# Lock & Load Rosetta Stone Spanish course crap



## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

I've just loaded my Rosetta Stone and it's crap. I've bought Lessons 1 to 5, doing Lesson 1. They don't teach you anything. It just starts out testing your Spanish. Piece of crap rip off.


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

How much have you done? It's ... interesting ... hearing you say this after hearing so many good reviews.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

It has had loads of good reviews but I didn't like it. But that is because I find learning a language very difficult from CDs etc. All of my Spanish so far has come from speaking to Spaniards and listening to them. Maybe when I have enough such courses will be of benefit but when I was a beginner I learned nothing, sadly...


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

it's like Michel Tomas, in that you love it (them) or hate it (them)

personally I hate them both












can't make my mind up about Marmite though


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

AllHeart said:


> I've just loaded my Rosetta Stone and it's crap. I've bought Lessons 1 to 5, doing Lesson 1. They don't teach you anything. It just starts out testing your Spanish. Piece of crap rip off.


That's why I asked you if you'd already bought it 'cos I was going to tell you that a lot of people had said it was very expensive and not very good...:sad: I've never seen it, but that's what's been said about it. Oh well.
Look on the BBC site and there are some free ones there which are very good. Venga, te doy el link ya
BBC - Learn Spanish with free online lessons
Loads of stuff to get you started here.
Look up Spanish lessons, Spanish, learning Spanish etc on the forum and look at xabiachica's signature


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

elenetxu said:


> How much have you done? It's ... interesting ... hearing you say this after hearing so many good reviews.


Hi Elenetxu. As a teacher, you may be able to appreciate this horrific teaching style. It's hard to explain without you having seen it. They teach you with pictures without letting you know what the English word is. A picture is worth a thousand words. So if you don't know what the word is, how can you know what the picture is? Fortunately, I know quite a lot of Spanish already, so I can do it. But then what the heck is the point? All it's doing is testing my Spanish knowledge. What I don't already, I won't learn. 



thrax said:


> It has had loads of good reviews but I didn't like it. But that is because I find learning a language very difficult from CDs etc. All of my Spanish so far has come from speaking to Spaniards and listening to them. Maybe when I have enough such courses will be of benefit but when I was a beginner I learned nothing, sadly...


Hi Thrax. I love learning online and by CDs. But not this course. It's just bad teaching. It's down to what you say, that when I go Spain, I'll learn. That was my experience when I was 15 and went to Spain for 10 weeks in total Spanish immersion. By the end of the 10 weeks, I was speaking a LOT of Spanish and even dreaming in Spanish. Then I spoke Spanish with my father for a few years, then took a university course in Spanish to beef up my atrocious grammar. It's heartening to hear you thriving in Spain without having taken a course. 



xabiachica said:


> it's like Michel Tomas, in that you love it (them) or hate it (them)
> 
> personally I hate them both
> 
> ...


Hi Xabiachica. I just looked up Marmite. 



Pesky Wesky said:


> That's why I asked you if you'd already bought it 'cos I was going to tell you that a lot of people had said it was very expensive and not very good...:sad: I've never seen it, but that's what's been said about it. Oh well.
> Look on the BBC site and there are some free ones there which are very good. Venga, te doy el link ya
> BBC - Learn Spanish with free online lessons
> Loads of stuff to get you started here.
> Look up Spanish lessons, Spanish, learning Spanish etc on the forum and look at xabiachica's signature


Hi Pesky Wesky. Yes, I was learning on the BBC website when I decided to get the Rosetta Stone. I'll go back to that. I'll do the Rosetta Stone later, when I want to fluff my feathers as to how much Spanish I know. 

I never noticed Xabiachica's website in her signature. So do you suggest I try that translation in her blog??!! :shocked: 

Is that Xabiachica on the top pic "La Professora?" What a hottie!!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

AllHeart said:


> Hi Elenetxu. As a teacher, you may be able to appreciate this horrific teaching style. It's hard to explain without you having seen it. They teach you with pictures without letting you know what the English word is. A picture is worth a thousand words. So if you don't know what the word is, how can you know what the picture is? Fortunately, I know quite a lot of Spanish already, so I can do it. But then what the heck is the point? All it's doing is testing my Spanish knowledge. What I don't already, I won't learn.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


lol - I haven't been called a hottie for about 30 years - but yes that's me!

if you scroll down on the blog you'll find various links I find useful for my students

I haven't used the blog much recently because I'm working on a website - but the links are still there & still useful

if you can do that translation you're doing brilliantly!


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

xabiachica said:


> lol - I haven't been called a hottie for about 30 years - but yes that's me!
> 
> if you scroll down on the blog you'll find various links I find useful for my students
> 
> ...


Oh, is your picture 30 years old? 

If I can do that translation...?! Attempting that translation makes me feel like a piece of pooh of a Spaniard. 

I didn't scroll down far enough before, so I didn't see your links. What a gold mine! I'm saving many to faves as we speak. Thank you.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

AllHeart said:


> Oh, is your picture 30 years old?
> 
> If I can do that translation...?! Attempting that translation makes me feel like a piece of pooh of a Spaniard.
> 
> I didn't scroll down far enough before, so I didn't see your links. What a gold mine! I'm saving many to faves as we speak. Thank you.


it was taken about 6 months ago 

you've only been Spanish a couple of weeks - baby steps......


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

xabiachica said:


> it was taken about 6 months ago
> 
> you've only been Spanish a couple of weeks - baby steps......


You look fab, Xabiachica. I absolutely adore your other pictures too - showing how vibrant and social Spain is. Oooooohhhhh.... I wanna be there right now! Now, now, now! I can't find my ruby slippers. 

Yes, a Spaniard for just a couple of weeks. Thank you for being so kind in giving me some slack.


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

AllHeart said:


> Hi Elenetxu. As a teacher, you may be able to appreciate this horrific teaching style. It's hard to explain without you having seen it. They teach you with pictures without letting you know what the English word is. A picture is worth a thousand words. So if you don't know what the word is, how can you know what the picture is? Fortunately, I know quite a lot of Spanish already, so I can do it. But then what the heck is the point? All it's doing is testing my Spanish knowledge. What I don't already, I won't learn.


So instead of saying the word "shoe" they have a picture of a shoe and say "zapato"? Total immersion learning! 

There are loads of ways to approach language learning/teaching. It's just important that you find the way that works best for you. Personally, I don't think TI is that bad of an approach.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Xabiachica, me again....  Those 'Siesta Show' YouTube videos that you have in your links are excellent. There are many of them on YouTube. That's a really fun way of learning. As soon as I hear a word that I used to know or dig to find a word, it comes clear in my mind, ready for use. I've been practicing with my South American neighbours the last few months and so much has come back. But I'm a long, long, long way from being fluent, as I never was. So this conversational Siesta Show is perfect to pull up the words I used to know, and add what I don't know. So thank you much for that tip.  Since the Siesta Show is free, this more than makes up for the Rosetta Stone rip-off.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

elenetxu said:


> So instead of saying the word "shoe" they have a picture of a shoe and say "zapato"? Total immersion learning!
> 
> There are loads of ways to approach language learning/teaching. It's just important that you find the way that works best for you. Personally, I don't think TI is that bad of an approach.


Yes, but there is more than one word in a picture of a shoe. Here, I'll try this picture, using your example as under the section of vocabulary, what they do is show you a picture, then say the word - but they don't give you what the English word is. So let's just say the Spanish word is "zapato." Then they show this picture:









So you could look at this picture and think zapato could mean shoes, pumps, patent leather, heels, high-heeled shoes, uncomfortable shoes, open-toed shoes, women's shoes, killer red, etc. A picture is worth a thousand words. Because they don't tell you what zapato means in English, how can you learn what the word means by looking at the picture of a thousand words?


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

I have an idea to show how this works - by giving screenshots of the course...

So here is a screenshot of teaching words:

View attachment 21546


Then the next session has long sentences (including the one word which you may have picked up from the previous lesson if you understood the picture), but none of the other words are defined. You have to pick which picture matches the sentence. 

View attachment 21554


This is Lesson 1. So to my thinking, this is just testing your knowledge of Spanish - not teaching you Spanish.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

AllHeart said:


> I have an idea to show how this works - by giving screenshots of the course...
> 
> So here is a screenshot of teaching words:
> 
> ...



the links don't work - probably some in-built feature of teh course

I think you'd need to take screen-shots & post those


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

You're right Xabiachica. They are PNG attachments, and maybe that's why. Here are the files in JPEG. See if that works...

Personal info on those attachments. Will repost....


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Those were PNG - wrong format. Here they are in JPEG...


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## paula.pinal (Apr 20, 2014)

Hi AllHeart

Have you tried Duolingo? I am trying to learn a bit of German with Duolingo and it is ok (and free) although I must say I am a complete beginner.....

Best Regards


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

AllHeart said:


> Those were PNG - wrong format. Here they are in JPEG...
> 
> View attachment 21578
> 
> ...


I suppose the second one has only one picture with 'niños' in it & most people would know that word - but I do see your point. Unless you know some Spanish, or understand the structure, you have no idea what the sentence means!

You can see that they are digging in the earth

but what word means 'digging'? & does it mean 'dig' or 'digging'?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

AllHeart said:


> This is Lesson 1. So to my thinking, this is just testing your knowledge of Spanish - not teaching you Spanish.


I can see where you're coming from AllHeart.
I love the pictures and this type of exercise is very useful in a course, but not as the basis for the course. As you say, this is more valid as a checking/ revision activity and I can see that the pictures for naming the materials could be confusing at times


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

RS is very very crap. It's beyond crap.

I'm sure showing flash cards and suggesting that they can teach you a language is a good method of marketing. Unfortunately, that's where it ends.

When you look at your desk or your computer screen and see:

A dictionary
A verb conjugator
Books of a structured language course
CD player/sound files
Your notebook with lots of scribbles

.... then you're learning a language.

Anything else is just playing.





AllHeart said:


> I've just loaded my Rosetta Stone and it's crap. I've bought Lessons 1 to 5, doing Lesson 1. They don't teach you anything. It just starts out testing your Spanish. Piece of crap rip off.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

paula.pinal said:


> Hi AllHeart
> 
> Have you tried Duolingo? I am trying to learn a bit of German with Duolingo and it is ok (and free) although I must say I am a complete beginner.....
> 
> Best Regards


Thanks so much for that tip, Paula. That's very kind of you. I checked it out, and it has the American flag beside the Spanish flag, so my guess is that they're teaching what most people are teaching, which is South American Spanish. I'm learning Castilian Spanish, since I'll be living in Malaga. 

Xabiachica, Pesky Wesky & Horlics, thank you for putting that so well. I feel so validated in my disappointment.  

The upside is that I now know the best way for me to learn Spanish is to simply go to Spain. Between that realization and seeing Xabiachica's blog pictures yesterday, that's what pushed me over the edge last night to book my ticket to Spain.


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