6 of 7 customers found the following review helpful:
 A good place to start..., 2004-08-20
I'm working on lesson 1 of the 22 available and it's been both fun and challenging. Boy, girl, man, woman, dog, cat, ball, horse, car, airplane. I wondered why I needed such simple stuff. Then it moved on to woman on horse, man in car, ball on boy, girl and dog, boy under plane. It's all done by picture association, no English.
You take the nouns and add directions--on, in, under, and. It makes sense as the lessons move along. I'm now on jump, run, swim, etc. I know, it doesn't make you understand instantly, but by association, at a slow pace that doesn't make you feel that you're in over your head. In fact, it makes it seem simple and you have instant gratification as you finish up one lesson and move onto the next, a feeling that you have accomplished something. The program even keeps score as you go along, with correct and incorrect answers
You have choices--with the Russian words imposed on the pictures or without and the option of hearing the phrase repeated as you choose which of the 4 option pictures matches the phrase. When I jump ahead to view the more advance lessons, I will be amazed when I get to that level.
You gotta crawl before you walk, and walk before you run. It's all very basic building up to more advanced lessons.
I recommend it as a good place to start. If there are better programs available, I hope I find them. But for now, I'm learning and don't feel stupid about it. I didn't give it 5 stars just in case I find something better.
A great way to try the best language learning software, 2004-04-07
This is by far the best language learning software out there for the DIY language learner. It uses total immersion without any English (this is a good thing). I own the full length courses for both Russian and German 1 and 2, and while it was no small investment, it was definitely worth it. The Rosetta Stone software is like the Pimsleur tapes in that it's the best of its kind and you get what you pay for. I bought this program to try it and passed it on to a friend when I bought my full courses. Again, this is great software but you won't acheive any level of fluency with the abbreviated programs. But since the larger programs are extremely expensive, it's a good way to see if you like the system before you take the big plunge and spend the bucks on the full courses.
9 of 9 customers found the following review helpful:
 Great deal on fantastic software, 2004-01-07
As other reviewers have noted, this is the only language learning software series worth buying. It's very, very good. You really do learn to think in the new language from the beginning. I have only one quibble with this Russian version: you'll need to learn the Cyrillic alphabet, and obtain a keyboard chart, on your own, or else you'll be stymied by the writing exercises. (I called Rosetta's help desk, and they told me that other versions of the software had onscreen keyboard maps, but this one does not.)The "Russian Explorer" package comes with two additional happy surprises. First, along with the 22 lessons of Russian you paid for, you get a free sampler of introductory lessons in the twenty-five other languages Rosetta Stone offers. Even better, you get a coupon for a very substantial discount (you come out ahead) when you're ready to purchase the next levels of Rosetta Stone software. And you will: it's addictive. You can't go wrong by starting with the Explorer.
17 of 17 customers found the following review helpful:
Well Conceived Sampler, 2003-08-15
I reviewed many "beginner" systems and found this one to be the better choice for me. It introduces you to the Language in much the same way you learned your native language, visually and audibly. The words are there, too. I am half way through this "sampler" (you are given 22 lessons, which have four layers each) and find it very enjoyable. As you learn to speak, you also learn to read, too. A technique I am employing is to daily go through every lesson from the beginning, advancing every few days to the next lesson as I feel I've begun to absorb and retain the material to which I am exposed. To me, repetition is key to retention and comprehension. Pronunciation improves with each pass, retention improves with each day, and my ability to identify the subject(s) improves with each pass. However, be advised that this is not all there is to learning languages; I also have printed materials with which I work as well. Is it the better system of the few quality offerings? I can only speak from my experience. My Russian friend says I'm doing pretty well for what I know thus far. As my goal is to be able to have decent literacy in Russian within six months, I am confident I can attain it with the help of the Rosetta Stone system (beyond the Explorer sampler).
23 of 24 customers found the following review helpful:
A good beginning to Russian, 2000-07-07
Before using this software I thought of Russian as being really "hard" to learn. Thanks to Rosetta Stone I was learning without noticing it. I would learn words the same way a child would. By associating the word with the picture of what it represents instead of translating it. I haven't gone through all the exercises but I am pretty happy so far. I wish they included a handbook as a guide for the beginners but it is not bad. I recommend it.
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