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| Rosetta Stone V3: Arabic, Level 1 | 
 enlarge | From: Rosetta Stone
Category: Software
This item is no longer available
Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 4033
Format: Cd-rom
Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows 2000, Windows Xp, Mac Os X
Media: CD-ROM
Edition: Level 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.8 x 8.2 x 2.4
MPN: 1580228275
UPC: 794678282751
EAN: 0794678321740
ASIN: B000TFE1K6
Release Date: August 28, 2007
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 9 | | NEXT » |
 A language instructor gives this program a D- and wants a refund. November 21, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I am an ESL/ELL and Spanish teacher with two graduate degrees and I've been studying Chinese for almost a decade now. I have an older version of Chinese level 2 and Spanish level 3. I have some complaints about both of them, but I'd have to an exponent to my complaints about this Arabic version! I am still stuck in unit 1.
A word about "dynamic immersion": ROSETTA STONE'S BRAND OF IMMERSION IS LIKE BEING DROPPED IN THE OCEAN WHILE TIED TO A CONCRETE SLAB! The brain of a two-year-old is VERY different from that of a 22-year-old! A toddler's brain expands faster than at any other stage of development. Plus a two-year-old is not "immersed" with out a life preserver and a two-year-old in a healthy environment has a myriad of stimuli that no computer could duplicate. This program provides no scaffolding/life-preserver. By the way, most toddlers are NOT very articulate, nor do they have the same communication needs as adults. One of the advantages of being an over-the-hill hardwired adult is that most, after a decent high school or college education, have acquired the academic skill sets for learning a foreign language. It is not realistic to expect an adult to develop the accent and colloquial fluidity of a native speaker, but it is very possible to become fluent in reading and listening. In other words, the "toddler" method isn't appropriate for adult
THERE ARE NO INSTRUCTIONS FOR THIS PROGRAM! At times it was very difficult to figure out what the learner was supposed to do. Rosetta Stone should realize that toddlers need instructions.
There are bugs/glitches, or just poor planning, in the software. The speaking part is rigged. There were several times when I very badly mispronounced the answer and the program graded it as correct, and others where it beeped wrong before I even spoke or continued to beep incorrect when I got it correct. There is also a very predictable answer pattern for some of the exercises: ABAB and ABBA.
There are no translations or even transliterations. One complaint I have had about Chinese language learning programs is that they pander to the American easy path of instant gratification and treat the characters as an unnecessary burden transliterating everything. The Rosetta Stone Arabic goes to the opposite extreme by bombarding the nascent learner with random bunches of Arabic letters and no explanation of how they function. There also doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason as to how they set it up. The Arabic alphabet has more letters than English, each letter has four forms, some of which connect and some don't, the vowels are very different, and there are a half-a-dozen sounds that do not exist in the English language. In other words, I'll say the likelihood of someone mastering the Arabic script with this program is slim, unless he/she is doing a ten-year+ prison sentence, alone in a cell with only Rosetta Stone company.
Gradual steps? There are places where this program takes leaps and bounds. There are places where, with no transliteration or prompts, the learner is expected to formulate complex questions based a few models. I can't explain what they are because I don't understand the Arabic and there are no translations. Remember, I'm still stuck in unit one, and expected to be able to spell out, on a microscopic keyboard, Arabic words from memory.
To my knowledge there is NO WAY TO CONTROL THE SPEED OF THE SPEAKER.
NO WAY TO ENLARGE TEXT: For women it starts in the late 30s, for men in the mid 40s, but eventually we all need bifocals. Reading just becomes more difficult. IN PLACES THE ROSETTA STONE ARABIC FONT IS ABSOLUTELY TREACHEROUS! I would have trouble reading it in English, but to the untrained eye Arabic looks like squiggly lines and dots. In one of the tables the print was actually gray instead of black! I FINALLY DECIDED IT WASN'T WORTH GETTING A SPLITTING HEADACHE TRYING TO READ IT!
THE CONTENT IS SO BUSY AS TO BE DISTRACTING: It's like a warped version of Gardner's Multiple Intelligences, all it needs to be complete is some obnoxious music. They try to accommodate every aspect of language learning, but with a paucity of content. It's like a multi-tasking overkill. There is also no discernible common denominator, hence no mnemonic device, as colors, animals, food, etc. are lumped together. The photos are not always clear as some of the people look androgynous and sometimes it's difficult to tell what they are doing.
NO REGIONAL NOTES OR CULTURAL CONSIDERATIONS: There are several different types of Arabic and I've been told the Egyptian dialect is the most easily understood. I have no idea which region this dialect is from. Moreover, there doesn't appear to be any cultural sensitivity, i.e. Islam is very much engrained in the language, but this appear to have been secularized.
MY ADVICE TO ARABIC LEARNERS: Even for academic nerds language is social. Get involved in your local Arabic community. Offer to exchange English for Arabic lessons. Use this program as a complement, not a primary source. This program might actually have some merit with an Arabic speaker to walk the learner through it. This strategy worked well for me with Chinese. I use my Rosetta Stone Chinese as a drill.
SOME FEEDBACK FOR ROSETTA STONE: A) Have a modicum of consideration for learners over 40: MAKE THE TEXT BIG ENOUGH TO READ! B) Get organized! Add more content and mnemonic devices. C) Go back to the drilling method as a mainstay. Somewhere, amid the political correct and paradigm shift to extremes, rote learning and drilling got a bad rap. I have found the computer to be very effective in this respect due to speed and audio-visual stimuli. D) LOWER THE PRICE!
 Arabic, Rosetta Stone October 5, 2008
The Arabic Rosetta Stone is a wonderful language program that really does work. It is fun and challenging. The new edition of the Rosseta Stone is more interactive and more user friendly. I would recommend this product to all students interested in learning standard Arabic. The item arrived promptly and in pristine condition.
Cheers.
 does not hold up to reputation September 20, 2008
there has been alot of rave about rossetta stone software. but its very overrated. it jumps into secound semester language skills which doesnt help a begginer. it sould start out with basic word matching but it starts out with phrases and leaves you clueless what each world means.
Arabic September 18, 2008
I needed something more conversational. This is a good, basic Arabic program, but not strong for conversation.
 Not for beginners June 4, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This product, which does have a wonderful format, is not for those new to the Arabic Language... You need to have a full understanding of the alphabet, and be very familiar with common Arabic dialogue.
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