Rosetta Stone V3 German Level 1-5 Set with Audio Companion OLD VERSION

I think overall that Rosetta Stone hit upon a great idea for teaching languages. The only problem is that they failed to implement it. Gaudy and persistent marketing does not make up for extensive failings of the implementation. The resulting product is a lazy recycling of the same material over and over again. It can serve as a nice introduction to the language, but nobody can actually learn a language using RosettaStone. I say that having gone through 4 levels of the program. I also learned another language fluently using other methods, that's why I am pretty confident in saying nobody can properly learn the language using this tool. The failings are many: - paucity of material (i.e. disguising the same identical exercises under different titles over and over again) - the persistent use of multiple choice where it does not belong - no cultural immersion whatsoever - ease of cheating on tests through visual cues (you have to force yourself to look away not too cheat - i am pretty sure I can score 85-90% on majority of tests in the Japanese version not knowing a single word) - minimal grammar exercises - minimal independent interaction where you are forced to use the language and construct sentences on your own: the multiple-choice curse again. - reading comprehension material a total joke - stale language - many expressions and turns of phrase belong to the museum (as a look online or interaction with native speakers will quickly tell you) I could go on, but I won't. As a first interaction with a language, it's not bad, but you can get the same for much less money. In general, if you are serious about learning a language, STAY AWAY. Read more

You will be able to have wonderful useless short conversations with the natives about dogs drinking tea and riding yellow bicycles. Yes, I left out the commas on purpose. That was supposed to be funny. I took German in College years ago and bought this to brush up. I found it kind of useless given my prior knowledge I had no trouble blasting through it. It doesn't give you enough meat of the language to get past the simplest interactions and might still leave you coming up short for words. Does little to teach you the complexities and tenses of the language. Read more

My wife and I have tried a number of language courses and Rosetta Stone is far superior to any of them. We are learning quickly and easily from the basics to the complex aspects of German. This software includes vocice recognition and can correct pronunciation which is a great help. It is easy to navigate and quite intuitive as well. My one complaint is that I had to contact their support department to install this on more than two computers, but was given permission after explaining the reasons I needed this. I am impressed with the quality and effectiveness of this product. Read more

I have not yet gone through to the level 5 as yet. But the level 1 and 2 gave me great satisfaction. You cannot learn language only by single tool but this software will help you for your second or third tool to take you further. I particularly like photos that the RS selected. They are very carefully selected to display various situations and variety of people. You will enjoy them. Read more

Rosetta Stone has long had a (possibly self-created) reputation for being this amazing system for learning foreign languages. I've taken languages in school, through audio courses, and now with Rosetta Stone and they're all about the same - it just takes time! (It also is easier when you're young). Rosetta Stone doesn't seem to be anything particularly special - I didn't pick up German any quicker or better than using audio courses. But, if you like doing things on your computer, it's a way to work on a language that way. (Or, you could just look up "learn German" on youtube). The Rosetta Stone courses seem expensive, but compared to other software, audiocourses, or real classes are about the going rate. I got through level one and midway through level 2 in a summer, so you probably want to get the whole "levels 1-5" if you want to get very far in a language. It works by showing you pictures and then giving you spoken/written words and sentences in the language. It's a mix of pronunciation, vocab, reading, etc., but the grammar teaching is poor. They don't explain or translate anything in English, which often becomes a drawback - it's a lot easier to explain a grammatical rule than to just "pick it up" through constant example. (e.g. when to use "habe" v. "bin" in past tenses). Also, it's not always easy to tell what they're trying to portray in the picture - sometimes giving me a translation would make it a lot easier! There are times when I just google the word or rule online to see what Rosetta Stone is trying to (or failing to) teach me. Also, voice recognition isn't a great technology yet, so when you're doing your pronunciation exercises, you can pronounce something exactly the same twice in a row and one time it likes it and the other it doesn't. I've sat there and said the same thing over and over before finally giving up and skipping to the next section. On the bright side, I didn't like using the headphones, and I realized it worked just as well with the computer speaker and mic. There's a couple other annoying, but unimportant things (e.g. I wish they'd use pictures from the culture of the language - I'd like to pick up a bit of a "feel" for the culture while I'm doing this, not look at Chinese people eating rice while learning how to say "they eat" in German - or German people eating sausages while learning the same phrase in Chinese!). I have the v. 4 (which Amazon doesn't seem to list). I was able to register on the phone for a computer that was offline without problem. The one I installed online had extra features online which expired after a few months, but the basic program was still usable after they expired. I enjoy using this to further my language skills, but it's neither perfect nor more impressive than other methods, and I think I might try another brand for the next language, if only to have the grammatical rules explained to me! Read more

I will gladly order Rosetta Stone German Levels 1-5 as soon as it goes on sale again. I missed the Christmas and Valentine's Day sales--regrettably--so now I am just waiting for another sale on the whole set. I have tried out the demo in a shopping mall and got a thorough overview from an excellent sales rep. I am sold on this method of language learning. I have a good ear for music and languages, so I know I will learn very fast. Come on Rosetta Stone, have another sale! Read more