Rosetta Stone (software)

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Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone exercise in full-screen mode for Arabic
Developed by Rosetta Stone, Ltd.
Latest release 3.2.11 / April 16, 2008 (2008-04-16); 54 days ago
OS Windows, Mac OS
Genre Educational (foreign language instruction)
License Proprietary
Website http://www.rosettastone.com

Rosetta Stone is a proprietary language-learning software produced by Rosetta Stone, Ltd. Its title and its logo are an allusion to the Rosetta Stone, an artifact inscribed in multiple languages that helped researchers to decipher Ancient Egyptian by comparing it to the Greek inscription.

The Rosetta Stone software utilizes a combination of images, text, and sound, with difficulty levels increasing as the student progresses, in order to teach various vocabulary terms and grammatical functions intuitively, without drills or translation. Their method is called the Dynamic Immersion method. The goal is to teach languages the way first languages are learned.

Contents

[edit] Use

Instruction takes the form of a unit of lessons consisting of ten groups (more in some of the later units of Level I) of four images each, with an associated word or sentence both written and spoken aloud by a native speaker of the language, except for those languages that are no longer spoken natively, such as Latin. Lesson topics range from grammatical concepts such as verb tense or mood to specific topics such as colors, hot and cold and associated words or the use of money.

Within each lesson there are sets of exercises testing listening, reading, and speaking (for which the computer must have a microphone). For languages using the Latin alphabet, there are also writing exercises. The writing exercises for non-Latin scripts use a substitute, on-screen keyboard. All sets except reading and speaking offer four exercises each; there are two reading exercises and one speaking exercise. They are identified by the software as A, B, C, D, and E.

The user is offered either text, sound or image (and later, video), to match against four possibilities. With a mark and/or sound chosen by the reader from the preferences menu, the program indicates whether the right or wrong choice was selected. A score from 0 to 100 is kept; it is visible during the exercise in practice mode but not in test mode. The first choice in a group of images nets four points for a correct answer, the second three, the third two and the last one.

In all units, the last lesson is a review of the previous lessons, with each predecessor represented by one group of images. There are no formal grammar guides or instructions included with the software. The only documentation is a manual with written versions of the phrases and a word index.

[edit] Packages

Several different packages of lessons are available. The full course in each language is separated into three levels. There is only one level available for Latin. All retail software packages except the homeschool version contain two CDs, one with the application software and another with the instruction. The homeschool version also consists of disks for a server program and a student management program.

[edit] Levels

All languages except Latin use the same set of words and sentences in the same order, with the same images (some of which are recycled from lesson to lesson). There are three levels of instruction, each sold separately, or they can be purchased bundled for a discount.

In version two, most languages were offered with only two levels, though a few were offered in a third:

  • Level I consists of eight units, starting from simple vocabulary such as "boy", "girl", "man", "woman", moving up through numbers, the past and future tenses and concluding with a unit on giving directions. Units 1 through 4 have 10 lessons plus a review lesson, units 5 through 8 have 11 lessons plus a review lesson. 92 total lessons in level 1.
  • Level II offers units 9 through 19; however as a practical matter there are only nine units devoted to instruction since units 18 and 19 are "glossary" units devoted to single words having to do with a particular topic (school, nature, automobiles etc.). Level II units consider more advanced grammatical concepts, as well as specific subjects like banking, shopping and travel. These exercises also use short video clips in QuickTime format to illustrate some verbs. Units 16 and 17 consist solely of old Saturday Evening Post cartoons and their captions. 118 total lessons in level 2.
  • Level III is no longer offered on version 2 products, but when it was, it used longer video and writing passages to expand the level of instruction.

In version 3, all languages have three levels, though what they cover is different; there is more of a focus on conversation and less on complex grammatical topics.

  • Level I consists of four units, each with four thirty-minute lessons and a number of five to fifteen minute activities. The level, which is supposed to "build a foundation of fundamental vocabulary and essential language structure," takes about 24 hours to complete following Rosetta Stone's recommended course. Starting from simple vocabulary such as basic greetings, "boy", "girl", "man", and "woman", moving up through numbers, comparisons, adjectives, nouns, future tense, and telling time. Each unit also contains a ten-minute simulated conversation called a "Milestone."

The four units in Level 1 are: The Basics, Friends and Family, Work and School, and Shopping.

  • Level II offers units 5 through 8, for a total of about twenty-four hours designed to teach you to "navigate your surroundings as you build on the vocabulary and essential language structure in Level 1." More grammar is covered, including past and future tenses, and imperative forms. Topics such as giving directions, writing letters, workplace terms, apologies, discussing emotions, and critiquing art are also covered. As in Level 1, each unit is followed by a ten-minute "Milestone."

The four units in Level 2 are: Travel, Past and Future, Friends and Social Life, and Dining and Vacation.

  • Level III offers the final four units (9 through 12), which are supposed to help "connect with the world around you by building on the language fundamentals and conversational skills you developed in Levels 1 and 2." In addition to expanding upon grammar learned in Levels 1 and 2, Level 3 teaches more in depth vocabulary, including botanical terms, culinary terms, how to express detailed opinions and judgments, and how to discuss politics, religion, and business. As in the first two levels, each unit contains a ten-minute "Milestone" activity in which the user participates in a simulated conversation.

The four units in Level 3 are: Home and Health, Life and World, Places and Events, and Talking About the World.

[edit] Other packages

  • An Explorer package consisting basically of the first three units from Level I was available for a much cheaper price than the full Level I. This product is no longer available from the publisher.
  • A Traveler version, consisting of several lessons focusing on basic terms as well as vocabulary important for travel, was produced in the late 1990s and is no longer available.
  • Free Demos are available directly from Rosetta Stone, Ltd.

[edit] Languages

The following languages are available as of April 2008:

Version 3

As of April 27th, 2008

 Version 2
Arabic (Modern Standard) Danish Polish
Chinese (Mandarin) Dutch Swahili
English (American) Greek Swedish
English (British) Hindi Tagalog (Filipino)
French (Parisian) Indonesian Thai
German Korean Turkish
Hebrew Latin Vietnamese
Irish Pashto Welsh
Italian Persian
Japanese
Portuguese (Brazilian)
Russian
Spanish (Latin America)
Spanish (Spain)

[edit] U.S. Military/U.S. Government

The United States Army began offering a free, online version of Rosetta Stone software to its personnel in November 2005.[citation needed] In December 2007 they began offering a special Military version of Arabic (http://www.rosettastone.com/global/press/news-20071203-rs) in order to help troops deploying to the Middle East learn faster the skills needed for conversations and phrases important in a military situation. It is available to all US Army Personnel, US Military Academy Cadets, Contracted US Army ROTC Cadets and other special guests with a sponsor.

The United States Air Force also offers a similar version to company grade officers.[citation needed]

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security offers levels one through three to Special Agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.[citation needed]

[edit] Awards

Rosetta Stone has won a number of awards from software magazines and associations concerned with language learning such as textbook publishers and homeschooling magazines, amongst them the Gold Awards for Best CD-ROMs Used in School and Best CD-ROM for Language Learning i-Magic Awards in 1996 and the Best Software in Second Language Foreign Language Learning Program annual awards by ComputED magazine in 1994 and 1996.

[edit] Versions

The latest version is version 3.2.11. Not all the languages are available in version 3, and some of them are still in version 2. The version appears on the exterior of retail packages and this information is apparent through their Web site

Macworld had reviewed version 3.0 several months earlier.[1]. A demonstration is available at rosettastone.com.

Rosetta Stone version 3 software has a built-in feature to download and install upgrades from the online Web site. Newer versions have featured a larger interface, new functionalities, improved learning experience and better-quality pictures than their predecessors.

[edit] Criticism of version 2.0

The most frequent criticism of the program is its lack of sensitivity to the differences between the various languages it comes in and their respective cultures. All programs present the same concepts in the same order, using the same images taken mostly in the Washington, D.C. area a couple of hours northeast of the Rosetta Stone, Ltd. headquarters in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Reviewing the Russian version in 1997, Mark Kaiser, director of the Language Media Center at the University of California, Berkeley, was especially harsh. He called the program "woefully inadequate for a number of reasons."[2] Not only did he cite the lack of cultural context, stating that the images contained in the program were not only clearly not Russian, but that they contained objects such as paper towels, which Kaiser attested to never having seen on any visit to Russia at that point, and its lack of any way to test conversational skills, he also noted the tendency of some words and phrases to be too English-based.

As an example, he noted that one early lesson depicts two people rowing and associates it with the English phrase "They are using a boat." In Russian, this is rendered literally as "Они пользуются лодкой." But, according to Kaiser, no native Russian speaker would use the verb "use" in that context, preferring instead verbs specific to water-based travel, "Они плывут/катаются на лодке" ("they are sailing/riding in a boat").[2]. He also noted that the prepositions introduced in the first lesson take several different cases with distinct endings, "rather overwhelming to a student just beginning to study Russian."[2]

"The entire package lacks any pedagogical foundation," he concluded. "Rather, it utilizes the glitz of the multimedia capabilities of the computer, a dearth of quality foreign language software, and clever marketing to create an economically successful product."[2]

A few months earlier, Donald McRae of Brock University had been far kinder to the German version, calling it "very good, but with some reservations."[3] In contrast to Kaiser, he called it "good pedagogy and extremely effective. The authors of the program never lose sight of solid teaching methodology."[3]

He did, however, take issue with the company's claim that the software can substitute for a beginning-level language course. Like Kaiser, he noted one point on which the software didn't indicate a subtle distinction among the German verbs used for "to run." A running dog is shown using laufen, which normally indicates walking; and rennen, which means "to run at great speed" is used for a picture of a horse. McRae noted that without context, a student could reasonably conclude that rennen applied only to animals. "I am convinced," he wrote, "that any [foreign language instruction] program requires the timely intervention of a good teacher."[3]

Another frequent issue is the use of more formal vocabulary than that regularly used by native speakers. MacWorld reviewer Cyrus Farivar noted that the Persian CD he had been using gave khodrow for "car," although most native speakers use a French loanword, ma:sheen. He called the company regarding the picture sets, and was told that four are in use, one for Western languages, another for Asian, and two sets unique to Swahili and Latin.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Farivar, Cyrus; January 19, 2006; Foreign-language software provides a comprehensive approach to learning; MacWorld, retrieved July 12, 2006
  2. ^ a b c d Kaiser, Mark; September 25, 1997; Review: The Rosetta Stone for Russian, CALL @Chorus, retrieved October 22, 2006.
  3. ^ a b c McRae, Donald; June 24, 1997; Review:The Rosetta Stone for German; CALL @Chorus; retrieved October 22, 2006.

[edit] External links

Languages