# What do you think of Rosetta Stone?



## backpacker44 (Aug 24, 2011)

I'm thinking of investing in Rosetta stone Greek. I'll moving to Greece from Canada on January 15th.. So should I invest in all 3 levels, or should I get level 1 so that I can work on the basics and then just immerse myself in the language when I get there to become more proficient? I'm on a super tight budget right now (I'm on a $20 per week allowance- sold my car, living with my aunt, and saving about $700 a month to finance the move) so the $400 would be pushing it.. Is it worth it to get it? I know the basics of Greek already, and I am taking courses through the Greek community in my neighborhood.. So perhaps I am already past the basic level. The good news is that I can return it within 6 months if I don't like it, although I am sure the shipping from greece is gross.. 

Any suggestions?


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## The Grocer (May 30, 2010)

Hi there,
Download and try the trial versions from the internet first......and ALSO try the MICHEL THOMAS Greek learning package...it has had some good reviews


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## wka (Sep 18, 2009)

Hi,
My mom tried to learn Modern Greek with Rosetta Stone. She bought all the levels. She even bought a new computer to run it. She practiced with it obsessively but didn't learn Greek. Now she's taking courses through the Greek Orthodox Church - I think it's better.

Now, bear in mind she's in her upper 60s and was never good at learning languages, so you may fare better.

My advice about learning Greek on the other thread is still what I stand behind. I don't think Rosetta Stone is worth the (expensive) investment.


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## backpacker44 (Aug 24, 2011)

wka said:


> My advice about learning Greek on the other thread is still what I stand behind. I don't think Rosetta Stone is worth the (expensive) investment.


That's what I was thinking too. I've just had so many people recently tell me to buy the dang Rosetta Stone. I pick up languages fairly quickly, so I think I'll pass on it. I have a feeling I'm past the first level anyways. As I know the alphabet, and pronunciation and all that.. Which is basically what the 1st level is.. That, and some greetings. It's far too expensive to gamble on.


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## wka (Sep 18, 2009)

The other thing about the Rosetta Stone as far as I know is that they use the same template for all languages. I saw a friend's Chinese version and it had the exact same photos, questions, answers, dialogues etc as my mom's Greek version. I don't see how that could possibly work.


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## mariek (Aug 17, 2009)

I use Rosetta Stone now and then. I didn't buy it so I don't feel the need to justify a purchase by saying it's great. 

I have found that it is somewhat helpful with vocabulary, mostly because of the repetition. For me that is easier than learning word lists because it gives a visual with the word which helps me remember it better. Although, it teaches you the words it thinks you should know . . . not necessarily the words you will hear day in and day out. It isn't helpful with grammar which is the toughest part of Greek, in my opinion. 

I have a friend here who is helping me with the grammar. Taking a class, for me, has done much more than studying on a computer ever could. My advice is keep taking those courses. 
Good luck!!


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Have a look at this free site

BBC - Languages - Greek: All you need to start learning Greek


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## wka (Sep 18, 2009)

You could also consider getting a private Greek tutor. You would make so much more progress than using these programs. That BBC one has been around forever but it gets you to where you'd be after 3 hours with a tutor, and no further. If you actually want to live and function in Greece with some level of fluency, you need a professional. It's just the way it is, I'm afraid.


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## backpacker44 (Aug 24, 2011)

I've looked in to private tutors here in Vancouver, and the cheapest I have found is $50 an hour. I did have a private tutor for a few weeks here, and he was only $27 an hour but unfortunately he moved to Toronto. I've found a few courses in Athens that are free, that seem like they would be good. It's a small group setting but I think the interaction with other people would help me learn faster. 

Oh, and Michel character.. He's crazy! His teaching method is very weird- you're not supposed to try to remember anything, or think about it too much. I downloaded a free iPhone app and started with German as it didn't have Greek.. I was lost instantly. I think I am more of a traditional learner. 

Well, I guess I am going to have to skip the Rosetta stone, doesn't really seem like it's a MUST BUY here.. Thanks for all your help!


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## Chrisles (Aug 23, 2011)

*Rosetta Stone*



backpacker44 said:


> I'm thinking of investing in Rosetta stone Greek. I'll moving to Greece from Canada on January 15th.. So should I invest in all 3 levels, or should I get level 1 so that I can work on the basics and then just immerse myself in the language when I get there to become more proficient? I'm on a super tight budget right now (I'm on a $20 per week allowance- sold my car, living with my aunt, and saving about $700 a month to finance the move) so the $400 would be pushing it.. Is it worth it to get it? I know the basics of Greek already, and I am taking courses through the Greek community in my neighborhood.. So perhaps I am already past the basic level. The good news is that I can return it within 6 months if I don't like it, although I am sure the shipping from greece is gross..
> 
> Any suggestions?


Hi BP44,
i would thoroughly recommend investing in the Rosetta Stone. Like you , I had already taken courses , once a week for several years -so i knew the basics already. The problem i had with the courses was that once a week wasn't really frequent enough and the people on the courses were of very different abilities and we'd waste a lot of time chatting etc.
I wasn't sure at which level to start and whether I would like it.- so I opted for doing the 6 months online course about one year ago.
I found that it was best to start right from the beginning-which is basic -but you can whizz through it- and I really enjoyed it and I could do as much as I wanted -an hour or 2 a day. 
I've since bought the whole course ( they subtracted what i'd paid for the online course)-this has more stuff on it and my husband and kids can also use it. I'm finding that although i've now done the whole course , I need to go back and revisit things and it's working really well for me. Today I've been in my kitchen baking and i found the greek words were just popping into my head.
However-there's no substitute for being in Greece and using the language for real. I'm moving there next March for at least a year. 
So, maybe try it out online first and see how you get on.
cheers
Chrisles


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## backpacker44 (Aug 24, 2011)

I actually took a look at eBay today and found level 1.. The auction ended and I won it for $70 including shipping. So I'll see how I like it before in invest in more.


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## joyful_April (Apr 15, 2009)

I have the Rosetta Stone series on Greek. I find them extremely useful. I have a terrible ear for language so it is wonderful to be able to listen to the native pronunciation a 100 times until I can repeat it.


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## Roderick (Apr 1, 2012)

*Thumbs up for Rosetta Stone*



Chrisles said:


> Hi BP44,
> i would thoroughly recommend investing in the Rosetta Stone. Like you , I had already taken courses , once a week for several years -so i knew the basics already. The problem i had with the courses was that once a week wasn't really frequent enough and the people on the courses were of very different abilities and we'd waste a lot of time chatting etc.
> I wasn't sure at which level to start and whether I would like it.- so I opted for doing the 6 months online course about one year ago.
> I found that it was best to start right from the beginning-which is basic -but you can whizz through it- and I really enjoyed it and I could do as much as I wanted -an hour or 2 a day.
> ...


I have the complete Rosetta Stone covering 20 + languages. I have to say that I think it is great. I have only used the Greek and the French but I found both enjoyable to use. I am hopeless at languages but over the years have tried many times to add to my knowledge of Greek.
I would say that having a private tutor or going to a school would obviously be better but if you don't have that choice then Rosetta Stone is certainly the best out of all the other learning methods that I have tried.
Since I got it I have been busy with other exams so could not spend much time on it but for the week that I was using it I found it addictive as I could see my progress and was continually trying to better my scores and get to the next level. I had to put it back in the box as I was being consumed by it and not putting my time into my revision for the other courses I was doing.
The structure and photos are the same for each language and that actually helps rather than hinders, I did a few hours of the French and found that it was easy to grasp after doing the Greek.
I should point out that i have done a lot of travelling around Europe and lived and worked in places where little or no English was spoken so have a smattering of loads of different languages, Czech and Russian to name a couple. My mind is continually confused when I am abroad and I can be in Portugal saying hello in Hungarian and goodbye in Greek so I am probably not a good example.
But as a closer i would say that after 10 or so hours immersed in the Greek Course with Rosetta Stone I felt more confident than I have ever been.


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## kassandra (Mar 26, 2012)

Pretty old thread! But I suppose this sort of thing is always relevant for someone! Even for me I found a few useful hints here, so I'll throw in my 2cents. Firstly, prior to looking at any expensive, most likely overrated programs, if you have the real passion and determination there are plenty of free methods to investigate first! Especially for just learning basics, some of the methods below:

1. Trial versions of expensive programs i.e. rosetta stone, first off, if you're determined to spend money it's always best to investigate what you're buying thoroughly.

2. Free programs! I only have one or two I've used before but I recommend "byki" they offer loads of language including greek and use a flash-cards system to help you memorise, then they test and retest this and you confirm if you got the answer correct or not - if not it goes through it again and comes up more often until you're familiar. Again only covers simple conversational mostly.

3. Sites: just browsing the internet will give you plenty of resources for written Greek, if you search well enough you should also be able to find some mp3s.

4. Libraries (big ones) have just about every language resource you can think of. Some come with CDs, some are just thorough books. Some offer workbooks (though you can't write in them) which you can test yourself with on paper or get an idea what physical workbooks are like and if it works for you/if you want to buy the brand of workbooks.

5. Greek Church - I did this for a while, the fees here are donation-based and as far as I'm aware optional, but even then it was £60 recommended donation a term with different classes and all taught by Greek natives. It's good to see if you have one of these locally if you want face-to-face teaching, groups vary in size but my group typically stuck to 5-6 people while others could have at most 9 (junior groups).

6. Pen-palling - there are many ways to meet people on the internet and this has been a strong helper for me. Or if you prefer to meet in person similarly any kind of friends advert will work, this helps you as you have a local that can also show you the area, teach you the less "class-taught" Greek (i.e. stuff they'd never dare tell you in professional programs but you're likely to hear a lot ) it works both ways too as a lot of Greeks are eager to improve their English.

7. I think someone mentioned it already, but there are some Greek proficiency lessons in Greece itself (though more likely if you're moving to a city) that are for free. Do some research on this as it may be best to learn when you get there as it's a fully immersive experience.

And that's about it for free! Other paid options: programs, courses (in greece), courses (in whichever country you're coming from), tutoring, workbooks/handbooks/cds

Hope I helped at least a bit :3 everyone has different methods of learning that appeal to them most (though I can see some pretty mixed reviews on rosetta stone), so investigating different options to find what suits you best is really your main priority, then go from there on specifics.


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## Roderick (Apr 1, 2012)

Finding the method of learning that works best for you is the most important thing. The best thing about Rosetta Stone is that it caters for Visual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic learners so it incorporates just about everyone. I seem to have spent half my life looking at Flash Cards and although they were a great help with vocabulary (as in the nouns) nothing else seemed to enter my head. I also have the Michael Thomas course and just gave it an hour of my time and I reckon it would be great for drivers, especially those of you who are regularly stuck in traffic jams.


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