novemberfog Posted July 9, 2006 at 05:03 PM Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 at 05:03 PM Has anyone used Rosetta Stone to study European languages? How does it fit into the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages ranking system? I found some distance education courses that claim to meet the requirements for the A2 level at least. Does Rosetta Stone bring one up to about the same level? Or is Rosetta Stone more of a simple multimedia course? From the demo, I must say I was not so impressed, but from the demo you really cannot get a feel for the whole course. Don't know if it matters, but I am interested in improving my German listening and speaking skills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roee Posted July 11, 2006 at 02:26 AM Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 at 02:26 AM I'm currently on Lesson 7 of Level 1 out of two Levels. RS is an excellent immersion program as far as implanting a "feeling" for the language. With 0% of actual memorization I can recall quite a few words and sentences which are accompanied with some "context". I have a feeling that benefit from the program will only be achieved after the completion of the two levels. RS aims mostly at the construction and "feeling" for the language -- the vocabulary will not be as you expect; this you can complement with software like Pimsleur and gazillion other resources for the "tourist" in order to help with initiating simple conversations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novemberfog Posted July 12, 2006 at 06:37 AM Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2006 at 06:37 AM Roee, How much experience do you have with your target language? I studied German grammar rather in depthly, but I find my weak points are listening, speaking, and vocabulary. Does the program help give your confidence in your speaking and listening skills? Are the lessons challenging? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roee Posted July 12, 2006 at 09:10 AM Report Share Posted July 12, 2006 at 09:10 AM novemberfog, Oops, forgot to mention it's a course in Italian, however I also have experience with the program with German and Mandarin and it's the same. The lessons can be quite challenging, for sure it requires my full attention. As far as confidence goes... I have not tried to use the language in practice yet, and as mentioned it seems to be required to finish the two levels before getting anywhere. But, I would say "yes". It's no "magical bullet" though. Roee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novemberfog Posted July 12, 2006 at 01:43 PM Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2006 at 01:43 PM Thanks for the input. I guess I should plunk down the US $320 and try it out. They say there is a money back guarantee...so I guess I have nothing to lose, and only language skills to gain. Thanks again for your input! Good luck with your studies in Italian! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renegadedog Posted February 16, 2007 at 06:49 AM Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 at 06:49 AM I really like Rosetta Stone. I came to China to teach ESL in September 2003, and found it really hard to learn the language. It wasn't til I found Rosetta Stone in about October 2005 that I really picked it up much more quickly and started learning a whole lot more. Some people on here have criticised it for not explaining the grammar - fine. WHat it does do is immerse you in the language and pick it up 'naturally'. It doesn't spoon feed you the language. I can't stand all these phrasebooky things like pimsleur where you get some guy going "HEre's how you say avocado". That is NOT a good way to learn!!! Rosetta Stone teaches us Chinese in the same way taht we try to teach Chinese people English! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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