Rosetta Stone Latin

[paulusnb]

This has probably been posted before, but the forums are not searchable pre-hack................


Has anyone fooled with the rather expensive Rosetta Stone Latin software? It seems there is only a level 1? Is Rosetta any good? It is kind of pricey (over 200$ !!!!!!!!!!!). I ask for two reasons:

1) I am thinking about it for my daughters' latin in the future

2) I want to learn Italian and thought about Rosetta

[Bretonus]

I can't speak for the Italian, but the Latin, if it costs more than $20, isn't worth it. You'll learn a handful of nouns and verbs, nothing of Roman culture, and there are far better sources for audio files online. Lingua Latina Pars I will put you far beyond what Rosetta Stone can do.

[Cathexis]

Rosetta Stone offers about 30 or 40 languages in anywhere form Level I to Level III.
(They may be coming out with level IV for Spanish Latin America at some point.)
Not all offer even three levels and Latin is Level I only. In general, Rosetta Stone's
program content will do a good job teaching but,..
These are some issues you might want to be aware of;
1. Depth. A Level I Latin would be VERY basic as Bretonus stated.

2. Cost. ALL Rosetta Stone Programs are incredibly over-priced.

3. Compatibility. Pay attention to that issue. People are always trying to hack RS-ware so it is VERY
protected. For example, I have Roxio - a cd/dvd burner that came gratis with my PC. Nice proggie.
But RS-ware will refuse to load some products if it senses Roxio or any prog that can burn .iso images.
Even worse is Vista (which I have at home). Older RS-ware requires work-arounds to load. RS has put
out new vers. but older ones are still on merchant shelves and I know that Latin was one that was low
on the list so check the actual box if you buy.

On the plus side, what RS does do it does pretty well. Most report it improves their confidence which it does
by cleverly staging its lessons and glossing over with lots of multi-media - although that is much better in the
newer versions and is Latin one? Uncertain. The main determinants are your daughter and your wallet. My
daughter has taken Latin since 8th grade U.S. and is quite content to just do the class assignments and go
blithly off to TV, facebook, or whatever a teeenager would want to do.

I don't know your daughter's age so your mileage may vary. My guess is if she's motivated to learn than she
would likely enjoy the program - notice the commercials always emphasize the "Method", not necessarily
the content. Hhmmm. But is it worth the bucks ? Your decision.

Hope this helps,

Cathexis

[Lucus Eques]

I concur fully with Bretonus; Lingua Latina is by far the most effective, and in my opinion the most enjoyable.

[paulusnb]

I am aware of most of the textbooks out there. My daughter is four, so Lingua Latina is far away. I was curious if anyone had any firsthand experience with the Latin Rosetta program. I was thinking Rosetta Italian for me and pondering Rosetta Latin for my daughter in two years. I think that 200$ sounds like too much. I was and am inclined to not purchase. No one has changed my mind.