Rosetta Stone Opinions?
 

I did a search, and this hasn't been discussed for a year.

I want to learn Mandarin. I know a few words but can't have anything remotely approaching a conversation.

Is Rosetta Stone a good tool for learning the language? I understand that it will also teach reading and writing.

Any opinions?

I've used Rosetta Stone (and a few others) for French. I have perused the Mandarin lessons. While it may not be the most comprehensive, it's certainly the easiest to use.

The reading/writing is a bit off. It does show the symbols but it's up to you to learn them.

I am somewhat sceptical of such language learning tools. I have used one (not rosetta stone) for Italian and didn't find it particularly great. Obviously the best way to learn a language is live where it is spoken. If you can't do that, next best thing is to find a class in your area and sign up - definitely a better way to speak, and good for reading too.

In the meantime, why not try:

http://www.chinesepod.com/

A class is only slightly better than a book or a learn-the-language package.

As mentioned, the best is to live in the place where they use the language.

Alternatively, find a friend/girlfriend/boyfriend that is learning the same language as you speak fluently and that speaks the language you are trying to learn.

JP

that won't be a problem for him. :)

I have the Rosetta Stone for Mandarin and thought it was alright. It teaches phrases vs. words so it puts the listener into a hypothetical situation. It does work but that has it's pros/cons.

I've never used Rosetta so this is only what I have heard about it.

Since the rosetta system is purely an image and word/phrase association, its difficult to decipher what you are actually learning.
For example, you learn the word for "horse" and then you learn the word for "man". Then you see a picture of a man mounted on a horse and you hear a phrase. Now the question is did you just learn how to say "the man on top of the horse", "the man riding a horse", "the man mounting a horse", etc. You never really learn to break down the sentence, which makes it difficult to create new sentences when you add to your vocabulary.

Fortunately Mandarin is an isolating language in terms of its morphology so really the trick to learning the language is increasing your vocabulary and understanding the basic syntax/grammar.

Learn the pinyin system and get a phrase book. Learn the tones and understand the basic grammar structure. Chinesepod.com is a good resource. Take a look at their beginner level conversations. Take each lesson and really try to understand each word or component in a phrase or sentence. You will begin to see patterns such as the fact that Mandarin takes a similar Subject Verb Object form just like English.

This should definitely get you started. If you can get a hold of a language partner, its all the better.

Rosetta Stone is good. I used their product for French and liked it. It's nice to supplement it with some practice with a live speaker though. You could try using Craig's List to find someone in your area. Or use an internet service like FluencyNow.

I used Rosetta Stone to try to learn French. As earlier poster noted, you learn phrases rather than words. It would be fine if I want to ask about a dog or old pink car, but not too good for asking for directions or to try holding a conversation with someone. I thought it was a waste of money.

US Foreign Service Institute
 

That's the ticket - these are really good. I used Rosetta stone for German (along with Tell Me More, which is better). For Mandarin, it's probably better, but to be off topic, I can't recommend Michel Thomas enough for German and the Romance languages. He teaches you how to have a conversation. Rosetta stone teaches you grammar indirectly through phrases but doesn't really teach you to speak the language in a social setting.

I tried Rosette (French) and I think the program is really good. The only problems to me was, to get the most out of it, you needed to do it everyday and after working all day, I was short of time and too tired to do it regularly. The other part was that there was no one around to use it with. Use it or loose it.

I tried Rosetta for Mandarin and it was very frustrating.

On the other hand, I also took classes for about 6 months. When I asked the teacher how I was doing she paused and then said "You try very hard."

So, it might be just me.

And they're free!! Nice!

Old stuff... the Mandarin book was dated 1981, but the language hasn't changed much in 5000 years or so, except for a few words.

I tried using Rosetta Stone for Mandarin, and I found it frustrating. Like another poster mentioned, you really don't know if you're saying "Man on the horse" or "Man riding a horse" since you only associate phrases with pictures. If I didn't know another language, maybe I'd find Rosetta Stone more useful. But since I do speak/read/write English, I find it better to provide a translation to what I'm trying to learn.

That's just my opinion though. You may find it better than I did.