Subscription to Rosetta Stone Review
DISCLOSURE -THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.
Reviewed by Deborah Banasko
Rosetta Stone is a language learning platform, where you can access lessons, flashcards and have conversations to improve your proficiency in your chosen language.
The name of the company is interestingly taken from an ancient stone slab that helped people to read Egyptian Hieroglyphs.
I was really pleased to receive this review for a couple of reasons; from a personal point of view, I felt it would be nice to travel abroad and not feel so ridiculous when venturing away from the tourist areas and ordering food in a restaurant. A nice new hobby to have with my morning brew! It also seemed like a good way to reinforce my two older children’s learning of languages at school, particularly my son who is learning languages for the first time at high school.
I actually work in a school and it did occur to me that this could be a fantastic tool for EAL students (English as an Additional Language).
Getting started was really simple. A link was sent to my email, and I just entered my email address along with an activation code and my full name. This directed me to reset the password. Once your account is created you have access to the site in full and can get started, and this can work on your laptop or phone.
You are initially presented with 25 languages to choose from, each with a beautiful accompanying photograph. Remember you can learn more than one language and change at any time (if you are more talented than I am). You can then choose from various tabs; Learning Path, Chat Missions, Flashcards and Saphire Studio.
Learning path is broken down into a wide range of units such as shopping, dining etc. From the perspective of a new learner like myself this is fantastic and really cements learning. For example you are presented with pictures and an associated word/phrase is spoken aloud to you. Each phrase is presented with other similar phrases (for example “he drinks”, “she drinks”, “he eats” “she eats”), and you are tested on your ability to match the phrase to the picture. Next, with your microphone turned on you can say the phrases out loud; you must pronounce them correctly or you will get them marked incorrect!
As my son is in year 7, these units are ideal for him as he can dip into topics as he covers them in class in order to cement learning as well as learn some additional details so that he can show off a little. It’s great as a new learner from my perspective as I can see progression, and focus on areas that I am more interested in. You can spend just a few minutes on smaller sections if that’s the only time you have as well.
Chat Missions allow you to select a topic and enter into a typed conversation with an AI chatbot. My daughter is in year 10 and has studied German for just over 3 years. She found the Chat Missions especially useful as she could apply her knowledge and think about how she could improve her answers. The only drawback was that there were no tools which allowed her to add non-English language features. However the bot corrected and added these for her, so she could identify any errors that she may have made. It shows popular conversations to take part in, and you have the option of translating the Bot’s replies should you need some help. My daughter loved these and found them quite addictive. I’m still at the very basic level but it’s great to see what I can work towards achieving as I can appreciate how much my daughter gets from this feature.
The flashcards are the traditional format you’ll be used to, however this takes the work out of making them for yourself which is fantastic, and they can be shuffled into a different order which is a nice touch. These are great for testing your knowledge, especially for my year 7 son when he has his end of unit tests. Below the flashcard are other associated words which you can read and listen to.
The Sapphire Studio has matching games which are great to test knowledge, and quirky AI features such as generating an email on a topic of your choice in any language, with a full breakdown of phrases to use and their translation. There was a similar facility to adapt any written text to match your language level, which is good for learning but I may need to keep an eye on my kids for cheating on their homework!
The graphics are of a high standard and appealing to a range of ages (I would say possible age 10 and above) which helps with learning.
Getting started could perhaps be improved with some explanation, as you find yourself clicking icons and figuring out how to start it without much guidance. My daughter feels that she would like some form of progress levels, with a unit test to pass before you can move on. This wasn’t an issue for me, as it is more about the learning of a language so I think this is a personal thing about how we like to learn and whether we need a reward.
The cost to subscribe is £15.99 per month, or if you opt to pay yearly it is £129 in total (which works out at £10.75 per month). There is a 14-day money- back guarantee for peace of mind. I think this is an excellent price and would absolutely recommend this as a way to start to learn a new language as you can spend a few minutes or an hour at a time each day, dipping in and out.
When kids hit their teens they become impossible to buy for, so this would be ideal for someone who really loves languages. Equally, anyone can learn something new at any age, but going to college isn’t always that easy. This subscription would make a thoughtful Christmas gift for anyone who likes to keep their brain active, or who just loves to travel.
Rating: 4.5/5.
RRP: Subscription to Rosetta Stone costs £15.99 per month, or if you opt to pay yearly it is £129
You can subscribe to Rosetta Stone here: https://uk.rosettastone.com/buy/gift