Rosetta Stone: Is It Any Good For Learning Italian?
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It is expensive, but very good. It is so effective that we use it in schools out here in the USA. We actually use the English version to help foreign students get a grasp of English. So, if schools are willing to spend public money for extra language reinforcement, then I must be worth it.
I did a lot of research before our trip to Italy, and I decided to use Fluenz instead of Rosetta Stone. To be fair, I have never used RS for learning a language, but I read a lot of not-so-good reviews. I feel like Fluenz was the right choice. I had a beginner's knowledge of Italian by the time we took our vacation, and I was able to use the language enough to get by.
Unfortunately, the only way to truly learn a language is be immersed in it and practice often! At this point (2 years later), I have already lost most of what I learned.
Unfortunately, the only way to truly learn a language is be immersed in it and practice often! At this point (2 years later), I have already lost most of what I learned.
It really depends what you are learning it for. If you are learning it for a trip to Italy, there are several sites that will offer you enough Italian to get you around in Italy. If you want to learn Italian because you want to live there, get yourself a teacher. I think that having someone who can give immediate feedback is the best way to go.
Well, I do believe that Rosetta Stone is very helpful, but yes, I also agree that it all depends on what you wish to achieve. If you're looking for an easy and quick course, maybe it would be better if you found one that you don't have to pay. If you wish to study for awhile, then Rosetta Stone is a perfect choice.
I'd used Livemocha before, it's a website and as far as I know, it's free. It was nice for the studying, especially in the beginning. And it was a very good website. I do recommend it. I am not sure about it now, seeing as they'd changed it a little, but hopefully it's still essentially the same.
Do check it out, if you have the time.
I'd used Livemocha before, it's a website and as far as I know, it's free. It was nice for the studying, especially in the beginning. And it was a very good website. I do recommend it. I am not sure about it now, seeing as they'd changed it a little, but hopefully it's still essentially the same.
Do check it out, if you have the time.
I have tried the Rosetta Stone and I can say that it's reasonably priced. It's a great tool for translators and people undergoing interpreting training. If you don't mind spending $499 for the software, then you won't be burdened by the price. Good thing is that Rosetta Stone lets you try first before making the purchase.
The technique being used is the immersion technique, and the software presents you with lots of photos of high-res images. There are exercises and ways to help yourself on the Rosetta Stone website, with plenty of links to fun ways to learn the language.
The technique being used is the immersion technique, and the software presents you with lots of photos of high-res images. There are exercises and ways to help yourself on the Rosetta Stone website, with plenty of links to fun ways to learn the language.
Try duolingo. Seriously, it'll change your life (maybe not, but it's pretty awesome nonetheless). It's like the free rosetta stone. Also learning a language nowadays isn't like before. Now you can easily find an Italian tutor online or just an Italian willing to chat with you. RS feels unnecessarily expensive.
It has an website and apps for ios and android. Really neat program. I've been learning Spanish through it actually.
Yep, I agree that the brand does emit that sort of feeling. Rosetta Stone gives so many types of discounts making the prices go down one day, very down the next day, and then up the following weekend. Duolingo may be less undulating, but it does cost you time. It's unsupervised learning. If you are motivated (and talented) then you should be able to "teach" others what you learned in no time. It's not really teaching, though, because you don't get paid if you teach a language with Duolingo.
Well I think RS isn't *that* supervised. If you really were unmotivated then RS wouldn't make too much of a difference I don't think. Learning a new language ALWAYS requires motivation in my experience
So, is Duolingo a program or a website? The one I downloaded was an app. The program we need to create ourselves, manage ourselves, motivate ourselves and get along with others ourselves. It's fun for inexperienced language learners. Highlight on fun. 
A lot of the times, though, interacting on unsupervised language learning websites could discourage you, because some "learners" like to point out what's wrong and what's right. In my opinion, if you have your own language learning program and goals, it does matter a lot how you get there.
I tend to get confused when I learn unsupervised, so I would quickly design something, like a program or something to help me with the learning. Here in this Forbes story, the founders of Duolingo are featured. Duolingo was just starting out in 2013. Hint: Rosetta Stone gets a mention.
A lot of the times, though, interacting on unsupervised language learning websites could discourage you, because some "learners" like to point out what's wrong and what's right. In my opinion, if you have your own language learning program and goals, it does matter a lot how you get there.
I tend to get confused when I learn unsupervised, so I would quickly design something, like a program or something to help me with the learning. Here in this Forbes story, the founders of Duolingo are featured. Duolingo was just starting out in 2013. Hint: Rosetta Stone gets a mention.
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I've always heard that Rosetta Stone isn't that good? That it only gets you to about a third grade level? I personally use DuoLingo (which is an app) and I like it quite a lot. It makes learning into a game, which in turn makes fun. So you associate "learning" with "fun", and it makes you want to do it more.
To be perfectly fair, duolingo alone won't make you fluent either. Still, it's free, which does give it an edge over rosetta
The way I tested the idea is like this. If I were an Italian whose main language is not English, and I am interested in learning Italian, would I use any of the two? I probably would not be either fluent or satisfied with the amount of learning I get from both Rosetta Stone and Duolingo combined, or individiually. However, if I were an Italian interested in teaching Italian, I would probably be able to use Duolingo to teach my language, because it's free. But for learning, I would not use them. And lastly, if I were an Italian interested in teaching/learning English, could I use Duolingo? No, because it does not have the option of English for Italian speakers yet. But boy is it fun.
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Rosetta Stone is good, but pricey as you say, and to be honest if you found some free or reasonably priced courses then you might fair better as it is a lot more interactive. If you get as far as you can on your own and then get a tutor, you would probably spend about the same!
My husband and I used Rosetta Stone. He was better at it then I was. He was also more disciplined about sitting in front the computer for hours repeating the same words over and over. The pictures were great and the software was good, however I did a terrible job learning because I would fall asleep from sitting for so long and hearing the same voice over and over. Especially since I was not able to roll my r sounds. If I did not get the word correct, I would have to keep trying before moving on. I found it very difficult. When we went to Italy, the Italians ended up speaking English to us anyway.
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I agree that having a one on one instructor is better for learning a language. I wonder what the comparison would be between the Rosetta Stone software compared to taking an in person class or workshop or having a tutor. I had taken a Spanish class in high school and I know I learned better that way then sitting in front of a computer talking to myself and the computer voice.
Having a personal guy tutor is one of the best ways to learn a language for sure. I think you can get one on Skype for less than the cost of RS