Just wondering if anyone has used the Rosetta Stone for learning German and if so was it worth it?
I am quick at picking up language and would like to have a solid foundation before moving to Switzerland!
I read the German message boards for Tokyopop DE, not totally "getting" it all. I want to read the reviews on my German Manga books and this becomes a driving force for me in learning to read but speaking....long way to go!
My Fiancee has been using Rosetta Stone for German (I-II) and thinks they are great. I will ask her to give some specific feedback when she returns from the US next week.
I've found my German classes have been helping me understand more of the language, but I find I'm utterly confused by the grammar and finding the right word is still impossible. So I want to supplement my one day a week course with something that helps more with conversation, less with the grammar, and also improves my vocabulary.
I've heard Rosetta is this very thing, anyone out there tried it? Can you give some good/bad feedback?
I'm probably the minority voice here, but I find Rosetta Stone to be annoying. And expensive. You can certainly learn from it & the majority of people seem to love it. But a key part of the RS system is a series of screens that pop up a new word, then ask you to guess which of four pictures depict the correct meaning. Particularily, if you are a beginner, this will be an outright guess and you will be wrong 75% of the time. Very annoying. If only they told you the correct choice in some context and then later presented the match the picture to the word game.. it would have some resonance & make sense.
If at all possible, try the software for a few minutes before buying & decide for yourself if you like it. I like the Pimsleur CDs to get started & then any number of courses for advanced study. YMMV
I've done the Rosetta stone, but now that I am doing some private German instruction, I am going to go through it again. While it provided me with some encouragement (always nice to get a right answer), increased my vocabulary and was simple to use, it didn't allow my brain to click into the mathematical nature of the German language. I communicate well at this point, but am finding out that I make glaring errors that are simply not corrected by my audience. Rosetta stone helped me, yes, but make sure you have something else to help you learn the structure of this language.