Others say...

"A technique that works well for me"
I have this software in three different languages and I find that I am picking up the vocabulary pretty quickly through the Rosetta method. I also do not have a lot of time to dedicate and like it that they include audio lessons that I can load on my ipod, I find that this helps me to not forget too much between computer lessons.

I don't have anything else besides class room lessons to compare this too, and that wouldn't be a fair comparison. So I can't say that the Rosetta Stone software is better than anyone else's, but I like it very much and would highly recommend it.

"Ni hao ma, folks ..."

Having been a user of Rosetta Stone products for some time I was off and running very quickly with the Chinese language course. The software is easy to install and interesting to set up and get immersed into.

A word to the wise though. Some people may approach this process very casually and try to either blast through it or not take it very serious. I can only say that any user, regardless of their background, needs to take it slow and pace themselves.

1. Approaching learning Chinese with this program should be like taking any college course.
2. You should take notes and keep a journal of your progress.
3. After the first three days you should start to chart your progress.
4. You should practice with the system at least an hour a day for the first five days.
5. You should speak aloud as many of the phrases as you can after every period once you've stepped away from your computer.


You don't have to be a native speaker to stay on course and progress, but please don't think that you'll be disappearing into the crowd or ordering deftly from the menus of out-of-the-way dim sum restaurants any time soon.

I recommend this program for people who have a serious yen, no pun intended, to get a jump start on taking Chinese. Some folks like to think that taking a foreign language is about memorization and repetition. But that just isn't the case, if it was, we'd probably all be home schooled via VCR.

Listen to me, nothing can compare to learning Chinese in a classroom, under pressure and under the gun of requirements and deadlines. The benefit and the beauty is participating with other classmates and going over the material in a setting that can also build your confidence. Learning at home alone, with a set of headphones doesn't really give you this, even though you may walk away with some sound basics. If you're going to study this over the summer and then concentrate on a double semester course in Chinese, you'll probably excel and be the star student. In this scenario, I cannot recommend it enough. If you're going to lock yourself in a dark room and try to learn Chinese with this, don't get your hopes up. You'll discover that the moment you open your mouth.

Best of luck, kind regards and don't forget your local Community College or State University.




"A comprehensive program for learning the Chinese language"
This is easily the most comprehensive language instruction package I've ever seen. With four separate units, each split into several different sections -- including listening, speaking, vocabulary and grammar -- Rosetta Stone provides hours and hours of easy-to-use instruction in learning to speak the Chinese language like an expert.

A language package like this requires the user to be a self-starter. There's nobody pushing you to use it or assessing your performance. The lack of feedback might prove challenging for some users. But if you're willing to push yourself, this system really works.

Rosetta Stone comes with a high price tag. But if you're serious about learning Chinese, and have the discipline to follow a program on your own, your purchase will be money well spent.

"Ahww Sooo Good"
This is not an in depth review. I've just started with the Rosetta Stone Chinese. I know it will be year or maybe even never, that I will be fluent in this lanuage. But Rosetta Stone's learning processes are well known for all their language study programs. I've personally used French, German, Japanese, Hebrew, and now Chinese. I'm comfortable with their methodology and know that if I'm willing to put the effort in, on a regular basis, I can get to a decent level of proficiency in a new language in a year's time. Now a decent level of proficiency is not the same as fluent but it's worthwhile if your interest is in learning.

If you want to learn to read, write, speak, and understand a foreign language, and you're willing to dedicate regular daily time to do so, I don't think you'll find a better self study program available than Rosetta Stone.

"Once again, exceeded this military linguist's expectations."
A month ago I had the opportunity to review Rosetta Stone Version 3: French Level 1, 2 & 3 Set with Audio Companion, and while my immersive learning experience for Korean while a Marine had made me skeptical that a piece of software could actually teach someone a language, I came out thoroughly impressed by Rosetta's approach, and high on its potential. I noted, at the time, that I had a few years of French going in, and that I wondered what the experience would be like if I were going into a new language completely blind with this system -- so when the opportunity to try Chinese came up, I was both intrigued and excited.

Backing up briefly to the nuts and bolts, this is easy software to install. You install the base learning platform, and then each of the modules (Chinese 1, 2, and 3, in this case) individually within. The happy result of this modular system is that you still only have one install even if you have multiple languages on the system. Which is to say that because I had already installed the software with French, when it came to install Chinese, all I had to do was load the new modules into the existing software. Whether you'll be doing a new install, or adding modules to an old, it's quick, easy, and intuitive -- just like the software itself. Post-installation, you're taken into the learning process straight away. After calibrating the included microphone headset, I was invited to repeat and pronounce "ni hao," just as "bonjour" had been the first of many steps for the French.

As I said in the French review, the software is intuitive, and the approach is intelligent. You don't have that native speaker standing in front of you scowling because you're butchering the music of their language in the early going, but you do have the software giving feedback and similarly identifying where you might require a little more attention. The program constructs in the user a solid base of simple vocabulary, establishing a basic understanding of the mechanics of the language on which additional vocabulary and structure may be built. With regard to the interface, the absence of a tutorial (as far as I saw, though I didn't look hard because it was so easy just to start using) was a bit surprising, though it took a very small amount of time to get into the swing of things. The earliest exercises range from matching phrases to their appropriate pictures to out-loud (through a microphone) pronunciation tests to proper spelling and grammar training. The pronunciation recognition ability of the software is pretty sharp -- if you're off, it will tell you, but the program allows the user to improve before moving on to the next test.

Chinese is one of the most difficult languages for Westerners to learn and master, simply because of the complete departure from the basic construction and rules of those with Latin and Greek roots. Which is to say that you can often apply basic logic learned from English mastery to concepts in French, Spanish, Russian, and the like. Chinese is also character based (as opposed to alphabet-based construction of words), and tone is often critical to meaning. We may pronounce "boat" any way we choose, and our audience is likely to understand what we mean. In Chinese, a single word given different tonal inflections may carry several different possible meanings.

So, getting back to my closing question from the French review, can someone come in completely unfamiliar with a language, and master it with Rosetta Stone? I don't like to speak in absolutes, but that certainly seems a stretch after a month of working with Chinese. Despite my background with Korean, which employs a small range of Chinese characters in its own fashion, and despite genuinely enjoying the process, Rosetta alone won't bring you to mastery, and perhaps not even to a point where you could cleanly communicate with native speakers without real help. But that's not the point, which is why it's not a knock on the software, or their (in my estimation) brilliant approach to language learning. Rosetta builds a foundation, a very strong foundation, upon which you may pursue mastery through use. By building a cornerstone of vocabulary, concept, and a basic framework of common means of communication, you are given almost everything you need to to practice, practice, practice -- and in the process, learn. I would argue that the most difficult part of learning a language (though this varies from person to person) is the foundation, and Rosetta is a terrific solution, either as a standalone approach, or as a supplement to other classes or exposure. In my case, with Chinese, it's only been a month, but I'm already building that base. Another month, tossing in a few hours of learning time here and there? Who knows, maybe by then it will be time to go looking for patient native speakers who might be able to further mold and instruct me. Foreign languages are out of no ones reach, it's just a question of how far you might try to take it. Rosetta levels 1 through 3 aren't going to do for you what 47 weeks with native speakers at the Defense Language Institute will, but it will definitely put you on the same path, and I can assure you it's much more fun this way. As before, I find myself an enthusiastic fan of this software and approach.

  

Buy Cheap Software Now!
  Rosetta Stone Version 3: Chinese Level 1,2 & 3 Set with Audio Companion

List Price : $549.00
Our Price : from $494.10

Why I buy this one ?
- Rosetta Stone helps you understand everyday language through proficiency-based listening and reading activities, proprietary speech recognition and analysis tools
- Contextual Formation makes sure you have the confidence and the cues you need to get the words out on the spot
- Milestone activities quickly give you confidence to engage in real-life conversations; Adaptive Recall reinforces language so it sticks with you
- Audio Companion allows you to take Rosetta Stone anywhere: in the car, the gym or on-the-go
- Build a foundation and navigate your surroundings: learn fundamental vocabulary and essential language structure, from greetings and introductions to simple questions and their answers



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What our customer's say!

"What better way to learn a language?", My whole family enjoys going through the lessons as we are learning the Chinese language. The Rosetta Stone philosophy of teaching is similar to how we learned our first language: mom and dad pointing to things and telling the little ones what it is. There is no English given so you have to really use your brain to figure out what they are saying. But that not only is the best way to learn in my opinion but it stimulates your brain in a way that most people do not experience on a daily basis.

"Slight problems, but a good product and nice service.", I received the package quite quickly. FYI I ordered a Version 3 all 3 levels with Audio Companion. I had a royal pain trying to get it working until I called tech support and found out my microphone was dead on arrival. They were a bit slow on the phone, but they were very helpful and sent me a new headset without any problems. Of course when I found out that didn't fix it and that nothing changed I was slightly annoyed. For future reference, if it says not detecting a sound output device, install the K-lite driver package and run the feature that has it repair current settings. It fixed it instantly.

"A well done intro to a very difficult language", For those of us who speak English only, languages such as Chinese are probably about as difficult as it gets. Never mind the alphabet, the basic pronunciation, grammer, etc. is a whole new world.

Rosetta Stone has done an exceptional job in helping one get started in converstaional Chinese. The ability of the system to detect if you are correctly pronouncing words is a huge benefit that you simply will not get without an instructor.

The software itself is a little slow but is well structured for adult learning. You are introduced to real world scenarios at a reasonable pace. Again, it is a huge leap forward from what I remember (or do not remember) from high school language classes! For a more famliar language (i.e. Spanish) the pace would probably seem a bit slow but for something as complex as Chinese it works great.

Some of the Rosetta Stone advertising will lead you to believe that after running through the course that you will be ready to serve as a foreign service ambasador to China. While this is very unlikely. the program will provide you with some excellent fundamentals for a trip abroad or to jump start or augment classroom instruction.

In sum, there is probably no better program available for even twice the money. This is certainly an excellent investment for an initial immersion into Chinese with minimal pain or boredom. I should add that my kids, whose young brains learn faster than my own, really enjoy using the program. It seems that they view it to be almost as much fun as many video games.

"From a native's point of view", I also teach Chinese to both adults and children.

Today, I installed the "application" program, which gives your a choice of focusing on listening, writing, reading and speaking or just some of them. I selected them all. After I was done with that, I was required to insert the "Level one"/ "audio" disc, which takes me through the beginning of the lesson. I learned men, boy, women, girl, this, eat, run, juice, water, tea and sentences that would incorporate all of the above.

I could listen to a native speaker pronounce the word while looking at a picture/image without any help of translation. For example, they show you the image of tea while saying "Cha." If I need to, I can also replay the pronunciation over and over.

For practice, after I've learned the new word, I am required to listen to what he/she says and then pick out the picture that matches the word/sentence. At this point, you realize that everything is all set up for the learner to learn by listening and matching the sound to the image/picture without giving you a chance to utilize the part of your brain that converts the new language to your mother tongue or vice versa. Every now and then, you are required to repeat the phrase or word into your microphone.

After my first try, I put my American friend into the experiment, as I watched on his side and remained uninvolved. Amazingly, by the time he got through the first part of the lesson, he could understand it when the native speaker (computer) said men, women, boy, girl, water, tea, run, tea in Chinese and matched them with the right image correctly 99% of the time. I was very very impressed and pleased.

Had he really put into some time to stop and repeat over and over, he would've definitely been able to say those words without any cues. So, stop and repeat and stop and repeat. Success in speaking relies heavily on your own speaking in the learning process.

Also, next to the picture/image is the pronunciation composed in alphabets. For example, men in Chinese "nan ren" and women is "nu ren." Listening and speaking altogether is no problem! Within 20 minutes of time, my American friend (who had been a complete "Chinese illiterate") eventually was able to know and remember those new words that he had just learned for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, if you'd like to change the setting to make the speaker speak more slowly, or change the male voice to female, you could do so by clicking on "setting" on the upper right hand corner of the window.

Nothing is perfect. So, here are some drawbacks, in my opinion.

First, you need to read the very long manual and know what to do with all the discs in the package. There is also a speed manual that is written in less than a few pages to help you jump start quickly. And then it'd take about 20 minutes to install everything.

Secondly, you need to be good and sensitive with the computer. For example, the computer man or woman says "nan ren" and then stops, I don't see any directions or instructions on the page, but to continue, I click around and repeat the word. There-- I realize they are waiting for me to repeat the word into the mic. Another example, now I know I need to repeat after them, I keep speaking words into the microphone. At one point, the computer says "nan ren" and there are three or four images at the bottom, I keep saying the word into the mic but get no response. So, I start clicking around. There-- I realize this is the matching exercise.

I wish they were more clear with instructions as to some, this may cause discouragement and impatience.

So, my advice is: Speak into the mic or click on pictures if you have no idea what to do.

I haven't gone far with the set of program, but my feeling is this is a system designed to help you learn the basic words and basic sentence patterns without having to go to someone. Also, the real and trained native speaker that provides good and authentic pronunciation is a big plus, as the reality is not every native speaker you encounter speaks his/her language properly.

I highly recommend it for beginners to get a strong jump start. For those who are intermediate or higher, know that ultimately to learn a language, one would still have to interact with one another.

"We are native Chinese speakers and are impressed!", The primary purpose for this was to teach my 6-year-old son Mandarin Chinese. We feel guilty that we have not had time to teach him.
After getting the software, I spent 2.5 hours and my husband spent 40 minutes to evaluate the first CD independently. And both of us were impressed with the quality.
Here are a few things I like:
1) The voices are perfect Mandarin Chinese - (some other videos, such as from Learning Tree, are not).
2) You wear head-phones and repeat back the words or phrases you've learned into the microphone - wrong tones will be detected.
3) Progress at your own pace and your scores are tracked.
4) Game-like experience - less boring than other methods.
5) You can select the option to show both Chinese characters and Pinyin at the same time.

For the first week, my son's scores ranged widely from 65 to 100 when he was doing the lessons. I think he wanted to move quickly. So I asked him to achieve at least 85 before he can move on to the next lesson. Now he makes himself achieve 100 before moving on. A few weeks later (he does only two lessons a week per my request), he was placed into Advanced Beginner Level at the local Chinese School - one grade up.
The most amazing part is, he uses this software twice a week without being prompted!






 
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Read this reviews before You buy...

"Probably the best out there, but could still be improved", I've tried a few different language learning packages. Instant Immersion makes the mistake (for me, anyway) of going through all the basics first - numbers, months, days, blah blah. Useful but boring. Pimsleur says the same phrase umpteen times. And so on. So this approach seems the best so far in terms of interest, and some of my comments will seem like nitpicking, but it could be better.

Rosetta starts with matching words to pictures, and includes hearing, speaking, reading, and writing. You can choose which of these activities to include, but you can't fine tune it to have just reading and no writing. You have the option of displaying simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, pinyin, or both. If you choose both, however, the pinyin is shown above the script in a font that's a little too small for easy reading on a 13.1" or 14.1" laptop screen. The title text at the top is also unclear, even on fullscreen, because it's antialiased, but that's not a huge problem, since it doesn't affect the lesson. Other than that, the interface is bright and pleasant and refreshingly different from the normal Windows dialogs.

The lessons available are limited to about half the full content until you activate the product, i.e. tie it to one PC. I've heard horror stories about transferring the activation, so be warned.

The picture/word matching thing seems to work for the most part, but there are sometimes problems. Is that a boy or a girl? What are they doing? Hard to say at first glance, since they use a couple of different pictures for the same word. Also feels strange to match "he is not doing this"-type phrases to the pictures of someone ... er ... not doing it.

Because it's an immersion-type course, sometimes you have to figure out what's going on with little or no explanation - for example the different numeratives ("one tail of fish"). You aren't told why a bicycle is called what it is. But that's part of the immersive learning process.

The program defaults to moving along automatically. Problem is, there are pages where it should stop for you to review, but it doesn't - it moves along after a second or two. If you set it to manual, you have to advance by clicking on the button for the next lesson - from a tiny row of boxes at the bottom. That could've been designed better.

In general, response is slow - a couple of seconds to get to the next page, for instance. It's a little annoying because you're not sure if the program recognized your input, so ... get used to it, or get used to clicking twice just in case.

I've heard many actors simply butcher Mandarin in movies or on TV (Serenity *cough*). For those of you having trouble with the accent, may I suggest that you think of it in terms of singing the phrase, see if that helps.

Is it worth it? If you want to learn the language at your own pace, and the price is within your budget, I would say yes. I give it three stars because of the price and the room for improvement - and the activation requirement. Considering what you pay for it, you shouldn't be treated like a criminal or inconvenienced in that way.

"Easy to use and learn", I've always wanted to learn Chinese but where do you start? Rosetta Stone is a good starting spot. The software is easy to use, instructive, and well thought out. I love the speech recognition, although I don't think I'm nailing the accent just right. I have no doubt I sound like an American speaking Chinese but hopefully it gets me by.

The software is easy to install and the included audio files are a nice touch to install on your MP3 player for refreshers in the car. The included headset is well built and I had no problems getting it to work on my Windows Vista machine. I'm only about half way through the lessons but I'm very excited with my progress so far. I'm sure this software is no substitute for living abroad or taking classes, but if you need some help or you are good self learner than this is a good starting point to learn Chinese. I work with several Chinese people and I'm looking forward to testing out my knowledge (once I get a little more confident :))

"GREAT Product, but Put the TIME in!", This is a great product for learning a foreign language, in this case Chinese with a specific dialect to be exact. It gives you all you would need, reading, and listening (just like in school). And it starts at a basic level and works up.

Now the thing is you have to put in the time on a regular basis. Just like in school, if you put in a hour (or more) each day or every other day and concentrate (not watch TV while using it), this works. I was able to start off three times a week and both weekend days. I was grasping it, and learning. But then this thing called "life" caught up with me and I missed days then went down to just weekends. I'm planning on starting up again after this storm damage cleanup is finished.

However if you are a student or must learn this for a trip or work, then I would highly recommend this program. Now I could be wrong, but I always thought Chinese was a difficult language to learn and I still think it is. But Rosetta Stone makes it easy and kinda fun. I'd think Spanish and other languages are the same.

It's expensive, but would make a great gift or investment for someone learning a foreign language. But remember, you have to invest in the time for learning it as well.

"Very good program for a very difficult language", Admittedly, being a westerner, getting a good grasp of a vowel mad language like Chinese, is very difficult. I have only met one westerner who claimed he was able to learn Chinese MUCH easier than Latin based languages such as Italian or Spanish, et al. Suffice it to say, he's the exception.
But in the spirit of the recent Olympic games I decided to put my faith in Rosetta Stone, in helping me learn Chinese. It is very slow going. The program does a good job of easing you into the basics of the language. Starting with easy words and relating them to pictures. Note, that unlike a conventional course, you're not going to be getting any true grammar lessons; you won't have to sit and memorize how to convert a word from past to present, or male to female, or singular to plural. The beauty of RS, is that you'll be eased into intrinsically learning it as you go, almost without thinking about it, as you continuously relate words and phrases to pictures.
One other thing I must add, that like French, Chinese is heavy on proper pronunciation. The only way you can learn this language even a little bit is to several (I should say many) times listening to the word/phrases being spoken and repeating them back to the computer, trying to match up your pronunciation with that of your computer teacher/expert. This is not easy for me, but the program lets you go at your own pace, unlike a conventional class, and won't bug you if you're too lazy to one day sit down at the computer. But I must underscore that with an Asian language, to a western mind, you must practice everyday because it is extremely simple to forget a word. That is what the audio companion of this package is all about, and for Chinese, is worth spending the extra money for, as opposed to the RS package that doesn't have the audio companion. Take it along with you, maybe not to pronounce the words back as you hear them (people on the train may think you're mad :-), but to at least remind yourself of what you learned the day before, and mentally repeat it back to yourself before you continue studying after work/school. That way, you won't have to bother reviewing and wasting your time, and instead will be ready to move on to the next section.


"Good, but would take a class, too", The difference between using Rosetta Stone by itself and taking it in tandem with a class is apparent in this set. For Latin-based languages, I felt that Rosetta Stone in and of itself is sufficient to get a decent grasp, but for languages that are as difficult and foreign as Chinese, I did feel that a class to explain sentence structure, alphabet and language rules would be needed in addition to this set, as my head is wrapped around the English-language way of thinking. Using Rosetta Stone to learn basic phrases in a hurry is fine, but to learn more than the most rudimentary stuff, I would take a class in addition. The language immersion aspect of the software is sound and that makes it a good investment, especially if you are using this with a child. The dynamic immersion aspect makes it fun, feels easy, and gives lots of positive feedback.

I wish they would use more culture-specific images, with more variety in the images for the phrases. It begins to feel like taking an eye test, as you become overly familiar with the same images and can guess the language needed with rote memorization, without putting it together in the head first. It needs to be a bit more dynamic, but its a really good set. Can't wait until Rosetta Stone 4 comes out!

  
 
 

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