Questionable At Best

by James Intrabartola
(Philadelphia, PA, USA)

I purchased Rosetta Stone to learn Korean before I went to Korea for a year. I never looked at Korean or any Asian language for that matter. Immediately I knew that it was based on memorization, not comprehension. After a few lessons I was very disappointed and only retained a few words... based on guessing.

Overall, I was expecting more of a break down and an understanding of the language. Also, I was expecting to learn more useful, conversation language. I really think this product is geared toward spanish and other roman based alphabets. An Asian language is too complex for the average user. I quickly became board and frustrated as I continued to guess more and more. I also think it's much more important to learn more conversation and useful information from the beginning to get the student motivated and interested.

From what I learned in Korea, it is much easier to learn the alphabet, then learn to listen, speak and write the language. Rosetta Stone does not take this approach. Even beyond this fact, Rosetta Stone is based on repetition and memorization. I don't feel that is the best way to comprehend and speak the language. Overall, I was very dissatisfied and don't recommend it to anyone, especially beginners.