Using Rosetta Stone for Hebrew language

At the beginning of the school year, I purchased (together with another homeschooler) the complete Rosetta Stone Hebrew language program.  I called support three different times to be sure that it was okay to buy the program together and share it, and was told it was fine.  The program is set up for use on two different computers and each computer can accommodate five different users.  So we each have it registered to one of our computers, and can each use it for up to five children. 

We didn’t get this installed until October, but since then, the kids have been getting so much out of it!  We bought the complete program, which consists of three levels that will supposedly take you through a basic level of conversational fluency.  Dd14 finished level one in ten days, and I was amazed that she could construct basic sentences in such a short time. 

I really like how Rosetta Stone structures their learning – you can click on a sample lesson on their website if you want to try it.  It’s easier to see than to describe, but basically it’s like this:  you’re shown four pictures on the screen, all somewhat similar and somewhat different.  You’ll see the word or phrase describing one of the pictures on the screen and simultaneously hear the pronunciation of each word. Then you’re asked to say the phrase that matches the phrase (and your pronunciation has to be fairly accurate to get it right).

This gets the child immediately immersed in the language, just as if they were living abroad. The phrases and pictures get more complicated, and you can’t progress to a higher level until you’ve reached a certain level of understanding. Each child has their own account and comes back to where they were up to when they sit down to work on this.

I’ve been very happy with this program and have been meaning to write about it since it’s such a great way to learn.  It’s so easy and fun for everyone.  It’s pretty pricey, but I bought it with a friend when it was on sale, so the amount we each paid for all three levels was about what we would have on our own paid for just the first level.   

I just got an email that for Cyber Monday (today), they’re having a great sale on all of their programs (they have probably just about every language that you’d want to learn!), so I thought I’d pass the information on for anyone interested so you can save some money!   The promo code I was sent is nfcyb (I don’t know if you need the code or not, and this is not in any way linked to me) and it’s good until midnight tonight.

Avivah

6 thoughts on “Using Rosetta Stone for Hebrew language

  1. Aviva, this is such a timely post as I was just considering buying the Rosetta Stone for Hebrew. I called them just a few minutes ago and they told me that the CD can only be downloaded onto one computer at a time — making sharing very difficult! Did you buy a different sort of program? Thanks!

    1. I figured it out. Apparently, you can only load the program onto multiple computers simultaneously if you are using the homeschooling edition. The regular Rosetta Stone can only be used on one computer at a time.

  2. That sounds great. I just got into using LiveMocha.com for myself. Their free courses are nowhere near as comprehensive as what you’re describing, but I like them as backup to language skills learned elsewhere, as you get feedback on your pronunciation and writing from native speakers of the language in question (and you give such feedback for languages you’re native/fluent in). While the lesson/prompt you’re responding to may be very basic, people will correct you on whatever you put in, which can be at a much more advanced level.

    It sounds like your kids are well served for Hebrew for now, but I thought this might be of potential interest if they wanted extra practice at something, or to try the basics of another language.

    1. Thanks for mentioning this! I’ve glanced at it very casually in the past; it’s great to know about free options for foreign language support and am glad that thanks to you others will know about this as well.

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