Have you checked any Rosetta Stone reviews yet? If you’re still unsure if this language-learning software is good for you, we have gathered some valuable info about it.
For instance, our in-depth research discovered TruAccent – the feature that singles out Rosetta Stone. This speech recognition engine helps you practice your pronunciation until you sound like a native.
Keep reading our review and see if Rosetta Stone has something you need.
Pros & Cons
Pricing Plans
3-Month Plan
$11.99
Billed as one payment
One language
12-Month Plan
$7.99
Billed as one payment
One language
Lifetime Plan
$179
One-time payment
Includes all 25 languages
Features, Courses, and Materials
Rosetta Stone uses modern technology to simulate the way people learn their native languages. It covers all language skills (speaking, reading, listening, and writing) without relying on traditional language learning methods. The language learning software opened the door to innovative education for learners of all ages worldwide by offering more than 20 Rosetta Stone languages learned through natural immersion.
Each language program lets you set up your personal plan based on your level and the learning goal. The precise plan overview informs you how much time the lessons take daily, weekly, and total.
Still, it’s possible to skip classes and do the ones you prefer first.
Freedom of choice is a crucial feature of self-paced learning, especially for children. That’s why Rosetta Stone has a Homeschool program designed for young learners. We have tested and described it in the next couple of paragraphs.
Rosetta Stone Homeschool Review
When compared to adults, children learn languages much more effortlessly. Hence, the Homeschool Program is a powerful tool that naturally introduces the complexities of a second language to children.
Rosetta Stone started as a technologically enhanced program for learning languages naturally. But what is the natural way of learning a foreign language?
It works by teaching children how to use certain words or sentences in real-life situations. There are no drills or endless repetitions. The exercises cover multiple topics, such as greetings, work & school, shopping, etc.
Rosetta Stone reviews have shown that the Homeschool program focuses on learning the basics of the new language from scratch but not by comparing it to the child’s mother tongue.
The TruAccent speech recognition technology mentioned above analyzes and corrects the child’s pronunciation from the beginning. In fact, the parents can see the progress data for every module and each lesson.
If you use the same email address to log in, the system will sync the progress data across devices and the Rosetta Stone app.
Rosetta Stone App Review
This excellent product is available as a desktop, Android, and iOS app. The language library is the same on every device.
What’s more, your progress is synced, provided the email is the same.
The interface is simple, responsive, and intuitive. When you open the app, you have your custom plan outlined.
The other tabs you see are Learn and Extended Learning with stories and the audio companion for when you want to switch to audio lessons. Applying for Live Tutoring is possible, as well.
Now, during the trial, the Rosetta Stone download for any platform is free. After that, you need to purchase a plan to continue using it.
The Android app is Editor’s Choice with a 4.6 rating, whereas the iOS app ranks 42nd in the Education category with a 4.8 rating.
Currently, only the iOS Rosetta Stone app users can apply the Seek & Speak feature to expand their vocabulary.
It works like this: you see an object, scan it with your camera, and the app translates the name of that object to the language you are learning.
You can take pics that essentially become your lessons.
Wait until you see what the language library offers.
Rosetta Stone Language Review
Rosetta Stone is famous for its rich language library. It features 25 languages and seven endangered languages from native communities across North America.
Those are:
- English (British, American)
- Spanish (Spain, Latin America)
- French
- Italian
- German
- Arabic
- Chinese (Mandarin)
- Dutch
- Filipino (Tagalog)
- Greek
- Hebrew
- Hindi
- Irish
- Japanese
- Korean
- Persian (Farsi)
- Polish
- Portuguese (Brazil)
- Russian
- Swedish
- Turkish
- Vietnamese
Regardless of your choice, the app will ask you about your level (beginner, intermediate, or proficient) and your learning goal (for traveling, work, family, or the basics and beyond).
Our team of researchers has checked out the most popular programs. This is what they have found out.
Rosetta Stone Irish Review
You can learn the Irish program for traveling, family, work, basics, and beyond. It’s suitable for all learners: beginners, intermediate, and proficient.
Based on your initial preferences, the topics in the plan vary. Suppose you already have basic knowledge of Irish. And now you want to be able to use it for traveling. The classes will be related to currencies, destinations, scheduling, and directions, among others.
All plans last six weeks and require 30 minutes of daily work five days per week.
By the way, if you’re interested in learning languages to be a tourist, check out our Babbel Review for more options.
Rosetta Stone Spanish Review
The Spanish language spoken in Latin America differs from the one spoken in Spain, mainly in terms of vocabulary and pronunciation. The Rosetta Stone app covers both of them.
Luckily, the speech recognition engine is sophisticated enough to teach you both pronunciations.
Vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation exercises are separated.
Pronunciation is a prominent aspect of the Spanish language. This is where the Rosetta Stone app exceeds.
The words in the pronunciation exercises are divided into utterances. And you get to repeat after the voice recording until the speech engine rates it good enough.
Rosetta Stone Japanese Review
First, the app greets you in Japanese. If you already know the basics, you’ll find it amusing.
The higher your proficiency level, the more lessons there are in the plan.
The lesson structure and the type of exercise are the same as in the other programs. However, learners of the Japanese language have access to On-demand videos.
These videos reveal nuggets about Japanese culture. For example, there’s a video on how to sharpen Japanese knives. The names of knives will appear on the screen as the man in the video uses them.
Rosetta Stone Mandarin Review
Chinese belongs to the group of most difficult languages to learn.
Learners from all over the world can have problems managing the pronunciation of Mandarin, apart from the vast number of symbols.
The listen and repeat exercise is vital for the official dialect of Chinese. It puts words and sentences into contexts that give clear hints about their meaning.
There aren’t grammar explanations, but you get a general idea of the language structure. Besides, you can listen to and read many stories to get used to the melody of the language.
Rosetta Stone Arabic Review
The Arabic language program centers around the spoken and written Modern Standard Arabic language. The primary course goal is to teach people how to speak and understand Arabic in real-life situations.
This is achieved by combining visual and audio cues similar to those found in everyday life.
Thanks to immersive language learning, you can pick up even ancient languages with high inflection, such as Arabic.
Ease of Use
Two steps – that’s how far almost everything in Rosetta Stone is. Starting the free trial, setting the plan, entering the desired lesson, and renewing your subscription. All of these require minimum effort.
Rosetta Stone reviews have often praised the company for its straightforwardness. It seems to be the underlying concept of the whole system.
Owing to the logical structure of the interface, there’s no need to wander.
And the account menu lists the most relevant stuff for you only: Edit Profile, My Account, My Reports, My Achievements, and Refer a Friend.
The pricing is quite transparent. You can see all the charges on the official website; there are no hidden fees to surprise you later. You can read more about the Terms and Conditions on the same website.
Or in the next paragraph. It’s up to you.
Rosetta Stone Price
The pricing model is the same for every language from the catalog and the Homeschool Program. Schools and enterprises, however, have to request pricing.
Students have four options:
- a three month subscription for $11.99/ month
- a 12-month subscription for $7.99/ month
- a Lifetime plan with Unlimited Languages for a one-time payment of $179.
Subscriptions renew automatically, but you can turn off the auto-renewal anytime. Also, you can’t transfer them to anyone else.
The good news is that you can test all the features during the three-day Rosetta Stone free trial. The 30-day money-back guarantee is even better, so you shouldn’t worry too much about the plan’s cost.
We have found another fascinating detail about Rosetta Stone. Apparently, the Unlimited Languages feature includes access to <b>all languages</b> as long as the subscription lasts. It’s possible to switch between the languages with no additional charge, which rarely happens on language learning platforms.
From time to time, they change the platform by adding or removing features. For the time being, the Rosetta Stone lifetime subscription gives you access to the purchased language product for the lifetime of the product. But, they retain the right to remove this option at any time.
The next part says more about Rosetta Stone’s user impressions.
Online Ratings
Users worldwide have described Rosetta Stone as one of the best language learning software because it’s flexible and easy to use.
They say that the lessons follow a logical path, giving them a sense of continuity. Learners find the possibility of redoing the exercises helpful because they can go back and see what they did wrong.
The company consistently earns 4.1 out of 5-stars on Trustpilot. Many complaints center on updates that the company made to its operating system when it phased out Adobe Flash Player. While we understand the user’s ire in these cases, it is slightly unfair.
They bought courses years ago, never accessed them, and now have no means to do so because the company no longer supports those programs. In today’s fast-paced world, that’s a common occurrence, especially since many many companies, Google included, are moving away from flash players.
The Rosetta Stone cost isn’t something the users complain about. On the contrary, they feel they are getting value for money. They love its wide choice of languages fit for every level.
Regarding the software’s features, the TruAccent engine is the most often mentioned one.
Without it, the app couldn’t perform its primary function – pronunciation improvement.
One of the users thinks the Rosetta Stone app is an excellent addition to another language course that doesn’t deal with pronunciation too much.
The parents whose children have the Rosetta Stone Unlimited Languages feature say that it helped them study for the classroom language classes.
The lack of explicit grammar explanations is subtle learning for some. For others, it’s a huge problem. Users feel that they often have to guess the correct answer. Grammar points after each question would make them more confident, they say.
Perhaps you should check out the Italki Review if you agree.
Beginners often struggle because there’s no translation. Everything is in the target language. This is particularly true of exotic languages with unique alphabets, such as Korean or Hindi.
A Rosetta Stone review has indicated that the content is the same across all language programs. It looks like the original content in English has been translated into all the other languages.
Although the pictures show all kinds of people, the context doesn’t seem to match the culture of the language.
Rosetta Stone Pros and Cons
Pros:
- You can choose from 25 languages for any level.
- Self-paced plans are generated according to your learning goal.
- Vocabulary and grammar are illustrated with real-life examples.
- The Seek&Speak feature is currently available in the iOS mobile app for English (American), Italian, French, German, and Spanish (Latin America). (Android version coming soon)
- The Rosetta Stone lifetime plan is a one-time payment without additional renewal charges.
Cons:
- There aren’t any grammar instructions.
- The courses are in the target language only, which can be inconvenient.
Final Verdict
All this being said, the Rosetta Stone is a tremendous language-learning program with good features.
Rosetta Stone is a perfect choice for those seeking an opportunity to improve their listening and speaking skills substantially.
In addition, people who want to practice writing in a gamified way would find it fun.
The intuitive grammar exercises shouldn’t discourage you. After all, Rosetta Stone is all about the immersive way of learning, not the textbook-like style.