Rosetta Stone: Polish Explorer

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous - helps me so much with pronunciation!
Review: I am so glad that I bought this CD. I was preparing to go to Poland for the first time, and I needed something to supplement my phrase books. I picked up this CD and it taught me pronunciation. While the grammer I learned was limited, I really, truely, actually learned it. Months later, I still remember what I learned. Normally, I have a terrible time remembering and learning foreign languages. However, this CD is really involving, and makes it easy to learn the words intuitively.

Rating:
Summary: The pros and cons of the Rosetta Stone courses
Review: I have been looking at self study language courses and came across RS. I would urge you to check out its website, because there you can get free sample lessons. There are also different options for the length of courses, and whether you want it online or CD rom.

I find this program quite sneaky and clever - it'll get you to recognise and build upon what you know through recognition and interactive software, so that you will learn just as kids do, figuring out the rules by yourself. I'm personally interested in how my mind puts it all together. Here are some thoughts (and gripes) I have about the RS course:

1. They seem to have one module and translate it into many different languages, forgetting that kangaroos are probably more useful in some countries and non-existent in others.

2. You would probably learn faster if you complemented with another more grammer based course. I am a bit dubious about completely buying the 'learning just like a child learns language' theory. As adults we have the benefit of transfering ideas of abstract rules to help us with our 2nd (or 3rd, etc) language.

3. It isn't totally clear from the picture sometimes what the sentance is saying, but I could 'get the right answer' through elimination even if I didn't totally get what was being said. I solved this by downloading the manual for the "English" RS course, which told me exactly what the equivalent sentance was supposed to be.

4. There is more emphasis on recognition than production, which can be a useful first step. However, this is not the quickest way to learn. I found Pimsleur tapes more useful for breaking down the sounds of the words and really making me think of the sentances and words in context. Here you just have a bunch of pictures. However, compared to the Pimsleur for the same amount of money (that is, if you choose the right type of RS course) you get larger range of volcab. In a nutshell: Pimsleur will teach you to speak. RS will teach you to recognise.

5. It may get tedious after a while because it is structured in the same way. But if you are really interested in learning the language it's in small digestable modules. My strategy is: in one day I will preview lesson 3, do the listen/read test from lesson 2, and the listening test from lesson 1. The next day I will preview lesson 4, listen/read 3, and listen for 2.

6. It is no subsititue for speaking with a native speaker and going there, because the phrases in the modules are still really limited.

7. The writing exercise I find a bit naff and is about sorting out a sentance anagram. Theoretically it has a speech recognition so that you can test your accent, but like the writing because it has limited computer intelligence it can't correct you in a useful manner.

Having said that, I think it is a really decent component for a cram course - which is what I need before I go to Poland - and I think it really helps my volcab. It does mean sitting in front of a computer for many hours. Good luck.

Rating:
Summary: The title says it all
Review: One thing missing from the reviews that may be helpful, is that this line of software is called "Rosetta Stone." Of course this is the infamous tablet that transposed languages, in essence unlocking the key to vocabulary. This program works much the same way, it is a true vocabulary builder. It touches on all aspects of the language, and it DOES require effort. This effort may seem a bit more pronounced than book study, but I personally believe it is that reading off a computer monitor and its interactive nature just make it seem more arduous than a book. The demands of this program, I believe, are no more intense than a serious book on vocab and grammar. Overall I believe this CD delivers the goods quite nicely. It is a bit discouraging at first as there is very little feedback that you're "getting it." This comes later, you see your progress slowly at first, but after time the vocab reviews and constant hearing of the spoken language sink in, and when it does you hardly notice. This offers something like no other product out there, including Talk Now! CDs (which I also recommend). It is quite interactive and when you have mastered it, you have a great ear for the Polish language and a very solid footing in vocubulary that you can use quite naturally. High marks for such an achievement.

Rating:
Summary: Great Learning Tool
Review: This CD-ROM is great for anyone trying to learn basic phrases in Polish. I am a native Polish speaker and I would recommend this CD-ROM to anyone trying to pick up on basic Polish pharase. As far as learning the whole language, you'll need a little more than a CD-Rom.

Rating:
Summary: Explorer Edition
Review: This is the Explorer Edition of the software. It comes with 22 lesons from Rosetta Stone Level I. Level I contains 92 lessons. If you want all 92 lessons, you will need to upgrade.

Rating:
Summary: Too much work, for such little benefit
Review: This software claims on the box "Selected by the Peace Corps the U.S. State Department and NASA!" Which I find interesting since this is definitely NOT a program where you learn the language very quickly or all that effectively.
My main gripe about Rosetta Stone Polish Explorer, is that it can cause more confusion than comprehention. In many cases the pictures are not clear on which item in the picture you are being given the word for. The only way to know which word you are being taught, is to first go through the lesson that is in English. But even this does not help completely, as the Polish lessons have 2 levels, while the English lesson only covers the first level. Personally, I got MUCH more benefit, and faster learning, through the "Instant Immersion" software program. So I would recommend buying that software instead of this one.
ALSO, be aware that there are 29 different languages on EVERY Rosetta Stone Explorer CD, so the only real "benefit" of buying a specific one, is to get the second level of the program. The other 29 languages only cover the first level, and it's all the same pictures regardless of the language chosen.
That's My Opinion, But You're Welcome To It.