Rosetta Stone Russian Level 1-5 Set

I started using Rosetta Stone after having studied Russian for several years at college, but needing a refresher course since neglecting to maintain my skills. I find the software to be helpful with learning new vocabulary. As another reviewer mentioned, Rosetta Stone is somewhat like a glorified flashcard viewer. Images appear on the screen and you are prompted to choose the correct words or to complete the sentences with the correct words or case endings. Everything is multiple choice. Within the confines of that interface, it can provide decent grammar and vocabulary drills, although it does not explain the grammar rules. As there are no explanations or definitions, it's up to you to go to other sources for a more structured and comprehensive lesson plan. The drills also tend to get very repetitive as the same sentences come up over and over again, which doesn't really challenge you to use and think with the material you have learned. It's rote memorization. This method of learning has significant drawbacks and limited benefit. Like running on a treadmill, it makes you think you are progressing a lot faster than you actually are. Also like a treadmill, you might find that all your work has taken you nowhere.

Case in point: I also bought Rosetta Stone Levels 1-5 for German to try to learn German as a total beginner, and having recently completed Level 1, I can say that very little of the material has actually stuck. I tried some of the interactive online games with another German student, and my mind totally blanked. After realizing that I actually didn't know any German, I decided to retake Level 1 over again, as well as purchase some German language books online for some emergency remedial training.

To make the best use of Rosetta Stone, I would advise to go at it with a lot of discipline and most importantly, to take notes while you are working through each lesson! As repetitive as Rosetta Stone is, the material will not stick by rote learning alone. Write the words and sentences down and study them. Analyze them and break them down. Reading and typing the words, and picking from multiple choices on a computer screen is not sufficient. Also, if you don't get any speaking practice, it will be very hard to learn the language. You need to speak in order to hone your pronunciation, and you need to converse in order to gain true mastery of the language. The purpose of language is to communicate, so you can't expect to learn it if you don't actually use the language in situational contexts. That said, one thing that Rosetta Stone is particularly helpful with is pronunciation. The Russian pronunciations are accurate, although for many of the Russian sounds for which there are no equivalents in English, there is just no substitute for having a native Russian speaker who can help you. There are many language exchange sites online for that purpose.

I would not recommend Rosetta Stone as a standalone learning tool. It functions as a pretty good supplementary resource for the audio and visual aids it provides, but it is no substitute for a more structured language course in a classroom environment. That said, the reason that most of us are looking to buy a program like Rosetta Stone in the first place is because we don't have the time to enroll in a 4-days-a-week college language course.

Learning a new language is a laudable endeavor, and I truly believe that it's in every person's best interests to learn a second (or third, or fourth) language. But learning a second language, as many who have tried already know, is very difficult. For that reason, I cannot fault Rosetta Stone for making promises (as in its advertisements) to bring the languages of the world to the masses. However, learning a language is not like teaching oneself to draw. It cannot be a solitary process. To make the most of Rosetta Stone, textbooks, grammar books, and dictionaries are a must; but I also highly recommend an online language exchange site such as Livemocha, where you can practice speaking, as well as get immediate feedback on written and audio exercises from native Russian speakers. Rosetta Stone's online community is a step in the right direction, but there is never anybody online, and I find the interactive component too rigid and confining.

For what it offers, I think Rosetta Stone is a bit overpriced as each language version -- I've used Russian, German, and Pashto -- is built upon the same cookie-cutter lesson plan, which completely ignores the grammatical and cultural aspects that are unique and fundamental to every language. But if you put in the work and are resourceful and motivated, Rosetta Stone can be a useful study aid for self-learners.

Note: I did not buy this from Amazon and am not certain the Amazon product includes the Version 4 TOTALe program, which is available elsewhere for the same price. Make sure you get the latest version, as it was significantly upgraded.

I've been working with Level 1 for a few weeks now and am only just starting to realize what a fantastic language learning system this is. The hardest part of learning a language on your own is not having drill sessions, and Rosetta Stone has solved that problem really well. There are so many different activities that you can really create your own immersion - the online games and stories and working with a live native speaker are a huge bonus and really solidify what you learn in the lessons.

Here is what it's been like working through this program:

1. I do my core lessons every day, and they are kind of addictive like a video game.
2. I travel a lot and can do exactly the same lessons on my ipad! Even though the software is installed on my home computer, the software syncs to an online system that knows right where I am in the program and lets me continue seamlessly from my ipad app.
3. When I can't get an internet connection, I can listen to the mp3 files they included as reinforcement.
4. For variety, I can go play online games and listen to and read stories that are tailored to exactly what I have learned so I can see the words and concepts in use. The time pressure in the games also helps enormously with my listening skills.
5. I can also schedule sessions where I can speak with a live instructor and sometimes other students - this is hugely helpful!

How this compares with studying a textbook or learning from a tutor:

Textbook: I'm using a textbook too, as the one thing Rosetta Stone won't do is clearly explain grammar rules. BUT, if I were to only do one, it would be Rosetta Stone, hands down. I find grammar rules easiest to understand and absorb AFTER I'm already using them, so even if you also wanted to use a textbook, I'd strongly recommend getting a good head start on Rosetta Stone first, then diving into the textbook. Textbooks EXPLAIN the language, but I don't feel they do a good job of TEACHING it.

Tutor: Eventually, you'll probably need a tutor. But a good tutor is a very expensive proposition, and in the beginner to intermediate levels, I feel that they offer no advantage over Rosetta Stone. RS is a carefully designed program, and you do have access to a live tutor for the occasional question and interaction. True, the online services are only free for 3 months, but after that, they are as little as $11 per month. Have you compared tutoring rates? Even with the $500 program added on, this is a screaming deal to get as far as an upper intermediate level. From there you should be able to dive into books, movies, and conversation groups/tutoring to refine your skills.

So in short, Rosetta Stone may seem expensive, but you can't really compare it with "Learn Russian in Your Car" or similar programs, you should be comparing it with a couple of years of college classes or tutoring, which makes it by far the cheapest and best way I've found to learn a language (I've done it a couple other times and in far more difficult and expensive ways). For a truly complete program, pair it with a textbook and a set of vocabulary flash cards, but these are secondary. If you just want to be conversational and not reach academic-level fluency, then stick with Rosetta Stone and you'll be fine.

Downsides of Rosetta Stone:

- Expensive.
- Can only be downloaded on one computer.
- Exercises can become a tad monotomous but perhaps this is needed to achieve understanding.

I'm a non-native English speaker and my first language is Portuguese. I grew up immersed in English due to entertainment (watching movies, reading books, listening to music) and travelling. During this time I used little subtitles and little translation and always used my senses and my intuition to get English. Because of my experience in learning language by immersion while growing up I always got Excellent on English at a Portuguese school with little effort. My mother's maternal language is Russian and I have been saying to her that I will learn her native language since early adolescence but I never had the time so I decided to put it off until I finished high school now. I reasoned that since immersion is how I learned my 1st second language (English) and achieved fluency that I would use same technique for my 2nd second language (Russian). I've only finished half-way through Russian level 1 and my mother is amazed at how much I've learned. While I can speak some Russian I've found that I'm understanding Russian more clearly (speaking - good, understanding - very good). I can say that arguably the greatest strength, and weakness, of Rosetta Stone is that it doesn't translate English to another language but that it focuses on the target language with little translation. I understand how frustating this can be to some individuals and I advise to look elsewhere. For myself this was the best method imaginable and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Upsides of Rosetta Stone:

- Focuses on target language (more immersion, less translation = learning like a native).
- Users can talk to native speakers of the language through its online program.
- Speech recognition.

What can be done to improve Rosetta Stone:

- Make it cheaper (anywhere between 20 to 60% cheaper). Trust me you'll get more customers.
- Grammar is a huge gap commonly cited by clients and I say to the Rosetta Stone company to create a built in virtual tutor at the end of each lesson to give an overview of grammar used.
- Create a grammar exercise book to accompany each level after it's finished (this would greatly improve writing skills in a foreign language).

Advice to learners:

- You will need a grammar book next to you and a dictionary. Rosetta Stone is an excellent supplement but not the core.
- Watch movies, listen to music and read books in the target language and talk to native speakers of the language.
- Don't stop and do this continually. You ain't going to learn a language overnight.

I don't know about you but immersion is for me. That's how I learned English.