Hi, my name is Robbie Kunz and I am the author of the "Learn That Language Now" book. I am going to teach you right now six of the problems with Rosetta Stone. This is the information that Rosetta Stone does NOT want you to know. Please don't get me wrong, Rosetta Stone has a few good points but I'm sure you have already heard all about them from Rosetta Stone's marketing; so I'm going to focus on Rosetta Stone's downsides to empower your decision when choosing a language learning program. At the very end, I'll write a short bit about Rosetta Stone's upsides because I do believe it has some worth, despite the overwhelming downsides.

If you don't know already, Rosetta Stone is a software program that works mainly by showing photographs and then having you choose the correct one when you hear or read a word or sentence.

Problem 1: Rosetta Stone's vocabulary learning is too slow. If you have a few years to learn a language and don't mind learning at a snail's pace, then Rosetta Stone might be for you. I don't know about you, but personally I've always wanted to learn a language quickly so that I could get on to the fun parts and start using it in real life. You probably don't want to sit around while it repeats phrases like "The cat is large".

Problem 2: Rosetta Stone is unclear. Showing you vague photographs while repeating the foreign language does not necessarily make the word's meaning clear. Does the photo for the word mean an article of clothing? Or, does it mean a type of shirt? Or, does it mean that specific kind of shirt in the photograph? Or, does it refer to something completely different like the pattern on the shirt? You need to learn the real meaning of a word or you will waste time wondering about its meaning and be afraid of making a mistake in real usage.

Problem 3: Rosetta Stone requires supplements. Rosetta Stone will not get you anywhere near fluency. It just doesn't teach enough words and grammar structure. If you want to become proficient in your new language, you are going to need more than just Rosetta Stone or else your ability in the language will be stunted. Rosetta Stone is like a map that shows you 1/8th of the way to your destination. It may be fine for the first bit, but it will leave you lost and stranded on your path to fluency.

Problem 4: Rosetta Stone is lacking on useful phrases. Like I said before, Rosetta Stone stresses teaching unnatural phrases like "The cat is large" or "The woman is wearing a yellow shirt". It does *not* teach you useful phrases like how to introduce yourself or even how to say "hello"! Think about this past year. How many times have you said, "The cat is large" and how many times have you said, "Hi, my name is..." Do you really want to be spending all your time learning sentences that you won't use and skip over ones that you use all the time?

Problem 5: Rosetta Stone tries to fit every language into a cookie cutter formula. The truth is, human languages vary widely. One language may be particularly hard in its verb conjugation but easy in its adjectives. Another language may be easy in its verb conjugation but difficult in another aspect like its noun cases. Rosetta Stone does not address the special issues of any one language. It gives equal time to all categories. Furthermore, it simply tries to force each language into its pre-arranged photos and sentences. For this reason, you are missing all of the specifics of the language that are most likely to be different from English and therefore are most important to learn properly!

Problem 6: Rosetta Stone is expensive. It costs a lot and I'm just not sure if the cost is worth what you are getting considering the problems I've outlined. There are cheaper and faster ways of learning a language. If you're interested in learning about these other faster and cheaper methods, just continue reading below.

As you can see, Rosetta Stone does have its problems but I do admire Rosetta Stone for its innovative use of computer technology to teach a foreign language. It is a nice concept despite its lacking execution and inability to efficiently teach a foreign language. However, its emphasis on interactiveness is a (small) step above textbooks and I would like to see future software products expand on this interactiveness and try to do things right.

So, if Rosetta Stone is not the way to go, what should you do? If you are serious about learning a foreign language and are not interested in wasting time, energy or money, then you are going to need a plan or a blueprint. Learning a language without a definite plan is like trying to build a house without a blueprint.

Sure, you can just start hammering wood together but you're going to make a lot of mistakes and waste a lot of time. Furthermore, when the house is done, the structure will be weak and it will soon collapse (assuming you actually manage to build a house without a blueprint!) This is why an overlying plan is important because you can be sure that you are spending all your money, time, energy and efforts towards something that is actually going to work and stand strong. With a blueprint, your house will be built quickly, look beautiful and be strong.

This same concept applies to languages and it took me over 10 years of my own trial and error to finally come up with this blueprint. I teach everything I know to you so that you will not make the same mistakes I did and waste thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours. If you want to know all the tips, tricks, techniques and methods that I personally use to become fluent in foreign languages in a matter of months, then I highly recommend checking out the book I have written. I wrote it so that you will spend less time trying to figure out the structure and more time just building your ability in your foreign language. You can find more information about my auctions for the book at: http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=kanadarob -- Thank you very much for reading my guide and I hope you find success in your foreign language studies. Feel free to contact me any time. Thanks again!