Rosetta Stone French 1 and 2

by Dee
(Pennsylvania)

"One aspect of the software that I noticed was that even if you had no idea what a correct choice was, you could often choose the correct one by guessing, taking a visual clue from the picture or the process of elimination."

This is exactly the problem I have with Rosetta Stone. Sometimes I'll choose a correct answer and not even know what it says.

I took French for two years in high school, but didn't really learn anything because I didn't care. My college didn't have a language requirement, so here I am. I love going to Montreal, so I really want to learn French now. I've used grammar books and such over the years enough to have a basic understanding of French, and I can read it a little to get by. I'm on level 1 of the software now. I practice for about an hour almost every day, but I don't feel that I'm learning anything. I've learned words for some things I didn't know like "car" and "bird" and shapes, but the way the learning steps are presented seems kind of random, and they go from easy to daunting. I'm getting no less than 90% on my test scores, but I honestly am more confused about French now than when I started, and I don't feel I'm learning. Does that even make sense? I'm very confused about how this program works within my own brain, and I wonder if it even will work in the end.

I like the total immersion method, but I really think they need to provide a book of translations--if for nothing else, than just for nouns. I think the connector words and verbs begin to make sense, but if you don't know what a noun is at all, you can still click a picture and get the correct answer. I don't like that. There are often times I'd like to look up a word before I choose the answer. So, keep an online French/English dictionary open while I practice now.

I enjoy using it, and I like it, but I find Rosetta Stone to be frustrating.