Rosetta Stone Thai Explorer

Rating:
Summary: Language Explorer: A Limited Sample of a Good Product
Review: As a foreigner living in Thailand, I have seen a good many resources for learning the Thai language. Some are good, some are bad and a few rare gems shine out from the crowd. The Rosetta Stone method falls into the "good" category and I've found it useful in expanding my vocabulary and working on my Thai grammar. It's a solid method of repetition and continual quizzing that builds your understanding of the language quickly.

The "Language Explorer" product is the first two lessons from the larger 92-lesson "Thai Level I" product also available here on Amazon. It is not a complete Thai language course. It is designed for the learner who wants to experiment with the Rosetta Stone method without dropping over a hundred dollars on the full program.

This program covers the following two lessons: 1-01 Introductory Nouns and Prepositions, and 1-02 Verbs: Present Indicative Tense. As you might gather from the titles, this is the beginning of a serious course covering vocabulary and usage. Because it is so limited, the "Language Explorer" product is not going to be helpful to tourists or anyone seeking to learn quick Thai phrases.

If you're serious about learning Thai and want a helpful computer-based tutor, the Rosetta Stone will fit the bill. However, you might want to pass on this "Language Explorer" product and move right to the full "Level I" product instead. If you need a demo of what the product can do, you can find one at the Rosetta Stone Web site and save your money from the purchase of this product.

I give this product 1 star, not because the method used or quality of the Rosetta Stone product, but because the "Language Explorer" version is a glorified demo and is of limited usage to a student of the Thai language. The full "Level I" product gets a much higher rating.

Rating:
Summary: I was learning Thai easily and quickly, almost immediately!
Review: Definetly worth it! Now I realize just how ineffective a lot of the other books, cassette tape sets and CD-ROMs are that I've tried. With the "Rosetta Stone Thai Explorer", the first day--within the first 15 minutes--I was recognizing basic Thai phrases well enough that I received a 96% correct score, when tested!

One of the way it teaches you is by displaying 4 pictures that are highlighted one at a time, with a Thai phrase that is spoken as each item is highlighted. This is repeated a few times, then the pictures are scrambled up, the announcer speaks one of the phrases and--somehow, you just remember--really without even trying!

Pretty ingenious way to learn--and painless too!

Rating:
Summary: I was learning Thai easily and quickly, almost immediately!
Review: Definetly worth it! Now I realize just how ineffective a lot of the other books, cassette tape sets and CD-ROMs are that I've tried. With the "Rosetta Stone Thai Explorer", the first day--within the first 15 minutes--I was recognizing basic Thai phrases well enough that I received a 96% correct score, when tested!

One of the way it teaches you is by displaying 4 pictures that are highlighted one at a time, with a Thai phrase that is spoken as each item is highlighted. This is repeated a few times, then the pictures are scrambled up, the announcer speaks one of the phrases and--somehow, you just remember--really without even trying!

Pretty ingenious way to learn--and painless too!

Rating:
Summary: I was learning Thai easily and quickly, almost immediately!
Review: Definetly worth it! Now I realize just how ineffective a lot of the other books, cassette tape sets and CD-ROMs are that I've tried. With the "Rosetta Stone Thai Explorer", the first day--within the first 15 minutes--I was recognizing basic Thai phrases well enough that I received a 96% correct score, when tested!

One of the way it teaches you is by displaying 4 pictures that are highlighted one at a time, with a Thai phrase that is spoken as each item is highlighted. This is repeated a few times, then the pictures are scrambled up, the announcer speaks one of the phrases and--somehow, you just remember--really without even trying!

Pretty ingenious way to learn--and painless too!

Rating:
Summary: Better off to hit your thumb with a hammer.
Review: What a worthless product. Been to Thailand a few times and I am slowly learning the language. I thought I would improve my skills on the home front. Well.....I guess I have a new coaster.
The lessons start with four pictures, where you hear the Thai translation. It starts with boy, girl. dog ,cat. By lesson 10 you end up with boy petting cat. Or girl under table.
Overall you end up learning 40 words, 35 of them useless. You don't even learn "Hello" or "Thank you" just random words. So unless you have a passion to say "girl inside airplane" in Thai, I would recommend you save your money and learn Thai from a "Tuk-Tuk" driver when you arrive in Bangkok.