Rosetta Stone Reviews: Not So Effective As Others [2023 Edition]
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Rosetta Stone Review
Not every day is the day when you decide to learn a totally new dialect for yourself. The reasons can be different. You might be trying to get a student VISA of a particular or just simply trying to learn the language of your forefathers.
Whatever the reason is, learning a dialect is a long and hard journey which is not going to get fully completed without a dialect mastering program. But what kind of program should you choose?
That’s a really good question and depends mostly on only one thing. The target language you are trying to learn. But if you are thinking about the online learning stream rather than physical, you can get a lot of diverse options.
Why choose the online learning stream?
It’s the year 2021 we are living in not 1981! If someone asks what’s the biggest technological advantage of the year 2021 has over the last century, the answer quite simple, the power of internet.
We have now got the chance of getting any kind of education from the comfort of our home. Much thanks to the events that followed the aftermath of the pandemic.
That’s why, the online learning platforms has brought their game up to a whole new remarkable level. So, if you are looking to learn and speak a language with the native pronunciation and writing transcript, online platforms are the best choice.
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Challenges you are going to face
Lets be real honest here, it is a fact that online mode of learning indeed makes learning a language quite easy. But there are certain challenges as well that you are going to face in your journey to learn and speak a language.
For instance, most of the users find online learning stuff quite tough just because they have been taking physical classes throughout their life. This sudden shift in learning dynamics can make them quite confused throughout the course.
Users also report about the ‘lack of on the spot questioning’ when it comes to major online learning a language platforms.
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The art of mastering a new language
But there must be some trick or rule I can follow to learn a totally foreign language effectively!? Of course there is. The same rule that’s going to help you master any stuff at any point of your life.
Always fall forward. No matter if it took a whole week just to fully understand a particular grammatical rule. This week of learning is still way more better than a whole week of procrastination.
And when we talk about learning a foreign language, you are going to need this type of persistence a lot.
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World languages categories
According to FSI, CIA World Factbook, all the prominent languages around the globe are divide into 4 categories based on the fact that how hard it is for a complete beginner to fully master these languages.
- Category 4 contains the hardest to learn languages such as Arabic, Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean.
- Category 3 contains languages that are referred as ‘hard to learn’ but not as much as Category 4. These languages are Hindi, Russian, Thai, etc.
- Category 2 contains languages that are relatively ‘moderate’ to learn. The languages include German, Indonesian, Malay, etc.
- Category 1 includes the most easy to learn languages that any one can master such as Dutch, Romanian, Italian, etc.
But how much difficult a particular foreign language is also varies from learner to learner.
Image from babbel.com
Why is Rosetta Stone popular?
Welcome to Rosetta Stone!
Welcome to the all in one program to learn every single popular dialect currently spoken throughout the world. For every new language learning enthusiast, the Rosetta Stone setup is the ultimate platform to learn a foreign language effectively. Especially languages like Spanish, French, German, and English.
Over the years, Rosetta Stone has been indeed able to secure the top spot among major language learning programs. But every rise has a fall in the end.
With the sudden hype in online based education, Rosetta Stone hasn’t been able to keep up with the already evolving technology. this eventually resulted in the downfall of Rosetta Stone.
Image from schooleducationgateway.com
The Rosetta Stone User Interface
Quite recently, the Rosetta Stone user interface went through a change in the user interface after quite some time. With the new and improved speech recognition as well as addition of new learn a language groups, Rosetta Stone has tried to adapt itself with the upgrading technology.
But if we talk about a complete ‘Rosetta Stone learn a Language Interface’ overview, things are pretty much same as the last version.
The levels, unit, and lessons structuring per dialect is still the same. The administrator reporting and evaluation category are also at their usual place like in the previous interface.
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Have you made the right choice?
If you ask me about the whole stone rosetta setup and have you made the right choice or not, you haven’t made the right decision as a beginner. In order to learn word and phrases of a mother language effectively, Rosetta Stone is not the best option you can choose.
You might be surprised but if you a take a survey today, most of the current dialect enthusiast who were total beginners a few years back will not recommend Rosetta Stone.
And in my opinion, it is simple because Rosetta Stone’s lack of ability to adapt with modern language learning trends.
Image from slideshare.net
The Rosetta Stone mode of teaching
So, you might be thinking about the Rosetta Stone program and how it actually teaches you to any foreign language you prefer.
The Rosetta Stone’s mode of teaching a new language is solely based on the audio based lessons and practices. All these lessons are aided with the truaccent speech recognition to help you better understand how the exact native pronunciations go.
While using Rosetta Stone, you are you’re own supervisor. In simple words, stuff like course pace and course levels is totally up to you. The same thing goes with built-in tests and exercises.
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Ignorable flaws of the Rosetta Stone setup!
Lets talk about the common flaws that are associated with any online dialect mastering program, including Rosetta Stone.
First, you are going to need a stable internet connection or it will be quite difficult for you to be recognized as one of the best dialect learners on your respective program.
Second, if you are using the desktop version / website of Rosetta Stone setup, you are going to have some know how of exactly a computer works.
Third, new language learners often report about not being able to access their so far progress data i.e. previously taken tests, completed exercises, practices, etc. Don’t need to panic, you can resolve this issue 9 out of 10 time by contacting the respective customer support.
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Dreams Shattering flaws of the Rosetta Stone setup!
The above was the list of some common issues faced by not one language learner but a number of users on all major online subscription based programs. Now, lets talk about some issues that are strictly associated with using Rosetta Stone.
- According to a recent Rosetta Stone review, the words and phrases included in the course structure aren’t upgraded with the latest changes. Especially if you’re trying to learn a Latin American language.
- Instead of building confidence in you, Rosetta Stone keeps you repeating easy to learn repetitive words and phrases. You can’t speak like a native speaker this way.
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Hefty Subscriptions!
In my opinion, the quality of dialect knowledge Rosetta Stone actually provides regarding any mother dialect is not enough to justify their hefty subscription charges, period.
for a 3 month subscription plan, Rosetta Stone charges 36 USD, for a 6 month plan 66 USD, and for a 12 month subscription plan the charges go all the way up to 96 USD.
Thinking that their voice recognition based language learning technology is quite spectacular, Rosetta Stone does offers a lifetime access plan for 179 USD. But this hasn’t affected any of the popular review about Rosetta Stone still.
Image from slideshare.net
Is there no chance for the Rosetta Stone setup to get back on track?
Well in my review, Rosetta Stone’s spot as being the top online dialect mastering program is long gone now. And up to a level where coming back is not an option anymore. you will find the same thing mentioned in most of the Rosetta Stone review.
However, there is pretty solid review available online that has mentioned some of the strategies Rosetta Stone can adapt to get back on the track.
First, they need to stop bragging about their speech recognition feature as if it’s answer to all your language learning related problems.
Second, they need to upgrade their words and phrases structure for every language included in the Rosetta Stone’s platform. Especially the Rosetta Stone Dutch.
My observation
Although it has been quite sometime since the last time I personally used Rosetta Stone learning a new language. One experience was enough for my to start looking for a better option.
But I have been in touch with the Rosetta Stone development by going through every latest Rosetta Stone review.
And in the light of a credible review I went through quite recently, Rosetta Stone’s Speech Recognition based learning tactics aren’t doing great anymore.
Your next move!
Hey, don’t worry if you have already paid for the Rosetta Stone subscription. I am going to teach you the exact steps you can follow to get most out of the Rosetta stone’s language learning program learners.
But in the mean time, you can also look for other reliable dialect mastering platforms and resources to effectively make up for any lost time. And here’s the fun part, a good number of such language learning programs are also free to access.
Some best options you can opt for other than Rosetta Stone are, Pimsleur, Babbel, Baselang and Preply.
How to use Rosetta Stone Effectively?
Get a suitable subscription price plan!
Speaking about the best steps you could take to get the most out of your Rosetta Stone’s subscription price plan. Well, the first step is related to something that you need to do before getting into the Rosetta Stone program.
Choose the best subscription price plan that’s suitable for you! Look, we all are going through different life choices and scenarios at the moment. Don’t go for the high-price plans just because Rosetta Stone’s advertising strategies.
Even if you got the time to go through a credible feedback regarding the program, you could easily know that all the links and related exercises are common among all subscription price plans.
Watch some informative YouTube tutorials
So, you are a pre planner just like myself? That’s really great and is definitely going to help you in your language learning journey further.
What’s the best way of finding anything about something you haven’t even heard about before? If you talk about the 21st century alone, it’s definitely the YouTube. Ignore all the online advertising for a moment and focus on the useful content of the video.
Oh, and don’t forget about the comment section associated with every single YouTube video. Whenever I am looking for credible information or comparison of a specific topic, I specifically take a look at the comment section associated with the relative video.
Image from edutopia.com
Get a solid workplan
Now, you have gathered enough information regarding the Rosetta Stone’s dialect mastering program and also got a feedback of your own regarding the overall structure of the platform.
Time to put everything aside and writing word by word exactly what could possibly be your workplan to effectively use the Rosetta Stone setup. Trust me, one thing that’s going to help all kind of learners equally is getting a solid workplan before starting to work on anything.
If you could write it down for a day-to-day basis till you expectedly going to reach your goal, that will be great!
The power of organizing a timetable
Quite a remarkable progress you have shown so far. Quite impressive indeed. Now, only one thing to do is left before you can head back to the Rosetta Stone’s interface and start your journey.
Dividing and allocating your time to certain things throughout the day is one of the most highly valuable traits you could possibly have. Forget about apps or links that offer to set a timetable for you.
The best way to set a timetable is to sit down and write word to word exactly the timetable you want to follow in order to achieve your goal.
Selecting the appropriate course pace
Congratulations, you have successfully completed all the pre requisites before heading towards Rosetta Stone’s interface. No matter if you have selected the ‘high price’ subscription price plan or a standard one, Rosetta Stone will be wanting you to select a suitable pace for yourself.
Now, this decision is totally going to depend upon you. If you’re a fast learner and believe that you can ace the target language with a fast pace, go with the fast pace option.
But for majority of the users, the standard moderate pace option will do just fine.
Finding your way through the user interface
First time using Rosetta Stone? Indeed, for first time learners, the Rosetta Stone interface could be quite confusing even if they have gone through links and tutorials before.
If we talk about an overview, the Rosetta Stone interface is primarily divide into various languages that Rosetta Stone offers to teach. According to user reviews, this is just a ‘first-time login’ issue and the home page will automatically reset if you have selected the target language.
once the dialect is selected, the interface divides into multiple levels and lessons that you need to cover step by step.
Image from slideshare.net
Always say yes to free trials!
One thing I almost forgot to mention. If you don’t feel comfortable about paying the subscription price before practically going through the Rosetta Stone setup, you can always go with the free trial option.
If I am not wrong, Rosetta Stone does indeed offers a three day free trial of the complete program to first time learners. No need to click on random links on irrelevant websites to get the free trial.
All you need to do is access the Rosetta Stone’s official webpage and click on the free trial option. This will lead you to a signup page for account creation and stuff.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT ROSETTA STONE
Focusing on audio perception skills
Now, lets talk about what exactly you are going to get within the lessons and practices offered by the Rosetta Stone. You can pick up any of the Rosetta Stone review, Rosetta Stone uses audio based lesson, word, or phrase learning techniques in its tutoring sessions more than anything. Especially in terms of Dutch, Latin, French, etc.
So, in my opinion, you are going to focus on the audio perception abilities more than visual perception.
It may seem a bit strange but Rosetta Stone has been teaching languages through this method for years on end now.
What if something is not right?
I was waiting for you to come to this part. Lets say your review regarding the Rosetta Stone language setup isn’t good anymore. You were dreaming about learning new languages through the Rosetta Stone program, but instead the lessons you are getting are not justifying the price you paid.
Or, the audio based learning standards of Rosetta Stone Spanish specifically, aren’t enough or suitable for you. And sadly, you have already the subscription price. What are your options now? Some other online subscription price plan.
According to my review, trying to resolve the issues you are facing is the best option you have got in this situation.
Can you contact customer support?
I understand, you want to be learning a foreign language to help you reach your goal soon. But as the time has passed, Rosetta Stone isn’t providing the quality content it was providing in the start.
Now, the first thought you could have in this situation is to contact support so they can resolve the course and lessons issue asap. But to be very honest, reviews regarding the Rosetta Stone’s language learners and future customer support aren’t that great.
My own review regarding the Rosetta Stone customer support is same. you can try all you want but there’s now ay you are going to get a refund in the first place.
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Popular Language and how Rosetta Stone deals with them
1) German
Origin
Only one dialect in human history is regarded as the dialect that influenced the dialect spoken by the ancient Roman Empire. Yes, you guessed it right, it is indeed German.
Although the exact origin of the German dialect is still unknown, just like every ancient dialect . Careful estimations show that it was originated in an area west of the city of Bonn, the current capital of Germany.
The first ever recorded German transcript found so far dates all the way back to the era of 1st century BC. An era when Ancient Roman Empire was about to come into existence.
Image from slideshare.net
Historical View
It was the same 1st century BC when the first ever German speaker contacted a Roman soldier. historians conclude that this interaction could be a result of the campaigns launched by Julius Caesar, the last Roman dictator before Rome turned into an Empire.
At the time of this interaction, all the current known dialects of the German language didn’t exist. the language was simply referred as the ‘Germanic language’.
After a few centuries, historians believed that the main Germanic divided into a group of languages that we call the ‘Germanic languages’ today.
Image from goodhousekeeping.com
Current World Stats
Even with a solid start in history like that, the German is merely a 10% of what it used to be a few centuries ago. Currently, there are around 130 million people in the world with German being their first language. Here’s a fun fact, Spanish, French are referred as the first dialect of majority of the world population.
According to the stats of 2021, only four countries are left having German as their official dialect . Germany, Luxembourg, Austria, and Luxembourg.
But with the level of technological advancement Germany is showing since the last decade, number of students who want to learn German in order to pursue education in Germany is getting quite high.
Transcript(s)
If we talk about the commonly used writing transcript related to German dialect today, you might be surprised but now, German is written using Latin Alphabets.
After taking lessons in the German word and phrase structure, you can easily understand that the whole German writing style contains 26 letters, 3 vowels, and one special character. This is why the German dialect is included in the Category 2 languages.
In terms of writing style, the German writers prefer using either Kurrent or the Latin cursive word style and structure.
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Class Category
There’s always one thing mentioned whenever an internet based dialect mastering program is advertising its grammar focusing lessons and price controlled subscription price plans that will enable you to learn German like a native. The fact that German is included in the Category 2 of FSI.
Especially if you belong to a nationality with English or Dutch being your mother dialect , learning German will be the most easiest task for you with a little determination.
Remember, one thing, there are language learning programs that may ask for a higher price in return for their lessons and services. Don’t fall in their advertising trap.
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Accent
In terms of accent, learning German can’t be that much difficult as compared to successfully repeat the pronunciation. According to historical perspective, German is one of the only ancient languages that has retained and combined both of its ancient and modern accent phonology.
What is phonology? So, phonology is basically the study of how various languages and their dialects categorize their respective pronunciation.
‘Buhnendeutsch’ or more commonly known as the ‘stage German’ is the pronunciation generally followed by the people residing in the Germany. However, the more advanced ‘Hanover’ pronunciation is also being adopted by the German dialect speakers.
Is Rosetta Stone an effective option to learn German?
If we particularly talk about the feedback regarding learning German dialect through Rosetta Stone program, every user based review shows quite satisfying remarks. But why is that?
The reason behind this is quite obvious. If we talk about the German dialect in particular, it is not a dialect that you can merely learn by focusing on the writing style. German is famous for its pronunciation.
And with the audio based learning lessons of the Rosetta Stone program, you are going to master the German pronunciation like a native. This will also help you build confidence to speak with the native speakers in German dialect as compared to other online subscription platforms.
How long will it take me to master German language?
The answer of this question depends on only one person, you. It depends on whether you are a fast learners or a learner who takes his/her time to learn any topic or dialect .
Lets say you are a fast learner using Rosetta Stone to learn German. Now, if you think cramming words or phrases is going you help master German fast, drop the idea in the very beginning. You can’t learn and speak a dialect like this.
But if you are more eager to focus on the grammar of the dialect . You have better chances of learning and then confidently speaking German more than anyone.
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Rosetta Stone approach for teaching
Time to talk about the official Rosetta Stone approach of teaching German. To provide a valid review/feedback of the whole program, I personally tested it out for some days. Of course I used the free trial feature to do so!
Now, if we ignore the lack of visual aids and application based lessons, the audio based German teaching approach of Rosetta Stone is quite effective in terms of mastering the pronunciation.
Here’s a quick revision question for you. What part of German language you must focus on the most? Correct answer! It is indeed the German pronunciation.
Best platform to learn German!
Well, for this particular case, my answer is going to be Rosetta Stone, period. This conclusion is not based on someone’s review/feedback but based on my very own research and experience.
The German pronunciation pack included in the Rosetta Stone program is quite amazing as well. It is indeed quite identical to a native speaker talking in German dialect .
So, what else can you possibly want to learn more? According to my review, the best way to check your understanding of a particular dialect is to try and speak the language like a native speaker.
2) Italian
Origin
What’s a native language? Well, if we take a look at the mere definition of the term, it is the language that’s spoken by the natives residing in an area. But for the people residing in those areas, the ‘native language’ is all they have as the historical continuation of their culture and traditions.
Among all world dialects, there are only 5 dialects that dates back to a time when mysticism was at its peak. A time we don’t know much about because of its remoteness from the modern era.
Originated among the lower class of ancient Roman Empire during an unknown time, Italian officially began to bloom out as a major language after the ‘fall of Rome’.
Image from schooleducationgateway.com
Historical View
Historically, there’s not much data available about the early days of Italian language or how it even originated. All the data we have is from the era of ‘Renaissance’ and onwards.
But we do know that Italian was a language used by the lower class Romans even before the time of Cleopatra.
Even after the ‘Renaissance’, Italian wasn’t much in the spotlight among Europe. But everything changed with just one single poem. in the year 1320 AD, Dante wrote ‘Divine Comedy’ in Italian which shook the world as soon as it got out.
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Current World Stats
As a language, Italian was never a widespread dialect like Spanish, French, German, and Latin back in its time and even today. In my very own review, surely ‘Divine Comedy’ raised the overall prestige of Italian to a whole another level.
But as a native or official language, it was never expected outside the walls of Vatican just because of its prestigious and high-class nature.
Today, there are around 67 million native Italian speakers in the world. Most of them residing in Vatican City and countries surrounding it.
Transcript(s)
Time to talk about the Italian transcript. The ‘Fall of Rome’ is estimated to be around a time when Latin and Spanish were considered as the top dialects of the era. That’s why to learn Spanish or Latin was considered to be the top level education back in the middle ages.
As Latin was more popular in the European region surrounding Constantinople, the Italian dialect which was still trying to thrive became heavily influenced by the Latin writing transcripts.
That’s why, words and sentences structuring for both Latin and Italian is almost the same even after so many years.
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Class Category
You might be surprised but Italian is considered to be a Category 1 dialect . One of the easiest to learn language of all times if your native language is English. But why exactly is that?
You see, every dialect dialect that officially came into existence after or during the Middle Ages is heavily influenced by Latin. Even most of the ‘English-medium’ schools offer Latin as an additional language to learn.
Now, like every major ‘Middle Ages’ dialect , English and Italian are heavy influenced by Latin both in terms of writing transcript and pronunciation. That’s why, English native speakers find it quite easy to learn Italian.
Accent
We know that the Italian writing script is influenced by Latin, but what about the accent? well, no one is exactly sure about how the Italian pronunciation came into existence. But we do know that its speaking dialects are effected by French and Spanish Latin more than any other language.
In the area of Central Italy, France, and Sicily, ‘Syntactic Gemination’ is the standard pronunciation used. But if we talk about areas like Northern Italy and Sardinia, there’s no standard for the pronunciation.
Just like the Latin American Spanish pronunciation, there’s no fixed standard for Italian accent of this region.
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Is Rosetta Stone an effective option to learn Italian?
In one word, No! Learning a language like Italian is not something that you can do by going through audio lessons. We already know that there is no hard and fast rule regarding the Italian accent.
The real essence of the Italian language lies within the centuries old text and script of Italian dialect . To be honest, the best method of learning a language effectively is to focus on its script.
But with Rosetta Stone audio lessons, learning a language as rich as Italian is not going to be the best choice you can make.
How long will it take me to master Italian language?
I can understand your urgency of learning a language like Italian. Studies show that 8 out 10 cases of learning a totally unknown language is associated with some kind of language based entrance exam you need to clear in order to get VISA approval for a particular country.
I can understand your urgency not because I have read about in some review/feedback. A few years back, I was facing the same issue but with a different dialect .
But here’s the trick to master your target language fast and effectively. Focus on grammar, that’s all that is going to build your confidence in your learning, boosting your spirits.
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Rosetta Stone approach for teaching
We already know that Rosetta Stone is a setup that’s mostly going to use audio based learning dynamics and tactics to help you learn your target language effectively.
The same thing goes when you try to learn Italian using Rosetta Stone Software. In reality, Rosetta Stone teaching method and approach for languages similar to Italian and Latin American Spanish is almost the same no matter which area you reside in.
As as soon as you will get access of the interface, the whole course will be divided into multiple lessons and levels you need to clear till you reach the end.
Best platform to learn Italian Online!
For a target language like Latin American Spanish or even like Italian, which is going to be the best platform in terms of learning? If you ask me, it is not going to be Rosetta Stone software or mobile application for sure.
But keeping in mind the general requirements for mastering dialects like Italian, the best option you can opt will be Duolingo.
The Duolingo target language learning setup is based on series of interactive lessons that are quite fun to solve and learn at the same time. That’s the power of Duolingo for you.
3) English
Origin
It’s the year 2021. Even if we take a rough estimation about the history of human dialects from the very, it will stretched over thousands of years. Even long before the time of the most ancient dialect proofs we have found so far.
But even with a history such vast, there’s only one language that has ever been regarded as the ‘global language’. In other words, I am talking about the English dialect .
Regarding the real origin of English language, we owe the favour to the 5th-6th century AD Anglo-Saxon immigrants of the Northwest Germany.
Image from youtube.com
Historical View
According to my research and going through some credible feedbacks in paper, unlike many popular dialects, English came into existence because of the immigrants who flooded a particular area at a particular time. The same way Latin American dialects, Dutch, Latin, French, German, and Japanese came into existence.
With the Anglo-Saxon immigrants moving towards the French, German, and Netherlands region of that time, people with various dialect backgrounds began to interact with each other.
As a result, a new dialect named ‘English’ came into existence which was a collaborative mixture of all the major dialects of that time. The same that happened with ‘Urdu’ after so many centuries later.
Image from onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Current World Stats
In any popular review, the term ‘native language’ describing English dialect is not just merely a tribute to the widespread and diversity of English as a language.
The term native language indeed mean that English is the only historical language that has been labelled as the ‘Global Language’.
Currently, the world population is around 7 billion individuals. Out of these 7 billion individuals, around 1.35 billion individuals are the ones having English as their native dialect or have the ability to fluently communicate in English regardless of the region they live in.
Transcript(s)
Among languages that are as old as English, it is quite uncommon to have a single word or phrase scripting style. But from the very start, the English script is the same that you and I know today.
The Latin scripture, more commonly known as the ‘Roman Script’ is the script that’s followed by English speakers around the globe, even the ones in the Latin American region.
The word or phrases structure is the same for everyone who speaks English. If you ask me to review this fact, I believe this is the very reason why English achieved the status of a Global dialect in such a short time.
Image from bilingua.io
Class Category
As a global language, English is not exactly placed or ranked in any class category. the reason behind this quite obvious, isn’t it?
The index that determines whether a word or phrase of a particular language is easy to learn or not uses English as the scale.
in other words, all the major languages around the globe today are categorized based on the fact that how hard it can be for an English speaker to mater these languages. this is how languages are categorized these days.
Accent
As English is a global language, can you tell about the number of popular English accents/dialects? Correct Answer! Two. Every kind of English language course or lesson is going to tell you exactly the same thing.
The English pronunciation school of though is divided between the American Accent and the British Accent. As the name already tell, the American Accent is associated with pronunciation used in America while the British Accent is associated with pronunciation used in England.
However, the difference between both the accents is quite small or even ignorable. But there’s a difference indeed that you can only capture when hearing both native speakers.
Image from goodhousekeeping.com
Is Rosetta Stone an effective option to learn English?
If you ask me, you already know that I am not going to recommend Rosetta Stone at any cost. in order to recommend Rosetta Stone someday, I am going to need to forget my previous experience with the software which is not possible anytime in the future.
But if I review the Rosetta Stone dynamics once again, there is a chance that a program like Rosetta Stone can be effective to learn the English pronunciations.
Rosetta Stone uses audio aids based course and lesson more than anything else, that’s why if you’re looking to focus on English pronunciation more than anything, Rosetta Stone program could be great tool.
How long will it take me to master English language?
First thing, i don’t think that 7 out of 10 users are even going to take more than a month to fully mater the English words or phrases with proper script and pronunciation. But, why is that?
You see, English is a Global Language that most of us already know. As compared other popular languages, we already must have gotten familiar with English at some level.
That’s why, most of the times using a software like Rosetta Stone to learn English is going to be quite easy.
Image from techcrunch.com
Rosetta Stone approach for teaching
Surprisingly, the Rosetta Stone approach for allowing its user to learn English is quite different from other languages available on the program. from my very own review, you can experience a sense of change in the approach from the very start.
Knowing very well about the widespread nature of English as compared to other languages, the first thing that pops up on the screen is a dialogue box allowing the user to select his level of familiarity with the English dialect .
Now, the Rosetta Stone program will set the course/lesson dynamics according to the selected level of familiarity.
Best platform to learn English!
Even though, Rosetta Stone program is quite decent for a language like English. If you are asking for my review, there are several much better options available in much lesser subscription price.
One of these amazing options is a program like ‘I will teach you a language’. An internet based language learning platform that allows you to learn all the major languages from one on one tuition opportunities.
Not only this, learning a language with the help of I will teach you a language is full of fun and interest as well. After all, not every day is the day you are going to get a story based dialect mastering program.
4) Arabic
Origin
A language that is dated all the way back to the first ever human civilizations. Other than Hebrew, Arabic is the only language that has seen a historical time period of thousands of years.
According to careful estimations, Arabic was originated around 4th century – 7th century BCE in the region of Mesopotamia. This indeed makes Arabic as one of the most ancient dialects.
But there is one thing that makes Arabic special. Even with its ancient history and origin, it is the only ancient world language that is still spoken over a large area of land.
Image from onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Historical View
Ranked as the 6th major language of the World, Arabic has greatly influenced many dialects. The first ever recorded case of interaction in Arabic shows us that it was first originated among the nomadic tribes of the Arabian peninsula.
Till 6th century AD, Arabic became the only major language of the Arabian peninsula. Records show that poets and writers from every corner of Arab used to take part in magnificent literary competitions of that time.
It was the same 6th century AD when the Holy Scripture for Muslims, the Quran was revealed. This made Arabic as the language of Muslims around the globe.
Current World Stats
Arabic is a major world language. An estimated 200 million people around the globe today either have Arabic as their native dialect or they can speak it fluently.
Due to the special association of Arabic with Muslims around the globe, Arabic has been able to secure the status of a dialect that’s purely associated with the Muslim culture and traditions.
Arabic has also got the status of the official dialect in countries like Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, and almost all major countries of the Arabian Peninsula.
Transcript(s)
If you review the Arabic transcript, one thing is very clear. The Arabic scripture is not affected by any known major world language. Instead, Arabic scripture is the one that influenced several modern day language such as English, Spanish, Latin, French, etc.
No matter the language we are talking about, we are always going to find some kind of reference leading all the way back to the Arabic script.
The Perso-Arabic script is a more modern deviation of the standard Arabic script. This script is exactly the same that is use by languages like Persian/Farsi, Urdu, Malay, and several other Asian languages.
Image from techcrunch.com
Class Category
As most of us can already imagine, being ancient and so much rich in culture, Arabic is not an easy to learn language. That’s why, Arabic is included in the Category 4 of world languages.
For languages included in the Category 4, you need a high quality program especially if you are a native English dialect speaker.
But why is Arabic so hard to learn as a dialect ? You see, Arabic is not influenced by any other language. The Arabic spoken today is the same that was spoken centuries ago. That’s why, associating Arabic with any other dialect to learn is not an option.
Image from onlinelibrary.wiley.comc
Accent
If we talk about the pre-Islamic era, there was no single standard for the Arabic pronunciation. It varied from region to region and tribe to tribe.
Yes, even from tribe to tribe. In Arabia, the tribe system is quite strengthened even today. This lead to the division of Arabic pronunciation among tribes of various region.
But the post-Islamic era played an important role in unifying all the standard Arabic pronunciations famous at that time. In order to preserve the Quranic pronunciation for centuries to come, the third Caliph Usman made sure that the only pronunciation every one is going to follow is going to be the ‘Qureshi’ pronunciation of Arabic.
Is Rosetta Stone an effective option to learn Arabic?
If you are asking for my review, then No! Of course, you can’t learn or master a language like Arabic with simple audio based lessons.
That’s the thing about the ancient languages. The real essence of these languages is within the written scripture of these languages.
And on the other hand, we have got the Rosetta Stone program that solely focuses on imparting dialect related knowledge through audio lessons and courses. Not a great way of learning Arabic effectively at all.
How long will it take me to master Arabic language?
As long as you are going to stay determined and active. According to my very own feedback/review, the true core of the Arabic language lies within its grammar.
If you successfully master the grammatical rules of Arabic, the road for you to become an expert of the Arabic language becomes quite smooth.
But lets say you want to master the Arabic pronunciation first instead of the grammar. Of course, the program will enable you to speak Arabic confidently. But you’ll not be referred as the organic speaker of the language. That’s because you will be only familiar and limited to commonly spoken words or phrases.
Rosetta Stone approach for teaching
Just like Spanish, French, German, Hebrew, etc. The course/lesson dynamics followed by the high price subscription price plans of the Rosetta Stone Arabic rely greatly on the audio based lessons alone.
But this program will only be feasible as long as you decide to focus on the Arabic pronunciation lessons more than anything else.
On the other hand, for a user to want to learn and speak Arabic just the way a native does, Rosetta Stone is not the option for you. It will not make you feel confident enough to become an organic speaker of the dialect .
Best platform to learn Arabic Online!
So, you finally decided to rely on my feedback, great! Hence, Rosetta Stone is not included in your list of software that can help you learn Arabic. What else options you have got?
Instead of clicking on random affiliate links and going with high price software, I would suggest that you should research a bit on your own regarding the perfect program for you.
If you ask about my intel on the topic, I would suggest none other than using the amazing Pimsleur software to learn Arabic. I am 100% sure, the Pimsleur lessons in Arabic are going to train you as a master Arabic trainer in no time.
5) Mandarin
Origin
Although, Mandarin is not an ancient dialect . But keeping in view the number of Mandarin speakers in the world today, no one can deny that Mandarin surely has a special prominent place among world dialects today.
No one exactly know the date of origin of the Mandarin dialect , just like Dutch. Every course/lesson epilogue of Mandarin states a different era of the Mandarin dialect .
but according to experts, the estimated date of origin can be more precise if we talk about the 1st century BCE Northern China.
Image from techcrunch.com
Historical View
Historically, mandarin has remained in the shadow its entire life. It was considered as the dialect of the Chinese peasants without any proper pronunciation, category, or organization. It was only popular among the nomad tribes of the Chinese Empire.
The Chinese Mandarin flourished during the 16th century dark times of colonialism when Portuguese traders became quite regular in their visits to the Chinese ports.
In the year 1911, the Qing Dynasty, the last dynasty of China was overthrown by the Republic Government making China a Republic State after centuries of monarchy. It was the same year when Mandarin was declared as the official dialect of China.
Current World Stats
If we take an overview the number of Chinese Mandarin speakers distributed throughout the world, we can easily figure out that the majority of them is residing in the South and South East Asian region.
As the region holding world’s highest population ratio per square inch, the number of Mandarin speakers became quite high after 1911.
Labelled as the second most widespread and commonly known dialect after English, the number of Mandarin speakers around the world is around 1.12 billion individuals. Almost twice the number of Hindi speakers residing in the same region.
Image from onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Transcript(s)
If you have taken any course or have gone through some Mandarin lessons, you can easily tell how different Chinese Mandarin transcript actually is. If we take a look at the major languages spoken in the surrounding region, Mandarin is not similar to any of the following ones in terms of the transcript.
However, there’s one language that is believed to influence the Chinese Mandarin transcript up to some extent. The ancient Sanskrit.
Today, the Chinese Mandarin transcript style can be divided into systems like the Standard Chinese system, Taiwanese braille, Two-Cell Chinese braille, or the Mainland Chinese braille.
Class Category
Because of its uniqueness and zero resemblance with any major language both in terms of pronunciation and the transcript style, Mandarin is placed in the Category 4 of languages. The same category which includes Arabic, Japanese, etc.
But remember, not every language can claim to be a part of the top 3 world languages in terms of number of its speakers. Even with the widespread of English due to the dark times of colonialism, Mandarin is still the native dialect of around 1.12 billion individuals.
However, with the right course/lesson selection, learning Mandarin can be quite easy and a fun job to do.
Image from educationcorner.com
Accent
Mandarin is not a dialect that’s much focused on the pronunciation. Instead, the dialect is known for particularly structuring its words and phrases to create a resemblance to the ancient Japanese or Mandarin scripts.
North-eastern, Ji-Lu, Central Plains, Lan-yin, Lower Yangtze, and Beijing, etc are some of the most commonly used pronunciation dialects followed by Mandarin speakers in various regions.
Officially, the Beijing dialect is used in Government level meetings and conferences as the Beijing dialect is the one followed by majority of the people residing in China and the neighbouring Taiwan, Singapore.
Is Rosetta Stone an effective option to learn Mandarin ?
No, not at all! There’s no way the price Rosetta Stone course charges for its each Chinese Mandarin lesson justifies the quality of course content it offers.
Even if you have the lifetime subscription price plan. In my opinion, that’s the one big flaw in the Rosetta Stone program that even their advertising geniuses can hide.
An effective Mandarin course/lesson is all about learning and focusing on the words more than anything. But when you think about the audio based education system of Rosetta Stone, things can be quite not so very good. especially for the first time learners of the dialect .
Image from bilingua.io
How long will it take me to master Mandarin language?
This is one of the dialects on which I can guide you like a pro. That’s because, there was a time when I needed to learn Mandarin in order to pass an upcoming dialect based entrance exam. Unfortunately, this was the same time when I witnessed the level of hypocrisy present in the Rosetta Stone advertising campaign and subscription price plans.
For first time dialect learners like yourself, there’s a personal trick of mine that can help you master Mandarin in no time.
Along with a top quality course/lesson, try to watch as much Mandarin movies and anime as possible. Don’t forget to turn the Mandarin sub titles on, it is going to help you a ton in the end.
Rosetta Stone approach for teaching
Instead of going with interactive audio visual lessons to help the users better learn Mandarin just like Duolingo or Memrise, Rosetta Stone has its philosophy and dynamics of doing stuff.
Speaking of their strategy, the Rosetta Stone Mandarin program is all about listening to lengthy and repetitive audios all day long and then repeating them back to help the software record and evaluate your feedback.
To be honest, all of their advertising campaigns brag about this feature like its something that’s going to help you Mandarin like a native.
Image from techcrunch.com
Best platform to learn Mandarin Online!
So, Rosetta Stone is out of our list of best options. What else have we got then? Speaking of the time when I was also one of the beginner level learners like yourself, there’s only one best Mandarin learning internet based option available.
The Pimsleur Mandarin language pack. The program will help you to speak as well as focus on the Mandarin grammar and words at the same time.
You could indeed become a native Mandarin by religiously following the course/lesson dynamics of the Pimsleur Mandarin dialect pack. Plus, the subscription price is also quite justified according to the feedback.
6) Spanish
Origin
‘I will either find a way or make one’ -Hannibal of Carthage
One of the most prominent war quotes of the whole human history. But you might be surprised the original language in which Hannibal said this historical line was none other than Spanish.
It was the time of the Second Punic War, when as a dialect first appeared in the region of Carthage and the areas surrounding. With the ongoing years of battles and conquests, Roman soldiers kept on bringing the Spanish dialect to the areas of the Western Roman Empire.
Historical View
The history of Spanish is as old as the tale of Hannibal himself. A man who defeated the Roman Empire countless times in the battlefield and could have conquered ancient Roma if the circumstances were favorable.
Throughout the Punic wars, the soldiers kept on learning and adapting to Spanish. This eventually lead to the development of Spanish as a speaking tongue for most of the Roman soldiers.
With the end of the Punic wars and fall of Carthage, these soldiers were responsible to bring Spanish as a language to the region of Western Roman Empire of that time.
Image from spanish55.com
Current World Stats
Speaking about the historical facts, it was Europe who nourished and widened the Spanish speaking dialects and grammar. With learners visiting the Holy Roman city every year, Spanish found the right factors to widen its approach throughout the globe, just like French.
With Spanish reaching even some of the most remote areas of the globe, the number of Spanish speakers began to dramatically increase.
According to verified reports today, the number of Spanish speakers globally is around 559 million people. That’s quite a huge number of speakers for a grammar oriented dialect like Spanish. You may be surprised but the number of Hindi speakers is just a few million greater than Spanish at 600 million individuals.
Image from educationcorner.com
Transcript(s)
Speaking about major world dialects, there are only a few languages left that have a distinct scripting style of their own that’s not influenced by any of the other major world dialect . Spanish is one of them.
If we take a look at the French writing script, we can easily identify the number of dialects that affect the script. But that’s not the cases with Spanish.
The Spanish script contains 27 letters termed as the Spanish letters. 26 of them are separated from the original ancient Latin language with the addition of letter ‘eñe ⟨ñ⟩’ for Spanish.
Class Category
A language that originated in a second world region of the ancient and travelled around the globe becoming the 4th major world language today, Spanish has indeed been able to achieve more than any other language in terms of diversity.
Speaking about the Spanish grammar and words, it is not a very easy language to learn for first time users.
But because of the fact that most of us are already aware of Spanish just like French or English, it is categorized as a Category 1 dialect .
Image from spanish55.com
Accent
You do remember Hannibal’s quote from above? I bet most of you might be thinking about its Spanish translation and pronunciation. Was the pronunciation same back in that era just the way it is today? Lets find out.
If we take a look at the development of Spanish pronunciation, it is quite different from what it was back in the day of Hannibal.
Even today, the pronunciation dynamics of Spanish are greatly affected by the region you reside. For the people in Latin America, the literary works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and the literary movements lead by him have greatly influenced the Spanish pronunciation.
Image from educationcorner.com
Is Rosetta Stone an effective option to learn Spanish?
For one last time, if you are looking for my review saying that the Rosetta Stone program is the best option for learning to speak a language like this one, you have to wait a thousand more years.
Or at least as long as the Rosetta Stone team decides to focus on the course/lesson content more than the advertising campaigns.
But with their current focus and bulky advertising and affiliate links, there’s no way I could suggest you to pay high subscription price for learning nothing about Spanish with the help of the Rosetta Stone software.
How long will it take me to master Spanish language?
Language learning is not something you can do by simply clicking here and there on various affiliate links and done. You need to put your maximum effort and determination in order to master this field.
Lets say you are learning Spanish in order to apply for VISA or some job. In this case, you must have got a very short deadline to learn Spanish enough to clear the test/interview.
Times like this will determine the strength of your spirit and how far you can go in order to achieve your dream. Get a solid language learning programs except Rosetta Stone Spanish and show everyone what you are made of.
Rosetta Stone approach for teaching
By this far, you guys must have got pretty much aware about the Rosetta Stone’s approach for teaching any dialect .
After bragging about their speech recognition feature and advertising it through series of links, they will ask you to get their lifetime subscription price plan to learn stuff better.
But remember, don’t fall for this trap. The speech recognition feature is not going to help you master a dialect that’s grammar oriented rather than accent oriented. this is exactly the point where Rosetta Stone language learning system should focus on.
Image from studentworldonline.com
Best platform to learn Spanish Online!
If not Rosetta Stone, then what? Relax, I understand how important it is for you to be able to speak in your preferred language with a deep knowledge regarding the grammar. But with a software like Rosetta Stone, there’s no way you are going to learn any thing effective any time soon.
Well, in my opinion the best platform/software fro you to learn and master Spanish will be Babbel, period.
You can pick up any feedback regarding Babbel, there’ s going to be one thing that you will find no matter what. The ability of Babbel to focus on strengthening the grammar core of any language.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT ROSETTA STONE
My experience with Rosetta Stone so far!
Why was I looking for a language learning program in the first place?
It all started a few years back. I just finished my college degree and was thinking about going with higher studies. that’s why I was researching about some of the world’s best institutes both course and practical vies.
Being an outstanding engineering student, my dreams and motives for my profession were quite high, just the way they are. I still remember applying in top foreign universities to get a chance to study further with international level of education standards and research advisors.
After some time, I finally got the opportunity to study in one of the world’s top Engineering University on a full scholarship.
Everything was going perfectly according to the plan but there was one thing that was still left to do. In order to secure my admission in the Chinese University, I needed to clear a simple Mandarin entrance exam.
Image from spanish55.com
Me and Rosetta Stone : A feedback
Without knowing any thing about how to learn or prepare for a dialect exam, I decided to start my Mandarin learning journey with the help of some kind of internet based course/lesson.
This was the time, when I blindly decided to go with the Rosetta Stone Mandarin course/lesson without thinking much about it.
But why I did that? Well, back then I hade around 4 months before I can take the exam. I had seen links mentioning the price affordability and top-notch lessons included in the Rosetta Stone suite. So, I decided to give this course a try.
Image from educationcorner.com
The power of Rosetta Stone advertising
Instead of developing a course/lesson that will eventually help you out in learning a dialect like Mandarin, the Rosetta Stone software is more focused towards advertising the Rosetta Stone’s speech recognition feature. Or if i try to put it more eloquently, the Rosetta Stone language truaccent speech recognition system.
Don’t get influenced by the fancy names and titles, it is all part of their advertising scheme.
From my very own experience, 9 out of 10 users don’t even know how and why to activate the Rosetta Stone truaccent speech recognition system in the first place.
Image from fluentin3months.com
Major issued I faced
First, why should I focus solely on the truaccent speech recognition feature instead of going through the course content on my own. The advertising team makes sure that you must learn and speak a language through the speech recognition feature.
Second, for a language like Mandarin whose whole base focuses on the script and grammar more than anything else , why are there only audio lessons to work with?
Third, even with language packs for languages like Dutch, French, German, and English, there’s no way you can access data of your previous course lesson progress in the Rosetta Stone program.
Image from spanish55.com
The option I switched too
I guess I hardly continued my internet based subscription for Rosetta Stone for a week or so. The experience I gained form the Rosetta Stone program was enough to never get back to this program at any cost.
So, what did I choose instead of Rosetta Stone then? I am not against taking one on one physical classes/lessons from someone regarding the language you are looking to learn. but for me, the internet based subscription system was quite feasible to follow.
That’s why, I decide to go with Preply after doing a thorough research on all the available. One of the best decision I have made up so far.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT ROSETTA STONE
Image from pophaber.com
My current status regarding Mandarin understanding
You know what was the main reason for me choosing Preply to learn Mandarin dialect ? So basically, you can say that Preply is specifically made for first time learners learning Mandarin.
in my review, the program lessons are designed to promote learning and interest among the Mandarin dialect with every single course/lesson, just like Duolingo.
Today, I have been living in China studying in one of the most prestigious engineering universities of the world along with speaking mandarin like a native. you could do the same but with the right approach only.
Popular options best to choose instead of Rosetta Stone!
Pimsleur
From where it all began?
if you speak about a software that has been helping language learners for so many years now, what are some common names that are going to pop in your mind?
Surely the Rosetta Stone advertising team will make you remember the rosetta stone name through various third party access links. But still, the advertising geniuses of Rosetta Stone can’t beat Pimsleur in any way possible, period.
Under the supervision of Dr. Paul Pimsleur, the Pimsleur learning program began its operations back in 1963. And since that day, the program has been known for the quality of its lessons and courses.
Image from fluentin3months.com
Pimsleur Feedback
If you ask a personal review regarding the Pimsleur program, I can summarize it in only a single words, ‘Outstanding’. Pimsleur knows exactly how to utilize speech recognition like features in the program to help the learner.
If we talk about a general review what the public has to say about the Pimsleur program, you are going to get positive feedbacks and nothing more.
Subscription price plans
Quality education with affordable subscription price plans, this is exactly what makes Pimsleur a better language learning platform than Rosetta Stone. You already know that by going through the Rosetta Stone review.
Generally, the complete access language learning package offered by Pimsleur charges around 20.95 USD per month. For a language learning platform which includes speech recognition system like Pimsleur, the subscription prices are quite affordable.
you can also decide to go with the premium version at 19.95 USD per month. But in case of a premium package, you will need to buy premium language learning packs.
Image from fromlingostan.com
Popular languages offered
You may not believe this but according to the official Pimsleur website sources, the popular language learning platform offers around 50 languages to choose from.
That’s right! 50 dialects that are spoken around the world. If we compare the stats with Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur surely leads by a wide margin in the race of getting titled as the best internet based subscription based language learning platform of all time.
Some of the most popular dialects offered by the Pimsleur program are Arabic, Mandarin, French, German, Spanish, Persian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Romanian, Polish, Swedish, Turkish, etc.
Image from bilingua.io
Is it effective enough?
if you are asking me about my review, then yes. The Pimsleur dialect mastering program is 10 times more effective than the Rosetta Stone dialect mastering program. Both in terms of price as well as the course/lesson dynamics.
No matter what kind of dialect you are trying to master. Whether you are a complete beginner or already know some stuff about the dialect . The Pimsleur program is going to guide you effectively through series of lessons that are quite interactive.
To be honest, the Pimsluer language learning setup knows way more better usage of the speech recognition feature than Rosetta Stone itself.
Advertising vs Reality
time to evaluate one of the most important factors. Whether the things mentioned by the Pimsleur advertising campaigns are same as included in the program?
If I could answer this question in one word, it would be ‘Yes’. And i can verify that because I have recommended the use of Pimsluer to a friend of mine so he can effectively learn German dialect .
I am not talking about the third party affiliate links, but advertising campaigns launched by the official Pimsleur site indeed mentions features that are included in the software word to word. A great way to secure a credible feedback for their software.
Image from fluentin3months.com
Best Pimsleur language pack
Well that’s a tricky question, but I think I know exactly the answer to that. According to the overall feedback Pimsluer has received so far from around the globe, all the dialect packages included in the Pimsleur suite are quite amazing.
But the word is that there is a specific dialect pack that boosted Pimsleur to the level of credibility it is at today.
The Pimsleur Arabic dialect Pack. For a dialect as diverse and as hard to master as Arabic, Pimsleur surely plays a remarkable role in helping first time learners to master it.
Will it enhance the language speaking skills?
If we talk about Pimsleur alone, then yes. The dialect speaking skills are greatly affected by a program like pimsleur that knows exactly how to use speech recognition and other audio based word lessons.
No matter what dialect you are trying to master using the Pimsleur setup, you will have to go through specific exercise within every lesson that will help you pronounce the particular dialect just like the native speakers.
Lets say you are learning French using the Pimsleur suite, the program will encourage you to speak every single word as well as help you to understand the grammar.
Image from pophaber.com
Can we switch to the mobile app as well?
Of course you can. Even with such an affordable subscription price plans, Pimsleur allows its user to get an access to both the pimsluer mobile as well as desktop application. Unlike Rosetta Stone, the Pimsluer application automatically syncs the user data across all logged in devices.
Lets say you like to use the pimsluer mobile application. One day, you decide to take a lesson through the app. An innovative way of learning dialect indeed.
At the back end, the Pimsluer setup will automatically sync in your progress so far on the course allowing you to pick up from where you have left.
Lessons worth learning
Now, we know a lot about the Pimsluer setup and how to use it. Lets talk about the individual lesson dynamics followed by Pimsluer. you see, Pimsluer is a setup that focuses on quality education more than anything.
According to the general review regarding any Pimsluer lesson, the whole course is pre designed in a way that each lesson eventually ends up smooth lining the learning abilities of the user.
In other words, if you are a first time Pimsluer user, learning a language doesn’t mean you will be cramming random stuff without any sequence. Every lesson will be giving a step by step direction to your learning journey.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT PIMSLEUR
Babbel
From where it all began?
There was a time when Rosetta Stone was truly exceptional. A time when the general Rosetta Stone was that it will soon take over the language learning world leaving no competition behind.
But instead on working on their lesson/course building dynamics, they began to focus more on advertising and links building.
Seizing the opportunity, Babbel launched the world’s first ever language learning mobile application back in 2007. And to this very day, Babbel has been working religiously to provide top quality services to all of its users.
Image from lingostan.com
Babbel Feedback
The general feedback regarding the Babbel lesson learning program is quite astonishing if we keep the size of the Babble team in mind. Currently, there are roughly 450 employees working in the Babbel corporation to make sure that ever lesson they include in the program is worth learning.
Even with a comparatively smaller setup and team, Babble is referred as one of the best grammar oriented language learning app of all time.
After all, it was the first ever dialect platform that introduced the concept of mobile applications among the dialect teaching community. A revolutionary platform /software indeed.
Subscription price plans
Super, super, super efficient and budget friendly. There’s no better way of explaining the Babbel subscription plans than this. Such an approach used by Babbel is also the major reason behind the popularity of the app.
No matter what kind of dialect lesson you are taking, whether you’re using the website platform, mobile application, or both. Babbel is going to charge you a singular affordable fees for a monthly, quarterly, half yearly, or yearly plan.
The monthly subscription charges are 12.95 USD, 8.95 USD for a quarterly package, 7.45 USD for a half yearly package, and a 6.95 USD for a yearly package.
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Image from fluentin3months.com
Popular languages offered
So, what are exactly some popular languages that are included in the Babbel learning setup? As we can already tell, Babbel is quite focused towards its grammar focusing courses and lessons.
That’s why, instead of offering dialects they can’t effectively teach, Babbel focuses on around 14 popular world languages as part of their language learning suite.
Although the number of dialects offered by Babbel are quite low in number comparatively, the lesson quality and behaviour of tutors towards each learner is surely something to commend. Some of these 14 dialects are Spanish, German, Italian, French, Turkish, Swedish, etc.
Image from cudoo.com
Is it effective enough?
If I talk about my feedback on the issue, then yes. Babbel is indeed one of the most effective platforms i have seen so far. even better than Pimsluer in some aspects.
The Babbel team is not a team relying solely on the advertising campaigns or pointless links distribution to get as much traffic as possible. They indeed care about the learners.
Plus, the general feedback shows that Babbel tutors are way more compassionate and knowledgeable as compared to any other major language learning platform. This makes Babbel quite a catch for people who want to start learning from ground zero.
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Image from pophaber.com
Advertising vs Reality
Time for the hard talk. does the features and claims included in the Babbel advertising campaigns the same what we usually get as learners?
The best way to ensure this will to check the general feedback on this issue. 9 out of 10 times, the learners using Babbel claims that they have exactly got the features and all the pros they were promised during the advertising campaigns.
But remember, we are talking the ‘official advertising’ campaigns. Not about third part links that are distributed throughout the internet to direct as much traffic as possible to the respective webpage.
Best Babbel language pack
Well, I must say, you are getting quite good with asking more and more effective and tough to answer questions. A mind of a critical thinker you have indeed. According to the general perception and feedback, the Babbel tutors are quite exceptional in teaching any kind of dialect .
But if you ask me to pin point a dialect among the 14 Babbel languages, it will be Spanish without a doubt.
You can watch countless tutorials or go through hundreds of related articles, there’s no way you are going to find any error of negligence in the Babbel Spanish program, period.
Will it enhance the dialect speaking skills?
Surely it will, but not as much as Pimsluer will. but why is that? You see, the pimsluer setup allows its user to learn and repeat the exact pronunciation of a word many times over. This is because Pimsluer is a software operated setup that uses features like voice recognition.
On the other hand, we have got the Babbel learning dynamics that allows learners to take one on one classes with tutors by clicking on the provided links.
Now, if you could just try keeping yourself in the place of Babbel users, you will understand that asking same question over and over again is not something you can conveniently do because of the human nature and mindset.
Image from lingostan.com
Can we switch to the mobile app as well?
With Babbel, Of course you can. And quite conveniently I must say. Babbel also allows the learners to switch the class to any other device by simple clicking on the provided links.
But if you are already a user that prefers mobile over desktop, the Babble mobile application will be the perfect choice for you.
Scheduling meetings, tracking the course data, playing short interactive learning games, all of this can be done through the Babbel mobile application. And the fun part, the Babble app is available for both android and iOS devices.
Lessons worth learning
Time to take a look at the feedback regarding the Babbel lesson designing abilities and how its tutors follow it. In my opini0n, the tutors are pretty great who strictly follows the guidelines setup by the Babble team. But they could also change the meeting timings in case of some urgency.
For every lesson, Babbel will pre provide you all the related links you need to click on in order to join meeting instantly.
You can also contact your respective instructor in order to clarify any kind of confusion left behind during the session.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT BABBEL
I Will Teach You A Language
From where it all began?
We all know about Udemy, right? the largest internet based subscription platform that offers courses from top universities of the world along with some of the best instructors of all time. The platform has a great feedback track record.
Now, if you have ever accessed the Udemy linguistic sections, there’s one name that you will find repeating itself in every other major dialect course as an instructor. Mr. Olly Richards.
The same Olly Richards who laid the foundation of ‘ I will teach you a language’ platform. if you could check the site right now, go ahead and give it a shot.
Image from cudoo.com
I Will Teach You A Language Feedback
So, what about the overall feedback regarding the whole ‘ I will teach you a language’ platform. If we ignore the certain third party links that are often included and distributed throughout the site, the general feedback regarding ‘ I will teach you a language’ is quite a mix one.
Some people prefer the method of learning a dialect using aid from stories a genius method devised by Olly Richards.
But a considerable section of people does think that the whole story reading idea is quite childish, especially if we talk about individuals belonging to a certain age group.
Subscription plans
Basically, ‘ I will teach you a language’ is not a complete organization based setup like Duolingo, Pimsleur, Rosetta Stone , or Babbel. It is more like Olly Richards’ private website where he offers various courses for learners around the globe at a specific price.
Remember, nothing on the website is free, Nothing. Even the language learning tips and tricks comes with a 97 USD price tag.
That’s why, if you could, try to direct your ability to learn and speak a language to some other platform other than ‘ I will teach you a language’ . Don’t forget to check the general feedback regarding the site you are witching to.
Image from lingostan.com
Popular languages offered
You have almost got the idea that the only instructor you are going to get on ‘ I will teach you a language’ will be Olly Richards himself. This also makes the ‘ I will teach you a language’ dialect curriculum quite old school in many aspects.
Mr. Olly Richards may think that his method of using stories to help learners is some genius invention or so. But in reality, it is not that effective at all.
Nevertheless, the ‘ I will teach you a language’ offers courses on limited number of dialects including French, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, etc.
Is it effective enough?
There are two ways I can answer that question. First, my feedback on the issue. And second what most of the learners have to say or think about ‘ I will teach you a language’ .
In my opinion, using stories to help someone understand or speak a language is a quite interactive way indeed. You will get enough attention of the learner without any difficulty. But that’s the only good it is going to bring. Even Rosetta Stone could do that through its links and advertising geniuses.
And if we talk about the general review/feedback, majority thinks the same way as I do.
Image from pophaber.com
Advertising vs Reality
We have got another Rosetta Stone here folks. I don’t know why, but ‘ I will teach you a language’ has the same advertising favouring complex more than it wants to put its effort in teaching stuff effectively.
If by mistake, you are ever going to click on any of the third part advertising links left by ‘ I will teach you a language’ , you can actually see their advertising traps.
Mr. Olly Richards and the team believes that the general public is going to pay 97 USD just to get notes on how to effectively master a language!?
Best I Will Teach You A Language language pack
Lets try to ignore the general feedback for a moment. Lets forget all the marketing links as well. What could be the best language course ‘ I will teach you a language’ offers?
Well, it is quite a tough question to answer. Especially keeping in mind the subscription charges per course.
But if I must need to select a single ‘ I will teach you a language’ course that’s the best of them all. I will go with the Spanish lear language course. Why? Because Spanish is a dialect that is more focused towards the script rather than a pronunciation. In this way, an interactive story can surely boost one’s interest in the script.
Image from greengeeks.com
Will it enhance the language speaking skills?
Not so much. But it also depends on whether or not you have selected the right ‘ I will teach you a language’ course or not. A high priced course might even guide you thoroughly to speak any dialect of your choice effectively.
If you can ignore the grammar part and just want to speak the dialect of your choice, a ‘ I will teach you a language’ can do some good to you.
But again, just like the Rosetta Stone, you need to pay higher dollars to get access to that content.
Can we switch to the mobile app as well?
Miraculously, no. That’s quite a shock, isn’t it? Just like the general Rosetta Stone review, the general perspective regarding using ‘ I will teach you a language’ is the same.
With the amount of money both platforms put on marketing campaigns, it is quite a shock that both Rosetta Stone and ‘ I will teach you a language’ haven’t got a functional mobile application.
But why is that, even when both claim to be the absolute top deals in order to learn any dialect of your choice? A classic Rosetta Stone review flaw. Because none of them are that much well known among the general public anymore.
Lessons worth learning
Time to talk about the quality of lessons offered by Richard Olly’s personal website. You might be thinking that lessons on this site will be of the same quality as of his Udemy Instructor profile.
But following the footsteps of Rosetta Stone in this regard, that’s not the case sadly.
Udemy being a credible internet based learning platform has a proper mechanism of evaluating charges for all of its offered lessons/courses. While on Mr Richard Olly’s personal website, you will be charged heavy Dollars only for a set of notes that you can find from anywhere else for free!
Image from cudoo.com
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT I WILL TEACH YOU A LANGUAGE
Baselang
From where it all began?
You know what I like most about Baselang? Their focus and determination regarding a specific dialect . Unlike Rosetta Stone, there is no way you are going to find any kind of loosely planned lessons or missing grammar portions. Just pure high quality streams of knowledge.
However, the major downfall of Baselang is that it focuses on only one dialect , Spanish.
In the year 2016, Baselang began its operations and revolutionized the way internet based Spanish lessons were structured. That’s why, the lessons offered by Baselang to Spanish enthusiasts are of premium quality and structure, period.
Image from studica.com
Baselang Feedback
Besides lessons that are totally worth sharing, what’s the general perspective about Baselang? Well, by targeting a specific language more than anything else, Baselang has surely been able to generate a platform that has nothing more except admiration and positive feedbacks. Very unlikely of rosetta Stone indeed.
Baselang creators has also made sure that any first time user can easily get guidance regarding his/her journey by simply clicking on the ‘guide’ section on the website.
In my opinion, this is the exact same reason why the general review regarding Baselang lessons is way more better the Rosetta Stone or any other major platform.
Subscription plans
In your quest to find the perfect platform for learning a language, there’s no way you haven’t clicked on links leading you directly back to the Baselang subscription plans page. Baselang indeed prefers using third party links instead of direct advertising tactics.
first, Baselang charges a very minute 1 USD fees for a complete 7 day trial package for first time users. The trial includes all the major features, lessons, and grammar oriented tricks offered by Baselang.
For the official premium one to one classes, you will need to pay a 149 USD fees which is quite justifiable if we compare it with the premium features included in the suite.
Image from shutterstock.com
Popular languages offered
By now, you already know that Baselang only offers one on one instructor based classes for Spanish. However, the Baselang community page is quite active in terms of making request to the Baselang team to add further dialects in the stream.
All of this because of the quality maintenance policy followed by Baselang all the time.
If we compare lessons offered by Baselang with those offered by Rosetta Stone, the major difference will be the approach used by both platforms to design an effective lesson/course.
Is it effective enough?
If you are asking for my review on this, then yes, Baselang is quite effective when it comes to grammar lessons in Spanish. this is like an area where Baselang is the undisputed champion and platforms like Rosetta Stone are ranked very far in the list.
But the amount of effort Baselang team puts in designing every single lesson, they deserves to be on top of the list in Spanish lessons.
In my opinion, if you are a person who’s looking to focus on the Spanish grammar more than anything else, Baselang is the perfect deal for you. you would not believe the level of instructors they have got for one on one classes.
Image from greengeeks.com
Advertising vs Reality
Probably the most important section of the Baselang review. Is the lesson structure followed by Baselang exactly the same as it mentions in the advertising links, or does it too follows the path of Rosetta Stone?
Fortunately, the general review in this regard is far more better than Rosetta Stone.
Every single lesson is indeed taught through a premium level one on one interaction with some of the biggest names of Spanish literature and linguistics. You can call it a ‘master Class’ for Spanish as well.
Best Baselang first language pack
Again, this is something that I don’t need to answer, you guys already know the best dialect pack included in the Baselang setup. Any guesses guys? of course, it is Spanish indeed.
To be honest, I really like the approach taken by the Baselang team in this regard. but they do need to lower the external third party links ratio, it is too much like the Rosetta Stone marketing tactic.
Instead of launching a platform that can’t effectively deliver for all the languages it is offering, Baselang decided to go with the language it knows it can ace at. And indeed they did.
Image from cudoo.com
Will it enhance the language speaking skills?
You might be surprised to know that, but among one on one tutor based language learning platforms, Baselang is the only one that has positive reviews regarding its ability to enhance the dialect speaking skills of a user.
By chance, a friend of mine has used this setup quite recently, and according to him everything included in the package is above and beyond premium.
In my very own review, I think he is telling the truth. Because the general perspective famous about the Spanish tutors including in the Baselang suite is quite similar to what he told, a Spanish master Class indeed.
Can we switch to the mobile app as well?
Unfortunately, no. Baselang doesn’t have a specialized mobile application the we can review at the moment. the company believes that the website is doing enough in terms of providing Spanish knowledge. That’s also the reason why Baselang focuses on third part links marketing more than anything else.
In comparison with the Rosetta Stone, the Baselang claim about providing top-notch education through their website is way more credible.
Where Rosetta Stone charges its users a heavy fees for a completely obsolete curriculum and lagging website. Baselang believes in providing premium services to all at a premium price.
Image from studentworldonline.com
Lessons worth learning
According to my earlier mentioned friend, no matter what lesson you are talking about, Baselang makes sure that the tutor you are learning from is providing top-notch level education and nothing else. you also have the opportunity to switch to any other tutor if you are not satisfied with the current one.
Lets say the lesson you were taking yesterday wasn’t completed during the previous session or there are some points you need to revise.
All you need to do is to ask your respected tutor about it and he/she will make sure that you have got the perfect understanding of the particular lesson.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT BASELANG
Preply
From where it all began?
it was the year 2012, when Preply came into existence with a totally exceptional and unique idea of a dialect mastering program. The way Preply imparts knowledge to its users is way more different than what we get from setups like Rosetta Stone and others.
Preply believes that the ultimate authority of selecting the dynamics of a course must be in the hands of the user itself.
That’s why, as a one on one tutor based learning setup, Preply gives its users the opportunity to decide the tutor they want to be learning a new dialect from.
Image from greengeeks.com
Preply Feedback
Got any idea about the Preply way of teaching stuff? Don’t worry if you don’t because I have tried it for myself. Yes, it was one of the random third party links indeed. but the end result behind that link was quite credible and fun to watch.
So basically, Preply is like a community platform where tutors from around the globe come together to provide their tutor expertise.
But what kind of languages can we master through Preply? Surprisingly, that totally depends upon you and your ability to find the perfect tutor for the every language you are looking to master.
Subscription plans
You guys already guessed it right, the marketing links are surely a great tactic to get exposure, unlike Rosetta Stone, Preply doesn’t have any fixed monthly subscription plans. instead, it allows the tutors to choose their own hourly rates.
Have you ever gone through freelance sites like Upwork or Fiverr? Preply works in the exact same way.
However, the tutors on Preply are hand picked by the Preply team from literally thousands of applications. this means, that every single tutor currently active on the Preply platform is the very expert of his/her relative talents and nothing less.
Image from studentworldonline.com
Popular languages offered
Again, there are as many languages offered by Preply as much as you can think of. if you have access of Rosetta Stone, you can easily tell that the number dialects you can access there is quite limited. but in terms of Preply, the case is quite opposite giving major advantage to Preply over Rosetta Stone.
You might be even able to find a Sanskrit dialect tutor here at Preply which is quite impossible to find anywhere else, even at Rosetta Stone.
All you need to have is the ability to find a tutor through the provided links with a suitable per hour fee. The only thing that’s left after that is to log in and start learning.
Is it effective enough?
Of course it is. We are talking about a platform where you can choose your tutor and course dynamics yourself. Even Rosetta Stone will not be able to provide you this level of authority and say in a matter like this.
Here’s the fun part, you can also switch your tutor or get a refund within a certain time limit.
But in order to do that, there must be a valid reason. It is not Rosetta Stone where it doesn’t bother anyone if you have some issue or not.
Image from bilingua.io
Advertising vs Reality
Now Preply is a platform that generally follows two old school marketing tactics. The first are the paid advertising campaigns. If we take a look at these campaigns, majority of the features explained and data mentioned in the adverts is exactly the same what the platform has to offer.
But the second marketing approach is exactly the one similar to the infamous Rosetta Stone advertising style. Third party redirecting links.
You can also consider these links as marketing brochures which are mostly designed to exaggerate things to a level where the user just can’t resists to sign up for the program.
Best Preply language pack
This one is a tricky topic to discuss. Not because there are certain flaws or things like that in the Preply system. instead the reason behind this is the quality of dialect education Preply has been able to maintain so far. Unlike Rosetta Stone who is currently following the reverse path of Preply.
A dialect pack is going to be as good as its tutor. Get the right tutor and your dialect pack will be the best one.
A simple trick to know about the best tutor is to look for the tutor reviews, the tutor with highest number of positive reviews is going to be your favorite guy.
Image from studentworldonline.com
Will it enhance the language speaking skills?
If your asking my review on this, then yes, it will definitely help you master your preferred language like a native. And for me this is the major difference between the rise of Preply and the downfall of the Rosetta Stone setup.
Just think about the level of progress you are going to make just because you got a tutor who is focused specifically on teaching you stuff.
This kind of golden opportunities are indeed very rare through the journey of life.
Can we switch to the mobile app as well?
There’s indeed no way that an ‘on the go’ platform like Preply is not going to have a mobile application developed for its users. the Preply dialect application is available on both Google Play Store as well as the App Store for iOS users.
Even being in the initial stages of its launch, the application has been able to perform quite remarkable tasks on the go.
As a Preply user, you get the freedom to take classes from anywhere you wanted to do. don’t forget to turn on the data sync with the website profile to save your progress. As a tutor, the app allows you to contact your students as well as schedule your classes on the go
Image from greengeeks.com
Lessons worth learning
If we talk about the lesson structuring alone, Preply surely is a way more better option than using rosetta Stone. You see, the Rosetta Stone lessons are fixed and predesigned. And being an automated setup, there is no element of human interaction included in the Rosetta Stone setup.
But things are quite different when we talk about Preply, aren’t they?
Just a few clicks and you can have a one on one session with your preferred tutor. The mobile application allowing the user to even interact with the tutor to clear any work/concept that’s left behind.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT PREPLY
Duolingo
From where it all began?
This one is my personal favorite. You guys already know that I am not a big fan of platforms that uses games or stories to help users master the dialect of their choice. but in case of Duolingo, the software is truly built amazingly.
In the year 2012, Duolingo was launched with a goal of helping individuals from various regions of the globe to master a dialect effectively.
Unlike Rosetta Stone, the Duolingo platform believes in using interactive fun exercises to help its users get better understanding of any dialect.
Image from shutterstock.com
Duolingo Feedback
If we talk about the community feedback about Duolingo, everybody simply loves this platform. Especially parents who want their children to be fluent in a language other than English. Even the Duolingo bird logo has become an easily recognisable icon around the globe.
To help you better understand the popularity of Duolingo in the US as compared to Rosetta Stone here’s a famous example.
In US alone, the number of people using Duolingo to learn a language are far greater than the ones trying to learn a language through the traditional US school system.
Subscription plans
You might be surprised but Duolingo charges zero charges to help you master a new language. zero charges to help your children master new languages through fun and easy activities. But why is that? it is because Duolingo has a mission to help millions of children around the globe master any dialect of their choice totally free of cost.
That’s why, even as a teacher, you can use Duolingo services for free to track your students and the progress they have made so far.
Unlike Rosetta Stone, the premium Duolingo will not bring any considerable additional perks. instead, it is going to be used to strengthen the Duolingo cause of providing free education to anyone.
Image from schooleducationgateway.com
Popular languages offered
do you guys know about High Valyrian? The dialect spoken by the Daenerys Targaryen in the world famous TV series ‘Game of Thrones’. Anyone? I guess you guys aren’t that much into epic series like this. So High Valyrian is a fictional language made up by George R.R Martin for the Game of Thrones series.
It is quite surprising for me but you can even master High Valyrian using Duolingo!
This shows the variety of language courses Duolingo offers to its users. you can indeed master any known dialect to man by using Duolingo.
Image from shutterstock.com
Is it effective enough?
It is indeed, without a doubt. But how am I so sure about it? You see, Duolingo is one of the globally acknowledged language learning programs. All you need is a device that support Duolingo and a stable internet connection. Leave the rest to Duolingo.
Duolingo also allows its users to select their age group, a feature that’s direly missing in Rosetta Stone.
The age selection allows the Duolingo algorithms to provide relative exercises and easy to follow reading material. A great way to differentiate between the level of a child and a grown up.
Advertising vs Reality
Now, there’s no way you haven’t seen a Duolingo advertisement at least once! From massive billboards to YouTube videos, Duolingo is very focused towards making sure that the whole world must know about Duolingo. After all, it is not every day when we get a totally free language learning software.
And according to user review including mine, Duolingo is indeed offering what it has been advertising.
You can master any dialect of your choice with fun activities that are designed according to your age group. you can also set a daily learning reminder by using the mobile application.
Best Duolingo language pack
Well, if you ask me about the best language pack that I know of, it is definitely going to be the Duolingo Arabic language pack. The art of teaching Arabic successfully is something that even Rosetta Stone doesn’t have. but i am quite surprised with the way Duolingo deals with it.
The Duolingo mobile apps makes sure that you are well aware about your upcoming 5 minute dialect session with Duolingo.
Once the session starts, you can see every Arabic word/syllable being explained from the very basics. keep following the Duolingo way and you will become a master in Arabic in no time.
Image from edutopia.com
Will it enhance the language speaking skills?
The language speaking area is something that Duolingo still needs to work on. i mean like it would be nice enough if Duolingo can make sure to add ‘repeat after me’ activities for all majorly spoken languages, not English and French alone.
However, there are activities and challenges that keep on popping from time to time to help you better understand the actual dialect of a word.
Features like this shows the real and effective use of speech recognition technology. One of the major things that Rosetta Stone needs to learn and adapt as quickly as possible.
Can we switch to the mobile app as well?
of course you can. And for your information, the features included in the Duolingo mobile application are more better and advanced than what we as users get from the Duolingo Website. And if you have children using Duolingo, the mobile application will be the perfect choice to go with.
Once the auto sync and parental control is on, you can easily monitor your children’s progress and how much time they are spending on the platform.
But if you are using Duolingo mobile app for yourself, it allows you to set timers and reminders for yourself on a daily basis. A major reason of Duolingo getting more popularity than Rosetta Stone.
Image from schooleducationgateway.com
Lessons worth learning
If you ask me today, whether I would like my children to have access of Rosetta Stone or Duolingo? My answer would be Duolingo without any second thought. For the mind of a child, the use of Rosetta Stone is not going to be suitable in any way possible.
On the other hand, the Duolingo setup is designed specifically to target the cognitive learning abilities of a child so he/she can master stuff fast.
Don’t be sad, it works the same way for adults as well. just make sure to select your age group before using Duolingo.
Conclusion
With a debate like this, now I believe you are fully aware of the reasons that lead to the downfall of Rosetta Stone as well as the popular options you can go with other than Rosetta Stone.
The best alternative of Rosetta Stone?
But, to make things a bit easier for you to decide. Here’s my top pick from all major dialect platforms as an effective replacement of Rosetta Stone. If I am going to decide to choose today what to do in order to master a dialect effectively online, I will get the Babbel subscription as soon as possible and start organizing a solid workplan to get things in an order.
CLICK HERE TO GET BABBEL AT A DISCOUNTED PRICE
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Author: J Maver
Passionate in tech, software and gadgets. I enjoy reviewing and comparing products & services, uncovering new trends and digging up little known products that deserve an audience.
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