Rosetta Stone Version 3
Online Subscription Version
Product Review

Rosetta Stone now offers a way to enjoy its language learning products without buying the software.  All you need is a fast Internet service, and you can use Rosetta Stone's subscription-based online course.  The latest edition of Rosetta Stone, version 3, is now out and more and more languages are becoming available online.

Initially, what most users find great about the online version is the cost.  The simplest Rosetta Stone software package costs over $200 and is limited in what it offers.  With the online subscription, you can get 3 months for a little over $100, or 6 months for a little over $150.  And, the online version includes every level of the language that you choose.

The online subscription Version 3 of Rosetta Stone kicked off with the 10 most popular languages, with Chinese and Latin American Spanish being their biggest sellers.  The Latin American Spanish course, which teaches a dialect of Spanish most useful in the modern world, was the first.  New languages will be added in the coming months and years.

How The Rosetta Stone Works

Rosetta Stone's online subscription course is a lot more fun than sitting and staring at a textbook.  The program uses colorful images and real native speakers' voices to make the course engaging and fun, as well as realistic.

The method is called "Dynamic Immersion," and the idea is to teach you the target language the same way you learned your first language as a child.  What this means is that there is no translation, no explanation of grammar, and no drills.  From the very beginning, the course is taught completely in the target language, and you are given immediate feedback whether your answer is right or wrong.  Just like a little kid, you learn through trial and error.  It gives you a more direct experience of the language.

The screen shows you 4 pictures and gives you a word in the new language.  You have to choose the right picture.  You don't have a dictionary or any hints to guide you, and that is the point.  Through identifying sound with image, without translating it into English first in your head, you acquire a natural ability in the second language.

The course starts with simple vocabulary like "dog," "girl" and "boy" and moves on to tougher stuff.  It gives you immediate feedback so you know if you were right or not, and with each progressive course it reviews what came before so you don't forget.

But, is this method effective?  The Rosetta Stone is used by the US Military, NASA, Fortune 500 companies, libraries and over 10,000 language schools all over the world.  This is a pretty good resume, but if you're not convinced, talk to someone who has tried the program.  Most will tell you that Rosetta Stone gave them the real-life language experience they needed.  It's the closest thing to being immersed in a foreign culture, but at a fraction of the cost.

Interacting With The Language

All of Rosetta Stone's software has interactive features which make it more fun and effective for you to learn the desired language.  For example, you can choose between 4 different types of presentation.  You can hear the word and choose the image.  If you would like to challenge yourself, you can set it so that it shows you a picture and you have to choose between 4 spoken words.  Likewise, you can choose to be given a written word, and pick among 4 pictures.  Or, you can pick among 4 written texts with one picture.

There are settings that allow you to control the speed at which it gives you the information.  If you want to challenge yourself, you can make it faster.  Or, if you want to test your real knowledge of the words and not rely so much on pictures, you can set the delay mode.  The delay mode allows you to hear the word and try to remember the image before it shows them to you.

New Features In Rosetta Stone 3.0

Version 3 has some new features that add to the effectiveness of the program.  There are expanded speech analysis options so that you can compare your pronunciation to that of a native speaker of the language. 

It also includes new features that put you right into real-life situations where you have to use the language.  The Contextual Formation feature and Milestone feature put you into real, daily-life situations where you can practice the new language.  The program gives you feedback right away to let you know how you did.

Probably the most important new features is Adaptive Recall.  The earlier versions of Rosetta Stone keep track of your progress for you so that you can see how you are doing.  Version 3 goes one step further with this feature.  It not only tells you how you're doing, but analyzes your strengths and weaknesses and makes recommendations of what you should work on.  It's like having a personal tutor that can help you work on your weak points.

All of the lessons in Version 3 are completely new.  This means new words, new images and new native voices.  They have not simply added new lessons to the old course, but created an entirely new course.  Different language courses are structured a little differently, but all have new lessons.

Specs And Technical Details

The subscription based Version 3 is compatible to almost any operating system, whether Mac or PC.  All you need is a high speed Internet connection, browser and Flash plug-in.  Most users find it convenient to be able to access their language lessons anywhere, as long as they have a computer.

Rosetta Stone's customer help desk is available if you get in any trouble.  They have an auto-renew function so that you don't have to worry about the subscription suddenly stopping in mid-lesson.

On their site, you can check out a free demo version of Rosetta Stone Version 3's online subscription course.