| Rosetta Stone Version 3: French Level 1, 2 & 3 Set with Audio Companion | 
 enlarge | From: Rosetta Stone
Category: Software
List Price: $549.00
Buy New: $494.10
You Save: $54.90 (10%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  35 reviews
Sales Rank: 114
Format: Cd-rom
Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows 2000, Windows Xp, Mac Os X
Media: CD-ROM
Edition: Level 1, 2 & 3
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 6.4 x 2.9
Model: 21185
UPC: 794678211850
EAN: 0794678211850
ASIN: B001AFD20E
Release Date: June 16, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Promotion: Save $10.00 when you spend $50.00 or more on Qualifying Items offered by Amazon.com. Enter code BMLSAVES at checkout. Terms and Conditions
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 WORTH EVERY DIME! Can't recommend it enough. August 28, 2008
Rosetta Stone uses immersion as an excellent way to learn, and further one's language skills. Incredibly user-friendly, this hands-on approach to learning language has launched me into my love and furth study of French.
STRENGTHS: I like that it has individual lessons - you get to review and use what you've learned. There is a good balance between new material and putting old material into use.
I love the photos associated with vocabulary and conversation. They are very clear - I never had any doubt what I was supposed to be doing.
Introduction of grammar is at a very reasonable pace. All skills are used - listen, type, repeat, etc.
It is very interactive. You get good feedback.
If you aren't able to take a French class, this is definitely worth the money - you WILL learn a lot of French if you put in the time and work.
The audio feedback feature really helped me with pronunciation - it helped me figure out what I had to do with my mouth to get the exact sounds and gave good feedback when I did.
WEAKNESS: You need a fast computer. Mine was kind of sluggish on my older Mac. This is a huge program, very memory - intense. That's a weakness of the computer, not the program.
I love this program and would highly recommend it to anyone who is motivated and probably at least teen age.
Easy to Use August 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The Rosetta Stone program installed easily on my PC, and was up and running without any problems.
The lessons are easy to follow, and start you learning instantly.
I found it easy to follow the lessons and started absorbing the words and phrases with no difficulty.
I am looking forward to the more advanced lessons.
This is a much easier and more effective way to learn a language than other audio and computer programs I have tried.
 Quite amazing August 28, 2008
33 out of 33 found this review helpful
While it should be a standard to wait a long while before reviewing there are aspects that become more quickly apparent both for comparison and understanding.
My previous French language experience came from two years of high school classes about sixteen years ago. I've had a few other language classes since then, establishing me if not as a thorough polyglot at least as a someone well versed in language training from a variety of different teaching styles, approaches, and contexts.
I've tried to keep up with a number of these languages I've studied, with various success, and with various software help. Mostly the inexpensive kind. I've picked up the Instant Immersion disks (a great, inexpensive, entirely un-thorough approach), the Learn to Speak series (about the same, though with a lot more content).
Recently, to learn German for my studies I looked at more thorough programs and two stood out. The Rosetta Stone series and the Tell Me More. I noticed Tell Me More was getting great reviews and was less than half the price. Being a little financially strapped I skipped the trend and bought Tell Me More. And I'm very glad I did. It's an effective program that has pushed me quite along in learning the language.
Still, there was a tickle in my brain. Is Rosetta Stone really better? So, when it came time for me to start with French, also for my studies, I decided to make a contrast.
And yes, Rosetta Stone is the better program.
In some ways.
Really, I'd have to say these are quite different programs, rather than one being substantially better.
Tell Me More is a like a class in a box. There is a mix of exercises that help to build vocabulary, sentence structure, writing, pronunciation, and other aspects. Each section has a large mix of short lessons that reinforce the learning without becoming dull or tedious. Save yourself taking language classes by using Tell Me More.
Rosetta Stone is a lot less like taking a class. It's more like finding yourself on an island with a group of people who all only speak another shared language. And if you want to learn how to thrive on this island, then you follow their patient, but focused, teaching.
This approach sticks, and it is effective.
My only quibble is I'm not sure it's quite worth the amount of money they are asking. Indeed, if money isn't an issue then by all means go with Rosetta Stone. There are qualities that do set it apart, and it helps a person feel much more involved in the language and less like taking a class.
But, if money is an issue Tell Me More is comparable in quality, without being nearly as expensive.
That's not a slam against the product quality of Rosetta Stone at all. It really is an extraordinary software, and revolutionizes language learning.
Better than French 101 August 28, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I have taken a number of classes to learn a variety of languages (French formal classes, Korean, Modern Standard Arabic to name a few), and have forgotten most of them all. Learning on the computer has been a new and fairly positive experience for me. The package comes with a number of elements: the base software, the particular language elements to plug into the base software, audio companion CDs for review offline and a USB headset/microphone.
Installation is a two part process, 1) install the base software, 2) install any language element tiers. (The headset will need some installation time, but that should be managed by the system). The installation progressed pretty smooth, took a reasonable amount of time, no errors.
While the process has been much quicker, more of a review, than with the Spanish version, I have followed the lesson plans to get a true feel for the software. Learning is geared toward an immersive process where you start speaking pretty much right at the start (kind of like being tossed into the pool and told to swim). You start by selecting your goals (read, write, speak, etc.) and then follow the lesson plan, reviewing as often as necessary. My personal experience has been that I enjoy the immersive process, I am still working through the lessons, but I fell that I have gained considerably more than I have in past language learning opportunities. The process has been a fairly painless process, and I devote time when available.
My bottom line is that the product is pretty pricey, but gives you one of the best learning experiences I can imagine short of being dropped off in Paris. P-)
Fun and natural way to learn foreign language August 25, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This review is written by my 16-year old daughter who installed the software (with a little help from me) and started using it.
"The RosettaStone Version 4: French Level 1,2 & 3" is a fun, engaging introduction to learning a new language.
The program comes with three corresponding Audio Companion CDs PER LEVEL, for a total of 12 disks of instructional software in one product. (The Audio Companion software can be downloaded to an MP3 player). Each Level has four different units, for each of which you practice Pronunciation, Vocabulary, Phrases, Speaking, and more. RosettaStones' unique feature is its use of "language immersion" as a teaching tool. The program shows you images and the corresponding French words for what is in the pictures. There is no direct English-to-French vocabulary translation (that I've seen thus far), and this makes learning the language more enjoyable and more natural. The graphics are very aesthetically pleasing as well.
The audio software is one of the best parts about this program. The product comes with a USB Headset Microphone, and the program uses voice recognition software for you to practice pronunciation. Better yet, you can record yourself saying the same phrase several times and then play it back to listen to your progress and compare your pronunciation to that of a native speaker.
One drawback to the program is that you cannot pause a lesson easily if you need to see something again. You have to wait until the end of the lesson and then go back to particular part of it, but this is a minor inconvenience that does not take away too much from the program's quality.
I've only begun to use RosettaStone, but I am very pleased with the product thus far and will continue to use it."
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