How well does the Rosetta Stone program work for learning Mandarin?

2 Comments

1. RAZNA says:

   October 26, 2009 at 9:34 am

   Rosetta Stone is far and away the best language program for acquiring a new language. I have the one for Mandarin and have enjoyed it quite a lot. It uses pictures, native speakers, a system for you to speak into a microphone to compare your pronunciation to that of a native speaker, and it also teaches you to read the Chinese characters. However, there is nothing quite like having a real classroom in which you can ask questions, since Chinese is completely different from European languages. I began learning Chinese from a human teacher, so I still think that was the best! I always seem to end up calling up my old Chinese teacher and asking questions, whatever system I try. If Rosetta Stone is a bit too pricey for you, give "The Learnables" a try. It’s essentially the same immersion technique but not on a computer. It uses a little booklet with CDs or tapes (your choice) for less than half the price. No color, no microphone, and again no teacher. But I thought it was just about as much fun as Rosetta Stone. And I still ended up calling my old Chinese teacher with questions about lesson 3!
2. LeoBeau says:

   October 26, 2009 at 9:34 am

   Yes it can. It will take 6 months to 1 year to be fluent w/ Rosetta Stone, ultimately depends on your schedule since it’s on your own pace. Indeed, price is overwhelming to some people, but think about it….it is actually less expensive than colleges, classes, and private tutoring. Remember, RS is all about immersion method…NO meaning, NO translation, NO memorization. In addition, try to get the "old school" learning a foreign language mind set out the window. RS is designed we learned our first language growing up.

   The voice recognition system is fun as it shows you how close/far on your pronounciation via graphs and it records your voice so you can hear yourself.

   Try it out, and if you don’t like it, return the product w/in 6 months (this 6 month money back guarantee is only good from the OFFICIAL website, phone order, mall kiosk, and airport locations…you will not get that from Amazon.com, Barnes&Nobles, Ebay).