Rocket Languages vs. Rosetta Stone -- Which is Better?

Review of Rocket Languages, Rosetta Stone
by R. H. (4,170 pts ) , published Sep 30, 2009
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Which is the best investment and the most effective product for language learning--Rosetta Stone or Rocket Languages? Read on for a comparison of the price, the approaches, the strengths and the weaknesses of these two language instructional software programs.

Rosetta Stone - the Approach
Rating Average

Rosetta Stone offers language-learning software for thirty-one languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Danish, Dutch, English (American), English (British), Filipino (Tagalog), French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Pashto, Persian (Farsi), Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish (Latin America), Spanish (Spain), Swahili, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese and Welsh.

Rosetta Stone uses a natural learning approach. What exactly does this mean? Rosetta Stone aims to teach the learner in a way that mimics a baby's first language-learning experience (as much as possible). Rather than using flashcards, translations, drills, or dictionaries, Rosetta Stone starts the learners off with a series of simple images that are accompanied by spoken language.

When using Rosetta Stone, you are encouraged to hear words, repeat them, write them and learn what words are associated with which picture. This is all done in the target language, to avoid interference from your native language.

Rosetta Stone Spanish, like many of the Rosetta Stone language learning software sets, offer three levels. A student who goes through all three levels of software can expect to learn the following with Rosetta Stone Spanish (and comparable things with Rosetta Stone for other languages):

  • Greetings and leave takings
  • Polite phrases and common social interactions
  • Formulating simple questions and answers
  • Shopping and asking for things you want and need
  • Getting and giving directions
  • Dining out, ordering food and beverages
  • Telling time
  • Accomplishing basic social interactions
  • Expressing feelings and wishes
  • Accomplishing more complex social interactions
  • Sharing ideas, plans and expectations
  • Sharing opinions, likes and dislikes
  • Coping with emergency situations

Rosetta Stone offers the ease and naturalness of learning by clicking through photo "flashcards" that are accompanied by spoken language. It allows the learner to progress at a comfortable rate and pick up grammar as a byproduct while learning how to cope in various language situations.

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