Rosetta Stone Version 3: French Level 1, 2 & 3 Set with Audio Companion

Rosetta Stone Version 3: French Level 1, 2 & 3 Set with Audio Companion | Easy to Use

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	Rosetta Stone Version 3: French Level 1, 2 & 3 Set with Audio Companion Windows, Mac OS X \| Rosetta Stone, 2008 average customer review:based on 44 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Better than French 101

I have taken a number of classes to learn a variety of languages (French formal classes, Korean, Modern Standard Arabic to name a few), and have forgotten most of them all. Learning on the computer has been a new and fairly positive experience for me. The package comes with a number of elements: the base software, the particular language elements to plug into the base software, audio companion CDs for review offline and a USB headset/microphone.

Installation is a two part process, 1) install the base software, 2) install any language element tiers. (The headset will need some installation time, but that should be managed by the system). The installation progressed pretty smooth, took a reasonable amount of time, no errors.

While the process has been much quicker, more of a review, than with the Spanish version, I have followed the lesson plans to get a true feel for the software. Learning is geared toward an immersive process where you start speaking pretty much right at the start (kind of like being tossed into the pool and told to swim). You start by selecting your goals (read, write, speak, etc.) and then follow the lesson plan, reviewing as often as necessary. My personal experience has been that I enjoy the immersive process, I am still working through the lessons, but I fell that I have gained considerably more than I have in past language learning opportunities. The process has been a fairly painless process, and I devote time when available.

My bottom line is that the product is pretty pricey, but gives you one of the best learning experiences I can imagine short of being dropped off in Paris. P-)

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Easy to Use

The Rosetta Stone program installed easily on my PC, and was up and running without any problems.

The lessons are easy to follow, and start you learning instantly.

I found it easy to follow the lessons and started absorbing the words and phrases with no difficulty.

I am looking forward to the more advanced lessons.

This is a much easier and more effective way to learn a language than other audio and computer programs I have tried.

Excellent

I love this language tool - the best self-study on the market! Easy to use, easy to stay motivated. Great for the home and the car (and the gym!) I have not used it for too long, but I am committed to stay with it. Tres bien :)

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Quite amazing

While it should be a standard to wait a long while before reviewing there are aspects that become more quickly apparent both for comparison and understanding.

My previous French language experience came from two years of high school classes about sixteen years ago. I've had a few other language classes since then, establishing me if not as a thorough polyglot at least as a someone well versed in language training from a variety of different teaching styles, approaches, and contexts.

I've tried to keep up with a number of these languages I've studied, with various success, and with various software help. Mostly the inexpensive kind. I've picked up the Instant Immersion disks (a great, inexpensive, entirely un-thorough approach), the Learn to Speak series (about the same, though with a lot more content).

Recently, to learn German for my studies I looked at more thorough programs and two stood out. The Rosetta Stone series and the Tell Me More. I noticed Tell Me More was getting great reviews and was less than half the price. Being a little financially strapped I skipped the trend and bought Tell Me More. And I'm very glad I did. It's an effective program that has pushed me quite along in learning the language.

Still, there was a tickle in my brain. Is Rosetta Stone really better? So, when it came time for me to start with French, also for my studies, I decided to make a contrast.

And yes, Rosetta Stone is the better program.

In some ways.

Really, I'd have to say these are quite different programs, rather than one being substantially better.

Tell Me More is a like a class in a box. There is a mix of exercises that help to build vocabulary, sentence structure, writing, pronunciation, and other aspects. Each section has a large mix of short lessons that reinforce the learning without becoming dull or tedious. Save yourself taking language classes by using Tell Me More.

Rosetta Stone is a lot less like taking a class. It's more like finding yourself on an island with a group of people who all only speak another shared language. And if you want to learn how to thrive on this island, then you follow their patient, but focused, teaching.

This approach sticks, and it is effective.

My only quibble is I'm not sure it's quite worth the amount of money they are asking. Indeed, if money isn't an issue then by all means go with Rosetta Stone. There are qualities that do set it apart, and it helps a person feel much more involved in the language and less like taking a class.

But, if money is an issue Tell Me More is comparable in quality, without being nearly as expensive.

That's not a slam against the product quality of Rosetta Stone at all. It really is an extraordinary software, and revolutionizes language learning.

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Fun and natural way to learn foreign language

This review is written by my 16-year old daughter who installed the software (with a little help from me) and started using it.

"The RosettaStone Version 4: French Level 1,2 & 3" is a fun, engaging introduction to learning a new language.

The program comes with three corresponding Audio Companion CDs PER LEVEL, for a total of 12 disks of instructional software in one product. (The Audio Companion software can be downloaded to an MP3 player). Each Level has four different units, for each of which you practice Pronunciation, Vocabulary, Phrases, Speaking, and more. RosettaStones' unique feature is its use of "language immersion" as a teaching tool. The program shows you images and the corresponding French words for what is in the pictures. There is no direct English-to-French vocabulary translation (that I've seen thus far), and this makes learning the language more enjoyable and more natural. The graphics are very aesthetically pleasing as well.

The audio software is one of the best parts about this program. The product comes with a USB Headset Microphone, and the program uses voice recognition software for you to practice pronunciation. Better yet, you can record yourself saying the same phrase several times and then play it back to listen to your progress and compare your pronunciation to that of a native speaker.

One drawback to the program is that you cannot pause a lesson easily if you need to see something again. You have to wait until the end of the lesson and then go back to particular part of it, but this is a minor inconvenience that does not take away too much from the program's quality.

I've only begun to use RosettaStone, but I am very pleased with the product thus far and will continue to use it."

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