Rosetta Stone –
Hebrew Online Version
My husband, David, has been wanting to learn Hebrew for years and when approached with the opportunity to review Rosetta Stone, I thought this would be a perfect chance to let him try it out before taking the plunge and buying the entire program. I knew he would love it based on things I had heard from other people, but we weren’t really sure how it worked.
Once we received the sign in information, it was very easy to get started. It walks you through the entire process. David has been doing lessons for about a month and a half and has already learned so much! Here is what he has to say about his experience:
Shalom! After over a month working with Rosetta Stone on Hebrew, I would say their approach is certainly worth the investment, especially if you are going to a country soon where you need to know the basics of the language.
As with any foreign language, it takes the time commitment to really get the most out of the learning. But, Rosetta Stone’s program gives an excellent overview of speaking, reading, and writing, and gives you common conversational vocabulary along the way.
Pro’s –
1) You hear fluent speakers (both male and female) who speak the language.
2) The system remembers where you ended on your last practice.
3) At any time you can review any section you have done. The system keeps track of where you have been, and how you did on each screen as well.
4) I think the pictures are fairly intuitive to help give you a general understanding of what you are saying.
5) The voice recognition software is very cool. Essentially you will hear someone say a word, phrase, or sentence, and then you repeat it. The voice recognition software tells you how you did, and what words were not accurate…giving you a chance to try again.
Con’s –
1) The most challenging part, as you move further in the learning, can be knowing what “exactly” you are saying. I didn’t notice any area where it tells me a translation of what I’m saying. If it exists, it wasn’t intuitive on how to find that.
2) My only other concern is probably only because I was “test driving” the software. I had to get my own headset/microphone. However, I believe that if you purchase the software, this is provided…you will want to confirm that.
Overall, I say this is a great buy. Give yourself probably 80-90 hours of learning time, and keep it for reference, and you will do great. I’m hoping to receive this as a Christmas gift from my awesome wife. Hint Hint!
Shalom!
David
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My husband and I have talked about getting the spanish version for the kids. My oldest is in 10’th grade and in spanish three this year. I wondered if it would be worth it, your review makes me wonder even more. It is rather expensive.
Loved your review of the Rosetta Stone. My husband has been wanting this for several years to learn to speak Finnish. He is Finnish and spoke it as a small child but has forgotten it. This sounds like it would work for him.
bvERY GOOD IDEA