| Rosetta Stone Version 3: Chinese Level 1 with Audio Companion | 
 enlarge | From: Rosetta Stone
Category: Software
List Price: $259.00
Buy New: $233.10
You Save: $25.90 (10%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 249
Format: Cd-rom
Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows 2000, Windows Xp, Mac Os X
Media: CD-ROM
Edition: Level 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 6.5 x 2.9
Model: 20215
UPC: 794678202155
EAN: 0794678202155
ASIN: B001AFEBGI
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:
 Rosetta Stone Chinese Rocks!! November 7, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a terrific way to learn a new language-- its absolutely amazing! I purchased Rosetta Stone Chinese Level 1 ( with Audio Companion) to learn the basics before a trip. The software arrived last Friday, I installed it on Sunday PM, and started the lessons immediately after that. What I liked best:
1) the 'rosetta stone' process uses pictures, text, and native speakers to teach you the language. There is no translation from say English to Chinese- that's not how it's done. They start out with pictures and text, they give you an example ( picture, text, and native speaker saying the phrase), then you match the text to other examples.
2) It's FUN!! why else would I repeat the first section of the first lesson 3 times!
3) you can progress at your own pace
4) you can check your progress at any time during a lesson
5) you can listen to the phrase as many times as you need to before making your choice in the lesson
Points to consider:
1) Initially, it does seem to progress a bit too fast- the phrases get longer and longer. In later lessons, those same phrases come up again, so the fact that you saw them before ( and heard them before) makes the later lessons easier.
2) As the other reviewer indicates, they do, at one point present you with a picture of a glass of water, a cup of tea, and a glass of juice-- the purpose of the lesson is to be able to get the right word with the right item. When you match the right word with the correct item, the program gives you positive feedback. Until you do that, it could be confusing.
3) sometimes the differences ( in the language) are so slight, that I had to do that page of the lesson more than once to get the concept. There is one screen where they show 4 pictures ( one of 3 girls, one of 1 girl, one of 1 boy, and one of 3 boys).. while it's clear from the earlier screens what they are doing ( eating, reading, drinking, or reading the paper), I didn't immediately pick up on the difference in the phrase to indicate that it was one girl doing something, or three girls doing something, so I didn't make the right choice the first time through on the lesson. Then again, I guess that's why it's a 'learning experience' and why you get to practice!
4) the headset that comes with it can be a little touchy-- you'll need to adjust it-- they tell you how to do that as part of the install.
I'm to the point in the lesson where the phrases are written in chinese ( rather than written phonetically)-- my scores on this section are higher than the scores when the phrases were presented phonetically- and it's LOTS of fun.
While the software package is expensive, you can install it on up to 2 machines ( Windows or Mac), with up to 5 individual users per machine. So if you have several people who want to learn the language, it would be a good value. Based on my experience with the Chinese language software, I'll order other language packages from Rosetta Stone. It's a great product-- they definitely have the right concept and methodology for how to teach a language!
 Fairly satisfied August 8, 2008
11 out of 13 found this review helpful
I purchased the software solely to encourage my children to learn a different language. Unfortunately, it quickly jumps into large words that are difficult to grasp. In addition, the pictures have no English translation. For instance, the picture in reference is a glass of water in Chinese translation. Is the translation referring to a glass of water, a glass, or just water? Next to this picture is another picture with a glass of tomato juice. Different picture, same translation.
The fact that there is no English translation, has one guessing the meaning of the translation .
The software might work best for someone has taken a course or two.
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