| ![German Level 1 & 2 Win/Mac Personal Edition [Old Version]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SCJ61FB8L.jpg) | From: Fairfield Language Technologies
This item is no longer available
Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 4039
Format: CD-ROM
Platforms: Mac OS X, Windows, Mac, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Me
Media: CD-ROM
Edition: Level 1 & 2
Operating System: Windows
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.1
Dimensions (in): 9.8 x 7.7 x 2.9
MPN: 794678017698
Model: 225-12
UPC: 794678017698
EAN: 0794678017698
ASIN: B000077DD3
Release Date: October 28, 2002
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 21
 Practically worthless March 4, 2007
nyctc7 (New York, NY United States)
50 out of 58 found this review helpful
I can't for the life of me understand why Rosetta Stone has garnered such good reviews (although I see a few negative ones here, so I feel validated) and seems to have such an outstanding reputation. I find it practically worthless, and it's expensive to boot. I'm sure that my experience with the German program would apply to Rosetta Stone's other languages as well, as they all taught via the same method.
I've been learning German for about 6 months and besides Rosetta Stone I have used Pimsleur, Rocket Languages, and have taken private instruction. Obviously, private instruction is best. But this review is about software, and Pimsleur is best. But Rosetta Stone has more bells & whistles, which is perhaps why people think it is so good. But it isn't. For example, nowhere in Rosetta Stone do you actually learn how to say useful things. Nowhere do you learn how to say "Hello," "How are you, "What's your name," or even "Where's the bathroom." Instead, you will learn how to recognize such useful phrases as "The woman and the boy have a ball on their heads" or "The man is under the donkey" or "These two fish are from the same species" or "The blue triangle is bigger than the red square." Ridiculous!! And note I said "learn how to recognize a phrase." This is the biggest weakness and disappointment with Rosetta Stone. It really doesn't get you to talk at ALL. You are not required to utter a word. You see four pictures, and the speaker will say (in German) "The boy is drinking milk." Now, if you have already heard the word for "boy" (Junge) and three of the pictures have no boys, you simply click on the picture with the boy and presto, you're correct! This multiple choice way of learning is not effective for learning a language! (There is a "practice speaking" mode, equally useless, which I mention below)
With Pimsleur, which is an audio only program, you hear conversations that will impart essential words and phrases. And they are repeated (and asks you to repeat) in such a fashion that it sticks. For example, it was weeks ago that it introduced "How much do I owe you?" yet I still remember it. (Wie viel shulde ich Ihnen?--No, I didn't cheat and look it up!) Pimsleur is brilliant in the way it gradually builds your knowledge and abilities. Of course, it isn't perfect as it doesn't explain the grammar. But neither does Rosetta Stone, and Rosetta Stone is worse because with Pimsleur there is also an English speaker who explains some things, while with Rosetta Stone you are left to twist in the wind. That's why software language learning programs should be seen as supplements--supplements to classroom or private instruction.
What are the bells & whistles on Rosetta Stone? You get to do a lesson in a variety of ways--seeing pictures with audio (the speaker), or pictures with audio and text, or audio only, for example. There is also a feature where the speaker on the program says a phrase, and you repeat it into a microphone and can compare your voice signature to the speaker's. But I found that this didn't work well at all and wasn't worth the trouble. And again, the phrases weren't useful.
 Excellent but over priced February 26, 2007
John F. Wright (Savage, Minnesota United States)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
Overall I would highly recommend the Rosetta Stone software even though it's a bit over priced and certainly insufficient as your primary learning method. Rosetta Stone *combined* with Pimsleur is a great method for languages that are similar to your native language. The disks are copy protected and that is a serious drawback as you need the CD in the drive any time you are going to use it and you can't use a backup copy for safety.
The Rosetta Stone lessons are quick, easy and fun to do, thus encouraging usage. If you can afford it I would definitely recommend combining Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone. Both are excellent products and far better than less expensive products commonly available. But neither alone is sufficient for effective learning of a language.
Could Rosetta Stone be improved? Certainly. More diverse and better graphics would help. The graphics they use are very good but occasionally a picture isn't quite clear as to meaning. For example if you are supposed to select "a boy on a horse" you may not realize it is a boy on the horse.
If you are questioning if you should get Rosetta Stone or not, just get a free demo CD from their website and try it yourself. As far as I can tell the full product is exactly the same as the demo but obviously you have access to more lessons.
Excellent Learning Program February 8, 2007
Murry G (Pittsburgh, PA)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
I purchased this program about 1.5 years ago. I have been casually studying German through other programs for about 4 years. The best basic words-only is through Unforgettable Languages (very basic, but easy as heck to learn). Rosetta Stone is the best for understanding gender, verb usage and adapting to the German style of sentence structure. I absolutely love all the functionality and versatility of the program. It is incredibly challenging to go from reading to typing and to speaking.
The only negative is that the CD has to be used to run the program. Even with an accelerated CD-Rom, the starting/stopping of the CD is distracting. If that feature were corrected, it would be perfect.
Laptop Users: Be Warned January 30, 2007
J. Baker (Virginia, USA)
22 out of 24 found this review helpful
The Rosetta Stone application requires that the language CD be present in the harddrive, and it *continuously* spins up the CD disk while the program runs. This unfortunate design will quickly run down your laptop batteries, making this application unsuitable for travel. My repeated requests to Fairfield Technologies, the Rosetta Stone software company, to remedy this problem were declined. Considering the substantial price paid for this software, it should *behave* like software, and not a DVD. If the application could be installed and run like normal software, it would not uselessly drain you laptop batteries.
Essential...if you know how to use it October 9, 2006
Mark (Raleigh, NC)
141 out of 141 found this review helpful
This is actually a review for more than one product (Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone)
If you are willing to spend 1-2 years learning a foreign language but have limited time (weekly), lack the ability to immerse yourself in that culture for 1 year (the best way to learn the language), can't attend classes, can expend some budget, and want the process to be challenging yet fun, here's how to do it:
1. Buy a good English-Foreign Language Dictionary.
2. Get the Pimsleur Course for that language. (Check Ebay for used copies)
3. Buy the Rosetta Stone Program for that language. (Costly. Try the online monthly subscription option if your budget is tight.)
4. Get a Basic Grammar Language Book (Barron's highly recommended)
Putting it all together.
1. Listen to the Pimsleur Program during your daily commute-1 lesson per day. (Take the weekend off) DO NOT go to the next lesson until you have a 80% recall of the material. THERE IS NO NEED TO BE AT 100% RECALL before going to the next lesson. (Trust me on this on-avoid my pain)
Using this method, you can get through ALL Pimsleur lessons (Levels I-III)in 12-18 months. THE FOCUS OF PIMSLEUR IS SPEAKING SKILLS.
2. At the same time, use the Rosetta Stone lessons on the weekend, with one 60-90 minute session. Go through the guided exercise followed by the test. THERE IS NO NEED TO GO THROUGH EVERY LESSON (TYPE) for each program. After you buy the product, you'll know what I'm talking about. THE FOCUS OF ROSETTA STONE IS LISTENING SKILLS.
3. Review the basic grammar of the language as you go through the 2 above.
4. Contrary to what Pimsleur says, look up any words for spelling, and likewise, for Rosetta Stone, look up any words for definition you don't understand.
Bottomline: Despite what they advertise, these are not stand-alone programs. Also the secret to recall is anticipation, meaning an 80% success rate for Pimsleur is ok and 70% success rate for Rosetta Stone is okay before moving to the next lesson.
You don't get any extra points for making 100% and this effort can be counter-productive (burn out, boredom, and frustration before finishing the lessons.)
Your goal should be to get through all of the programs and lessons and the experience should be challenging and fun. Afterwards, you can take your trip to that country for the total immersion experience, and after the first 2 weeks, you'll see how well spent your time was with the programs.
After you complete the above, and you are learning one of the romantic languages (German, French, Spanish, Italian) I HIGHLY RECOMMEND using the Michel Thomas programs-which are essentially Verb Conjugation 101 lessons-it is the glue that ties everything together you learned with Pimsleur/Rosetta Stone.
Note: I've used the Japanese, German, and Korean Pimsleur Courses, and Rosetta Stone German and Japanese Programs. I've also spent extensive time in all 3 of those countries. Learn from my mistakes.
Good luck and have fun.
Showing reviews 6-10 of 21
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