Yahoo! The Rosetta Stone software arrived today. I eagerly opened the package, ready to immerse myself in the Italian language. At first glance, the bundle seems impressive. It comes with a USB headset and microphone to allow the application to check your pronunciation using speech recognition technology — nifty, eh? It also includes user guides, quick start guides, Italian keyboard guides, and two packages of audio companion CDs. These CDs can be used after completing the online lessons to help reinforce what you just learned. You can listen in your car, on the stereo, or via your MP3 player. Finally, the package includes a sticker of the Rosetta Stone logo. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with that, so I’ll be keeping it secured safely in the box for now.
The software and lessons are easy to install. It only takes a few minutes, and then you will be ready to get started. I was able to make it through the first three lessons tonight. It was an interesting experience — very different from anything I’ve done before. Typically, I listen to audio CDs — and read the accompanying vocabulary booklet — learning by using repetition and memorization. First, I hear (or read) the English word, then the corresponding Italian word. Even in the conversational Spanish class that I took, the method was similar.
Rosetta Stone approaches the learning process in a completely different, interactive manner. When the lesson starts, you are instantly presented with Italian words and phrases along with corresponding images. Never do you see any English words in the lesson. They call this the dynamic immersion method. You learn by associating the words with the pictures. According to the Rosetta Stone materials, this is a more natural way of learning a language. They claim it’s similar to how you learned your first language, by connecting words to objects and events around you.
The course incorporates all four language skills — reading, writing, speaking, and listening. It offers multiple lessons and interactive activities to help you achieve competency in all of these areas. At first, I felt like I wasn’t learning anything, but as I begin to progress further, I realized that I was beginning to comprehend the words and phrases — not just by reading the text, but also hearing it. I’ve always found it easy to recognize the written words, but to understand the spoken word was much more difficult for me. With Rosetta Stone, it’s odd. It almost seems to easy. I didn’t feel like I was grasping it, but I was. It just seemed so natural, and the exercises were easy and fun. By the end of the lessons, I was surprised at how much I knew.
The speech recognition feature is also helpful. It ensures that you are pronouncing the words correctly. I would like to see more of it incorporated into the exercises. That’s the only area of potential weakness that I’ve noticed so far. It doesn’t offer many opportunities to speak the language without the words written on the screen. I’m a visual person so it’s easy for me to read the word and remember their meanings. But once the word is gone from the screen, it’s much more difficult for me to recall it. I wish there were more “recall” exercises without text on the screen. Maybe this will change as the lessons progress.
Overall, I’m very pleased with the software. It seems to be an effective yet entertaining way of learning another language. I’ve only completed three lessons so it’s too early for a final verdict. I’ll keep you posted over the coming weeks and give a final report after my trip to Italy in the fall. In the mean time, if you are considering Rosetta Stone, I would recommend it as an excellent learning alternative to the audio-only CDs.
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