Is Rosetta Stone Useful?
ByI was recently asked if Rosetta Stone, the language learning software program, is useful or not. I’ll try to address that topic in this article.
I think that Rosetta Stone can be useful if used as a larger language learning plan. It’s just that Rosetta Stone’s advertising makes the program out to be something that will take you from knowing nothing to being fluent in the foreign language of your choice. This is simply not true. Rosetta Stone does not teach enough vocabulary and grammar to get you to fluency.
However, Rosetta Stone does teach you the basics and if you find that Rosetta Stone’s teaching method of using pictures and choosing the correct one out of four choices is fun or helps you, then by all means, use Rosetta Stone. However, if you are serious about learning a foreign language, you will have to use something else to get you to fluency since Rosetta Stone cannot get you there. That’s why I said you would have to use Rosetta Stone as part of a larger language learning plan.
I should also note that even for the basics, you will need to go to another source in addition to Rosetta Stone because Rosetta Stone doesn’t even teach basics like “How are you?” and self-introduction like phrases that you will definitely need if you ever plan on spending time in a foreign country or ever plan on talking to a new acquaintance.
So, all in all, yes, Rosetta Stone is useful if you want to learn the basics of a foreign language but is not too useful by itself if you are interested in reaching fluency in the foreign language of your choice. If you are interested in knowing more about a larger language learning program or learning about the fastest way of getting to fluency in a language, you may be interested in the book I’ve written about the subject.
If you want the fastest method to learn a language so that you will become fluent in a foreign language in a matter of months, learn thousands of words without worrying about forgetting them, master grammar and do all of this in an enjoyable, painless manner then you need to read Learn That Language Now!
