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| Rosetta Stone V3: Spanish (Latin America), Level 1, 2 & 3 | 
 enlarge | From: Rosetta Stone
Category: Software
This item is no longer available
Avg. Customer Rating:  60 reviews
Sales Rank: 523
Format: Cd-rom
Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows 2000, Windows Xp, Mac Os X
Media: CD-ROM
Edition: Level 1, 2 & 3
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.9 x 8.2 x 2.4
MPN: 1580229174
UPC: 794678291746
EAN: 0794678291746
ASIN: B000P85CUK
Release Date: August 28, 2007
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| Customer Reviews:
 Horrible for preteens and teenagers March 27, 2008
16 out of 65 found this review helpful
I teach high school Spanish and my school system (without consulting the Spanish department) decided to unilateraly expand Spanish to the junior high where students would learn using Rosetta Stone. Kickbacks anyone? The students are expected to get an introduction to the language from this product rather than from a qualified teacher. It is atrocious! This program might work mildly for an adult who will actually really work at it and not take shortcuts but for adolescents ... por favor. They answer correctly by memorizing picturs or just the first letter of certain words, finish quickly and then goof off with the pronunication function.
On another note, the U.S. government supposably recommends this or uses it. That is such a joke. Is that even a good recommendation? Are Americans good at languages? Are government employees good at languages?Last time I checked the only bilingual people in the U.S. were immigrants.
Finally, so as not to be too harsh, I recommend hiring a private tutor for a time and then travelling abroad. The problem with all these snake-oil miracle cures is that they can (I suppose) work but only if the person using it is the most dedicated, academic, psychotic language learner ever. 98% of the population will not get much from this book or any other self-learning academic product. Take a class! I seriously question the high reviews on this page (planted?) and even if these are real satisfied clients and not employees I doubt they even know if they are good at the language. They have succeeded at the program and feel like they are learning but how can a monolingual individual really know. Wait until they travel abroad and don't know squat.
Don't buy from Amazon! March 27, 2008
14 out of 22 found this review helpful
I purchased V3 of Rosetta Stone on Amazon because it was nearly $100 cheaper than on the Rosetta Stone website. When I got the package three of the CD's were not in plastic. I was told by Rosetta Stone that I would be able to download it onto two computers. Well, I tried downloading it onto a second computer, and it wouldn't let me. I called Rosetta Stone, and they said it had already been downloaded twice! I supposedly purchased it new on Amazon. I think Amazon is selling this item already used and saying it is new. Return it if any of the CD's are not in plastic! I came to the conclusion that this is why they're selling it for much cheaper!
 Good, but not Great March 22, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is a reasonable tutorial for (my choice) Spanish, but I think the designers focused too much on flash and not enough on pedagogical content. The presentation is fine and you can learn much from it. It's just that it isn't as good as some people seem to believe. I think that the Pimsleur audio tapes (3 volumes), although old school in approach, are still the best Spanish learning tool available.
 Horribly Hyped and Miserably Overrated Guessing Game March 15, 2008
7 out of 19 found this review helpful
While in an airport recently, I decided to stop by a kiosk with the 'Rosetta Stone' sign that I see daily as the 'top' language program in the world.
Guess what. The only 'top' there is to this program is the hype.
I was shown pictures in the language I wanted to learn. I had to guess which picture matched the native speaker.
I was clueless. How frustrating.
I prefer a course that gives you an instant English translation as well as gives you the opportunity to learn in your car as opposed to on a computer where there is often more competition.
My favorite car course is Behind the Wheel Spanish/Complete Illustrated Text/Answer Keys/8 One Hour
The advantages against Rosetta Stone Spanish as I see them:
1. $375.00 bucks cheaper.
2. No guessing. You get the meanings in English and in Spanish with native speakers. Nothing to look up. It's all there.
3. Creativity. You learn to create your own sentences right away.
4. Use your down time in the car when your stuck in traffic. Work on other stuff on your computer.
5. Much more user friendly.
Extremely frustrating March 13, 2008
30 out of 41 found this review helpful
I purchased this product because I wanted to brush up on my Spanish. As a graduate student I passed a fluency examination in Spanish. However, I found Rosetta Stone extremely frustrating to use. One, many of the lessons are repetitive on a level that is just too simple. They could be given to a person with zero knowledge of the language and they would pass with flying colors, but have no idea how to speak or write the language. Second, the program has you repeating very basic sounds and often the sound response the user speaks is rejected by the software. It quickly becomes a game, where the point is NOT to speak the language with the best possible accent, but just to get past the Rosetta accent gateway. Also, so many of the sounds are just too basic. I learned nothing after hours of painful repetition. I know that I have at least a very decent accent, because of my past education and my travels in Latin America, but time and again, the software stopped me, until I just had to skip the lesson and once you start skipping lessons, the application has you re-doing earlier lessons, if you follow its internal logic.
After trying it for about three weeks, I just became too frustrating for me and I'm returning it. I'm also rather amazed at the plethora of good reviews this product has received. My experience cannot be unique and it makes me a little suspicious of the veracity of the other reviewers.
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