Rosetta Stone Spanish Review

Overview

Rosetta Stone is the best known software program for learning any language. The company has a massive advertising budget that enables them to place TV commercials, newspaper ads and more across the world. This represents both a positive and negative side. On the positive, Rosetta Stone sells a high-grade and cutting-edge Spanish learning program. On the negative side, it represents an inflated price for the product. Why? Since so much money is spent on marketing, this requires the company to charge more for the product than it may actually be worth.

Rosetta Stone Spanish's claim to fame is its three-part technology platform, which includes: 'natural discovery', 'native socalization' and 'speech activation'. Natural discovery is the combined use of images, text and audio to tap the parts of your brain necessary for learning a language like a child. This is one of the principles Rosetta Stone Spanish was designed on. It is supposed to emulate the way in which a 5 year old learns to speak their native language. For this reason, many customers report Rosetta Stone Spanish feels like it magically knows exactly how their brain learns - they've never experienced anything like it before.

The second major component of the software is native socialization. This is a special feature because it enables the user to have real-time, live Spanish conversations with both native speaking tutors and the community of students using the program. In order to make this happen, Rosetta Stone Spanish requires that you have a microphone headset to plug into your computer. Hundreds of tutors who specialize in their learn Spanish approach are at your disposal and they are available around the clock. This is a MAJOR benefit of the program compared to the others.

The third fundamental feature of Rosetta Spanish is speech activation. Once you download the program and plug in the headset, you will realize that Rosetta Stone Spanish has very useful technology for practicing pronunciation. There is a library of sample files with the correct way of saying Spanish phrases and words. You speak the words into your headset and the program matches your speech to that of the sample file. Instantly, you will see whether or not you are pronouncing it correctly.

In summary, our review of Rosetta Stone Spanish highlights a two-part perspective. It is a somewhat expensive program that may be unaffordable due to the size of the Rosetta Stone company and its advertising budget. However, this also illustrates the unparalleled technology this program provides which helps Spanish learners develop skills in a way never seen before.

Features

All Available Features:

• Speech Recognition
• Online Community
• CD & MP3 Lessons
• IPod & IPad Applications
• Interactive Games
• Progress Tracking
• Conversational Exercises
• 6 Month Guarentee

What it Comes with:

• Interactive software - exclusive technology
• Audio Companion - CD or MP3 to go
• Headset and microphone
• Live online lessons
• Games and Community
• Mobile Companion

Sample Topics:

• Age, family relations, household items
• Questions, greetings, introductions
• Times of day, calendar terms, the weather
• Directions, locations, telling time
• Present, past and future tense
• Apologies and polite requests
• How to order at a restaurant and give and receive directions
• Emotions, opinions, and ideas

Products

System Requirements

• Windows (32-bit editions only) 2000, XP or Vista
• Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.5
• 512 MB RAM
• 1 GHz or faster processor speed
• 600 MB free hard-drive space (per level)
• 16-bit sound card
• 800 x 600 display resolution (1024 x 768 recommended)
• Internet or phone connection required for product activation
• Speech-recognition feature requires a headset microphone (included with purchase)
• 16X CD-ROM Drive (for installation)
• Note for Microsoft Windows Vista users: Current Rosetta Stone products have been engineered to install and run on the Windows Vista operating system. Some 3rd party components used in Rosetta Stone products have not been certified by Microsoft as 'Vista Compliant'. Accordingly, you may encounter some Vista-related operating issues. Rosetta Stone technical support may or may not be able to resolve these Vista-related issues. Rosetta Stone hereby disclaims any representations, warranties, guaranties, and conditions with respect to the compatibility of the Rosetta Stone products with the Windows Vista operating systems.