Rosetta Stone Version 3: Japanese Level 1, 2 & 3 Set with Audio Companion
 | Average Customer Rating: Recommend Rosetta Stone Personal Edition contains everything you need to start learning a language. It's built around our award-winning Rosetta Stone curriculum, which has been adopted by organizations around the world including the U.S. Army, NASA, major corporations such as Deutsche Telecom, IKEA, Royal Dutch Shell, and over 10,000 schools worldwide--and is available in 31 languages spoken by over 90% of the world's population. The Fastest, Easiest Way to Learn a New… Product details and pricing info |
|---|
42 Customer Reviews Posted
- Believe the hype.
- With all the commercials on tv for this thing you would figure it was all hoplah. Well, with the perfect interface, the included headphones and the voice and video support, I would consider this the perfect way to learn any language. Optional cds are included so you don't have to be planted in front of your computer the whole time. However, you'll get the most out of this with the picture and video software. Good luck!
- 2008-11-22, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- In depth and easy to follow
- I've never had a "knack" for learning languages, but somebody recommend the Rosetta Stone line, and I'm glad I gave it a try. They've really perfected the repetitive learning technique, and I found myself asborbing the lessons without even trying.
The only downside is that this is intended more for people who want to learn the language to near fluency. It was a bit involved for somebody just wanting to visit and learn a few key phrases. - 2008-11-20, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Repetition Works. Repetition Works. Repetition Works.
- I had tried to learn Japanese several years ago by listening to audio tapes and then by taking a class, and found it very difficult. Rosetta Stone looked like they might have a better answer, so I gave them a try.
First of all, installation was a snap. I installed RS on a Mac running OS X Leopard, and had no problem at all. It takes a long time, though, so be prepared to wait or even walk away from the computer for a while during installation. I decided to try using the Mac's built-in mic instead of the headset provided with the software, and found that it worked well. Of course, this would not be a good idea if there is a lot of noise near your computer. You may have trouble hearing the lessons, and RS would probably not do well judging your pronunciation.
You have a choice of how the Japanese words will display on your screen. If you are primarily interested in learning spoken Japanese, you might choose to have the text display using characters from the English alphabet, as that could help you to more easily recognize and pronounce the phrases.
Japanese is, obviously, very different from English, and I was unsure how well I could follow even the basic lessons. Turns out, it was simple due to the repetition built in to the Rosetta Stone system. The first time I heard a word or phrase it didn't necessarily stick with me, but by the end of the lesson it had sunk in. That has turned out to be key in helping me to learn this unfamiliar language.
Although each phrase is repeated several times, it wasn't boring. The phrases are mixed up a bit each time, and by paying attention and working through the lesson you start to understand a little more each time you use the software.
One thing that makes a difference in how much I retain is working the lessons consistently. Do not expect that you will spend a few minutes once or twice a week and really learn the language. Plan on spending time nearly every day, and the more time you can spare, the better. Half an hour or more a day would be ideal.
Although everyone has a different learning style, I believe that Rosetta Stone can work for many people who are comfortable with independent learning. It is certainly much better than audio-only, and allows you to learn and practice on your own schedule, unlike a class. - 2008-11-19, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- excellent immersion course
- Approximately 3 months of usage now and going strong. I am able to recognize simple characters and basic conversation phrases in Japanese. Each level takes 1 year to fully complete, so this complete set is in effect a 3 year language course.
- 2008-11-13, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Not good as a standalone
- I started my experience with the Rosetta Stone software with the Spanish (level 1, 2 and 3). With the Spanish version I have found that it has helped me understand Spanish as well as speak and write Spanish at a very basic level.
However, it helps tremendously that Spanish uses the same character set as English. With Japanese you have to learn not only a new language but also a new character set. It is hard--really hard. I gave up after set 1 because I was just making too many mistakes and was too frustrated.
I do think that if I had this as a adjunct to a "real world" training course that it would be a great supplement. However, as a stand-alone product I think it is just too hard to learn a new language and a new character set at the same time. I gave it three stars because it is a quality product and would be great for that purpose. But I took off two stars because they DO advertise it as though you can learn conversational Japanese just using this software. - 2008-10-21, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
