptop hard drive. You are forced to use the Lesson CD in the CD drive to work the program. The program is a very good learing tool. You learn to hear, read, speak and write in the language. The early lessons at first seem too easy, until you get to the unit that has you type in the words or phrases for the image you are viewing. That's when the learning starts. The advanced lessons will have you typing whole paragraphs. Better by far than any Berlitz programs etc. that you commonly find at a computer store. You won't truly learn a language until you can write in it. This one gives you a really good start!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic learning tool for the beginner to intermediate stu
Review: I would have given the product a 5 star review if it could have found the contents of the Lesson CD I copied to my laptop hard drive. You are forced to use the Lesson CD in the CD drive to work the program. The program is a very good learing tool. You learn to hear, read, speak and write in the language. The early lessons at first seem too easy, until you get to the unit that has you type in the words or phrases for the image you are viewing. That's when the learning starts. The advanced lessons will have you typing whole paragraphs. Better by far than any Berlitz programs etc. that you commonly find at a computer store. You won't truly learn a language until you can write in it. This one gives you a really good start!
Rating: 
Summary: The ONLY worthwhile language learning software!
Review: The Rosetta Stone series of language instruction software is "Pimsleur" level of effectiveness and unfortunately, Pimsleur level cost as well. The programs work on a total immersion basis, with no English used at all. There are several types of drills, ones where you hear a word or sentence and pick it out of a group of pictures, another where you read the text of the word and pick out the pictures, etc. There are also typing drills in your language to help you spell (without having to download special fonts), pronounciation drills that allow you to hear a word, speak it to your computer and hear your voice in comparison to the native speaker played back to you. This is the first program of it's type I've found where this feature actually works! I own both German and Russian 1 and 2. There is a LOT to learn here, especially if you do all the types of drills for each lesson. You learn grammar from inference, such as word endings when the subject is "in" something rather than "on" or "under" it. You see the same endings used, compare them with the pictures and you start to recognize patterns. But one of the best things about this software is the user interface. Since it's an immersion program, there's no English used and by it's very nature needs to be intuitive. This is how it should be done. I've used other types of language software that had a klunky, confusing interface with features that didn't work, etc. None of that is the case with the Rosetta Stone software. On another note, I switched to Mac about nine months ago and Fairfield Language Technologies sent me out a new Mac OS X systems disc for free, no questions asked. At this price level you'd think this would be commonplace, but it's not. Adobe allowed me to change from PC to OS X when I upgraded from Photoshop 6 to 7, but Macromedia wouldn't and expected me to buy all new software (I didn't). So kudos to FLT for their stellar customer service! Is it too expensive? I'd say yes, but this is a serious language learning tool for serious self students, and it's a lot cheaper than classes at the U. The axiom is true with both this and the Pimsleur method tapes; you get what you pay for.
Rating: 
Summary: Decent progam, lousy online support.
Review: The Rosetta stone teaches by 'complete immersion'. Using picture context the student asborbs vocabulary with ease. Immediate rewards for correct answers help motivate the learner to keep working. However, there are some weaknesses. First, you need to have a reliable dictionary on hand. There are times that you come to wrong conclusions about word meaning and you must double check with a dictionary. Second, this course is weak in grammar. I recommend a text to demonstrate basic grammatical structures. Last, this software does not give separate phonetic information. you are expected to learn by listening. Certain individuals, based on learning style may want to see phonetic information in print.
Rating:
Summary: Learn vocabulary fast
Review: The Rosetta stone teaches by 'complete immersion'. Using picture context the student asborbs vocabulary with ease. Immediate rewards for correct answers help motivate the learner to keep working. However, there are some weaknesses. First, you need to have a reliable dictionary on hand. There are times that you come to wrong conclusions about word meaning and you must double check with a dictionary. Second, this course is weak in grammar. I recommend a text to demonstrate basic grammatical structures. Last, this software does not give separate phonetic information. you are expected to learn by listening. Certain individuals, based on learning style may want to see phonetic information in print.
Rating:
Summary: Decent progam, lousy online support.
Review: This would definitely be the way to go with this company. I used the online version of this program for over a year and found it to be very helpful. When I ran into technical problems, however, the technical support was virtually non-existing. I had to cancel. The price is a bit steep, but the structure of the lessons and the features are very good. Get the CD and don't suffer the incompetent "support."
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