Rosetta Stone: Japanese?

[Carano]

Hey, just wondering if anybody has used Rosetta Stone before?

I got the chance to try it today, and while I only did Unit 1 > Core Lesson,

It just started throwing pictures at me, for example, of 3 women in a swimming pool, and I had to choose the correct sentence to describe that picture.

But, there was also 3 other pictures alongside this, of something like a toddler in a pool. 2 young children in a pool, etc.

With no explanation, how am I actually meant to know what the pictures are trying to describe when I know zero Japanese?

I don't know if the pictures are saying 2 children swimming / 1 middle aged woman in a pool.... etc.

It made no sense, especially as this was the very first lesson. I think the only thing I grasped was the word 'water'

Is this core lesson just giving some examples of basic structure? (even though it doesn't teach you)

There are alot of different lessons, so I guess the later ones will maybe break all of these words down or something? Because if I have to guess what the picture is trying to tell me, how am I actually meant to know what the matching sentence means?

Thanks.

[RobinMask]

The Rosetta Stone comes in several levels, are you sure you've bought level one? I haven't used it myself, it's had a lot of criticism, but from what I've seen it should start a lot simpler than that . . . I'd take a wild stab in the dark and guess that it's probably too complex a level. I could be wrong though, so hopefully another member can help if that's the case

[Rinai]

I asked two of my friend about it. Who are actually Japanese {actually, I asked about the Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and French versions}. they basically said that it wasn't a very good tool to use for Asian languages. A college friend of mine used it and then took classes at University and said there was a difference or so. That's just word on the street.

*plooka plooka*

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by Carano

Hey, just wondering if anybody has used Rosetta Stone before?

I got the chance to try it today, and while I only did Unit 1 > Core Lesson,

It just started throwing pictures at me, for example, of 3 women in a swimming pool, and I had to choose the correct sentence to describe that picture.

But, there was also 3 other pictures alongside this, of something like a toddler in a pool. 2 young children in a pool, etc.

With no explanation, how am I actually meant to know what the pictures are trying to describe when I know zero Japanese?

I don't know if the pictures are saying 2 children swimming / 1 middle aged woman in a pool.... etc.

It made no sense, especially as this was the very first lesson. I think the only thing I grasped was the word 'water'

Is this core lesson just giving some examples of basic structure? (even though it doesn't teach you)

There are alot of different lessons, so I guess the later ones will maybe break all of these words down or something? Because if I have to guess what the picture is trying to tell me, how am I actually meant to know what the matching sentence means?

Thanks.

I can't be sure, but I think I've seen this exact question asked on JF before...

/sarcasm

[godwine]

Originally Posted by KyleGoetz

I can't be sure, but I think I've seen this exact question asked on JF before...

/sarcasm

Yeah, I asked that... Don't remember why I did though

[Carano]

Thanks for the replies, RobinMask & Rinai! Not so much the pointless reply of that fat bloke.

Yeah, it was definitely the first lesson of the entire course that I tried.

But after further searching, I found some reviews, where people mentioned the same things. But I guess I'll stick to it for a while. The main issue is, as I say, just trying to figure out what the picture is trying to tell me, like, am I looking at how many people are in the picture, male of female, or the activity they're doing?

"This has some obvious drawbacks, such as it not always being clear what the pictures are trying to show. You can be looking at a picture of a red ball for ages, and not realize that what you’re supposed to be focusing on are the children, or the kind of game that they’re playing. A simple solution to this is to have a dictionary with you while you are learning, so you can run through the possible answers, but for the amount you’re paying for this course, it’s the sort of thing you really shouldn’t have to do. Grammar lesson There are no explanations for the pictures themselves, and no external information that helps you to understand any of the potentially more complex grammar aspects of learning a language.

Still, overall, the pace of the lessons is excellent, with a lot of re-capping previous points and making sure that you understand the right lessons that have been taught."

So I guess I'll stick to it for a while, things will probably start to make more sense eventually.

[godwine]

Originally Posted by Carano

Thanks for the replies, RobinMask & Rinai! Not so much the pointless reply of that fat bloke.

Yeah, it was definitely the first lesson of the entire course that I tried.

But after further searching, I found some reviews, where people mentioned the same things. But I guess I'll stick to it for a while. The main issue is, as I say, just trying to figure out what the picture is trying to tell me, like, am I looking at how many people are in the picture, male of female, or the activity they're doing?

"This has some obvious drawbacks, such as it not always being clear what the pictures are trying to show. You can be looking at a picture of a red ball for ages, and not realize that what you’re supposed to be focusing on are the children, or the kind of game that they’re playing. A simple solution to this is to have a dictionary with you while you are learning, so you can run through the possible answers, but for the amount you’re paying for this course, it’s the sort of thing you really shouldn’t have to do. Grammar lesson There are no explanations for the pictures themselves, and no external information that helps you to understand any of the potentially more complex grammar aspects of learning a language.

Still, overall, the pace of the lessons is excellent, with a lot of re-capping previous points and making sure that you understand the right lessons that have been taught."

So I guess I'll stick to it for a while, things will probably start to make more sense eventually.

I think the app make some assumptions, and it base on relational logic, so it assume that, if they display a picture of a guy performing different things, then they keep on playing a sentence describing what he is performing, you will eventually pickup the Japanese of what or who is the guy.... just because the word Otoko will be repeated just as many times.

Not sure how to explain it, I find it very weird myself when I tried it. I am not fluent fluent, but I say conversational... Level 1 contain some stuff that is relatively simple to follow for me, but there are also material that is way out of my skills, so I don't know how they determine the skill level...

I kinda stopped playing with it for a while... so I haven't try level 2 or 3 yet...

[Carano]

Yeah, I've had another go on it and I'm beginning to recognise the words for man/woman/boy/girl and other things, such as newspaper/juice/running, etc.

I wouldn't be able to write them down, or say them in a sentence without looking at the text. But I guess being able to recognise a few different things is progress... Especially as I've used it for less than a day, lol.

[myk]

rosetta stone is not at all cost effective. i expected it to be around $200 or 300, but it's $750! just get a book or something. people have been learning languages long before rosetta stone. everyone wants fast and easy now and that's why they can charge so much.

[Carano]

Lol, I see your point, but if I only used a book, there's no way I'd get the correct pronunciation.

I live in the UK anyway, so the power of the £ over the $ is almost half, so it doesn't seem too bad.