Pimsleur Method vs Rosetta Stone

[Nightgamer360]

id like to see a combination of programs myself, i found pimsleur is superb at teaching and they do exactly what a linguist should, they use native speakers and they slow down words and enunciate by breaking sylables down. Its the best learn language from tape program i have seen so far by far.

Most language on tape courses are terrible for not doing that and expect you to repeat
at high speed what the speaker on tape says learning like a parrot.
There are good things about rossetta stone but i found the fact that it assumes you know what they are talking about using the first lessons of picture identification and building on them, they assume you know the language
rather than teach you how to build phrases with nouns.
Rossetta is great for learning and identifying nouns in japanese so far I have
not used much of the course and find myself falling back to the pimsleur courses.
Id like to see a mix of pimsleur and rossetta stone as every language course I have seen has a great idea or two but no one pulls there resources together.

[Thedon]

[Milesa89]

Does the audio companion from Rosetta stone work like the pimsleur CD's where it asks you questions and you answer them, or are they just a listen and repeat kind of thing?

I went through the Japanese quick and simple and im looking to further my studies. I don't know weather to go further with rosetta stone or keep going on pimsleur.

[Mariosk]

Rosetta Stona vs Pimsleur? Well, I am being using them currently both in my quest to learn German. I started them more or less at the same time, 2.5 years ago, and the results are as follows. I have covered all four stages of Pimsleur and I am on my third revision now. Each 30 minute or so lesson was covered at least six times. I am extremely pleased with Pimsleur. The lessons follow one another so effortlessly and one builds knowledge almost naturally. Only problem is that it covers mainly topics concerning the office and business travel. You find no mention of ,say, clothing, tableware or the life of ordinary people at home. Nevertheless they have taught me enough to be confident in any german speaking country.

With Rosetta Stone one learns numerous words and phrases but they are unconnected. At the beginning, Level One, one can proceed productively, at an efficiency level of more than 50%. At Level 2 things become difficult, you need help.
Efficiency level less than 30% as compared to Pimlleur which is of more than 70% on all 4 levels. (My personal assessment)

Conclusion, I never regretted for having both methods. If I had to choose however one, that would had been Pimsleur.

cheers
Mario

[TommyOak]

I learned French by rote in Grade School, and Spanish as an adult partly in a classroom, and partly in day to day conversation. I found Spanish especially straightforward . It is a very phonic language - what you read is what you hear is what you speak.
Vietnamese may be phonic, but I do not find its pronunciation straightforward. It has even more vowel tones (6) than Mandarin or Cantonese, and I can't distinguish between many of them
Pronunciation of these vowels is the key to Vietnamese.
I have purchased Rosetta Stone in Vietnamese, but its main drawback is that I am tied to the PC to use it. I have yet to find a way to jump directly to where I left off, so I am repeating a lot of material endlessly, just to continue. But that may just be my PC skills. I also find Rosetta Stone takes some time to build up a meaningful vocabulary, such as words that I can use when ordering delicious Vietnamese spring rolls or pho, for example, or understanding chit chat.
Rosetta Stone's advantage is the very clear and repeatable phrases attached to the photographs. There is excellent sound reproduction.
Has anyone used Pimsleur for Vietnamese? It seems I can listen to Pimsleur in the car during my commute as well as using it on the computer.
I would like people's feedback before I make another expensive purchase.
Many thanks to all

[Jonismith]

I have been trying to decide on which program to buy as well. This post has been very helpful in clearing up some questions that I had about the differences between them. So thank you all! Even though I am a certified translator, I still find these program invaluable in teaching students.

[Jonismith]

Is Rosetta Stone any good? I was going to purchase Rosetta Stone but I thought I would get people's opinion before hand. I am working at become a certified translator so any information would be great. Thanks all!

[Bethmakee]

[Greekguy]

I tried both. Both were rather pricey but I found Pimsleur to be the best. The Pimsleur I could use anywhere...in my car was very helpful....and unfortunately all I learned from Rosetta Stone was about a boy...a girl....a car...a house...an airplane. Compare this to Pimsleur and I was speaking what I needed to know.....actual Greek phrases and sentences.

I am using both as I will be moving to Greece shortly.....but from a quick learning of the vocabulary....Pimsleur is the way to go.

Greekguy

[Lacretstreet]

I have used both.Pimsleur is a lot better.

[Lance]

Although I believe Rosetta Stone to be effective, the cost isn't based on how effective it is. The cost is unavoidable because of how complex it is. The program has a huge database of pictures and lessons. Linguists have studied the ways we learn language and some claim visual connections are quite effective. The reason for this is that the brain can switch much more quickly from visual stimulus to verbal response than it can from one language to another. "Watch out!" should come instantly from our mouths when danger appears, not a few seconds later after we translate from another language. I have used both Pimsleur and Rosetta and each has its merits, but I believe Rosetta comes closer to the way we naturally and most effectively learn a language.

[Lance]

One other note: Pimsleur can be used while driving at night, but it can't be compared to a tour of a city with a native speaker as your guide. The visual stimuli not only promotes quicker learning, but also keeps you interested.

[Bethmakee]

Lance,

I recall reading that the cost to produce a Rosetta Stone (Endangered Language Program) was around $50K so you can't really be serious about the costs of production driving their high price tag. Rosetta Stone is a publicly traded company and like any other publicly traded company they are looking for the highest returns for their customers. If they can get away with selling their courses for $500-$600 or more, they will keep on doing so. Their production costs are pretty quickly covered with development costs that low. Who do you think is paying for all their non-stop ad campaigns?

[Kavonk]

Hello All.
I can comment on both, as I have used them both. I recently bought Rosetta Stone and and soon as I find all my packing stuff, I want to send it back. Don't like it at all! Why? Well they NEVER give you teh English word. They show you only pictures, tell you the Spanish or language word and you click on the correct picture. Okay, yes it will judge your language skills but after a while you sort of want to know for sure what the English word is, right? Fool me but how do I know what I am learning if it doesn't tell me the word in ENglish too?

I have taken a Pims course too. I learned a lot more from that course. There was only one problem. The Spanish was Castillian (Spain) not Mexico, like I needed. Huge difference. Not sure if they have the other but it definitely worked better. At least tehy say the phase in English, repeat it in Spanish and then have you repeat it. It's just my viewpoint but I have had them all. I even did the Berlitz one too! That was just okay, but way too fast and not enough forethought.

[Longtrail77]

i've used both, Pimsleur works wonders. you can listen to a free lesson at this location , www.pimsleur-language.com