Anyone ever try Rosetta Stone "Korean"

[ntm]

I've lived here a while and my Korean speaking is decent but I'd like to get better at listening and comprehension.  I have heard lots of good reviews of this program and just wondered if anyone here has tried it and how good they thinks it is. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks

[Loki001]

I tried it for a while but am not a fan. I don't think it's suited to adult learning. It is very repetitive, It is very repetitive , It is very repetitive, It is very repetitive. And it never explains any of the concepts your trying to understand, it just shows you a picture, then listen, repeat then regurgitate.
The voice recognition software is impressive until you realize how much you can just mumble everything and it will pass even on the highest accuracy setting.

Anki is a really good program and you don't have to waste your time on stuff you already know.
http://ankisrs.net/

http://talktomeinkorean.com/

[TorontoColin]

I would agree that there are better options for learning Korean than Rosetta Stone (like the websites mentioned) but Pimsleur is an excellent way to learn any language.  It immerses you in the language for about 30 minutes a day and can really speed your understanding of conversational Korean.  Of course, there is no better immersion than getting out and meeting new Koreans so books and courses will only give you a foundation upon which to learn.

Good luck!

[notanartist]

Rosetta Stone is great if you want to learn how to say "The girl is drinking water." or "The man has a cat."  There's not much conversational Korean, and I don't think I've used any of the language I learned with the software while I'm here.  TalkToMeInKorean.com is a great resource to start learning practical language while you're looking for other resources.

[SpaceRook]

Rosetta Stone is great if you want to learn how to say "The girl is drinking water." or "The man has a cat."  There's not much conversational Korean, and I don't think I've used any of the language I learned with the software while I'm here.  TalkToMeInKorean.com is a great resource to start learning practical language while you're looking for other resources.

I'm not a fan of Rosetta Stone, but in it's defense, sentences like "The girl is drinking water" are pretty useful.  Obviously you may never use this exact sentence.  But the vocab is good (girl, drinking, water) and learning the structure is important (in Korean, it would be "girl water drinking").  Once you understand a sentence like this and have some more vocabulary down, you can make your own combinations.

For me, where Rosetta Stone fails is that it treats you like a kid.  Their assumption is that because kids learn through immersion, adults should learn that way, too.  I disagree with this.  As adults, we can greatly benefit from seeing analogies to our own language.  Instead of endless guessing about what "-고있어요" means, we just need to be told: it's the "ing" form.  I am *not* against immersion.  It is great for the classroom and conversation practice.  But when you're at home studying, I personally like to see English explanations.

Also, I found Rosetta Stone's review system to be lacking.  Sometimes, I just wanted to blast through a bunch of vocab to practice.  There isn't really a simple way to do this in Rosetta Stone. 

Finally, it is incredibly easy to cheat.  Your brain will look for the easiest way to answer questions whether you want it to or not.  When a Korean sentence looks like "blah blah blah blah blah blah blah MAN blah blah blah blah blah" and only one picture has a man in it, it's pretty easy to guess what the right answer is.

So, in short, I don't really recommend Rosetta Stone.  My own favorite resources are:

- TalkToMeInKorean.com : Probably one of the best language sites ever.
- Korean Made Easy For Beginners : The best book for beginners.  Covers hangeul and lots of basic grammar. 
- Korean Grammar in Use Another great book from Darakwon.
- Sogang University classes and books - Focuses on conversation.
- Pimsleur Korean audio courses - I like it, but I don't love it like some people.  I always had a bunch of questions about what they taught me.  I recommend using a grammar book side-by-side with Pimsleur.  Also, the Korean dude sounds kinda pissed off after the first 5 or so hours. 

[Damien]

"There are many books in the library." That's about all it's good for. It's trash.

[joelpie]

As adults, we can greatly benefit from seeing analogies to our own language.

i think this hits the nail on the head. i've recently started using it and i feel like there is nothing to grasp onto. English is always going to be most useful for explaining concepts and grammatical points.

[Nickjo]

Rosetta Stone is a mixed bag IMO. I think the software's listening comprehension sections are pretty solid. But I agree that it should lean more towards conversational language. Also, at least with the Korean section, the grammar sections are unintuitive.

[toiletpaper]

I used Rosetta Stone Korean for a month before I came to Korea. I got through all of Level 1 and I have to say it was very repetitive but I learned a lot of useful vocabulary in a short amount of time. You can adjust the settings though to make it less repetitive. If it is set for a full school years worth of learning, you will review the same material about 4 or 5 times before completing a lesson whereas if you set it for efficiency, you will only review material once or twice before moving on

The visual aspect of Rosetta Stone works well with nouns and some basic verbs and adjectives, but as the language gets more complex, the pictures start to become confusing and I ended up having to just look up a lot of stuff through free online sites to understand what Rosetta Stone was trying to get across. It's definitely a useful complementary program to use with other resources when self studying Korean but I wouldn't advise spending the money. You can easily find it online for free from different download sites and torrents if you really want to try it.

I also went through 16 lessons of Pimsleur's Korean and that seemed like a good foundation for Korean also and is much cheaper than Rosetta Stone. I think the best way to learn is if you're in Korea, just look up and learn all the words around you that you read and hear everyday, picking up new ones each day.

[Nickjo]

I'm not a fan of Rosetta Stone, but in it's defense, sentences like "The girl is drinking water" are pretty useful.  Obviously you may never use this exact sentence.  But the vocab is good (girl, drinking, water) and learning the structure is important (in Korean, it would be "girl water drinking").  Once you understand a sentence like this and have some more vocabulary down, you can make your own combinations.

For me, where Rosetta Stone fails is that it treats you like a kid.  Their assumption is that because kids learn through immersion, adults should learn that way, too.  I disagree with this.  As adults, we can greatly benefit from seeing analogies to our own language.  Instead of endless guessing about what "-고있어요" means, we just need to be told: it's the "ing" form.  I am *not* against immersion.  It is great for the classroom and conversation practice.  But when you're at home studying, I personally like to see English explanations.

Also, I found Rosetta Stone's review system to be lacking.  Sometimes, I just wanted to blast through a bunch of vocab to practice.  There isn't really a simple way to do this in Rosetta Stone. 

Finally, it is incredibly easy to cheat.  Your brain will look for the easiest way to answer questions whether you want it to or not.  When a Korean sentence looks like "blah blah blah blah blah blah blah MAN blah blah blah blah blah" and only one picture has a man in it, it's pretty easy to guess what the right answer is.

So, in short, I don't really recommend Rosetta Stone.  My own favorite resources are:

- TalkToMeInKorean.com : Probably one of the best language sites ever.
- Korean Made Easy For Beginners : The best book for beginners.  Covers hangeul and lots of basic grammar. 
- Korean Grammar in Use Another great book from Darakwon.
- Sogang University classes and books - Focuses on conversation.
- Pimsleur Korean audio courses - I like it, but I don't love it like some people.  I always had a bunch of questions about what they taught me.  I recommend using a grammar book side-by-side with Pimsleur.  Also, the Korean dude sounds kinda pissed off after the first 5 or so hours.

Thanks Spacerook for the sources. I think I will probably purchase the Korean Made Easy for Beginners. One question: does Hanbooks ship within Korea? It is cheaper than Amazon by a bit anyway so I think it is the way to go.

[mystic951]

I've used it for Spanish a bit for Korean, its aight. It doesn't beat actually talking to someone in Korean (or Spanish) but its good for when you're at home, chillin, and just need to drill phrases/words/sounds/etc.

Its a good program, but maybe not for the price.

[SpaceRook]

Thanks Spacerook for the sources. I think I will probably purchase the Korean Made Easy for Beginners. One question: does Hanbooks ship within Korea? It is cheaper than Amazon by a bit anyway so I think it is the way to go.

Sorry, I don't know about shipping.  However, the books I linked to are very common in any Korean bookstore with a Korean language learning section.  Any decent sized Kyobo bookstore should have them.  If not, I'm sure you can give them the name/ISBN and they can order it for you. 

[codetornado]

I like rosetta stone for pronunciation. You also have to be commited to going at it for a full lesson at a time. It is not for occasional or short study. It has worked well for me, but I'll spend 2hours at a time wiht it 3 times a week. If you are commited it is great.

that said. Don't buy it. It is way over priced.

[lollinhard]

I tried it for a while but am not a fan. I don't think it's suited to adult learning. It is very repetitive, It is very repetitive , It is very repetitive, It is very repetitive. And it never explains any of the concepts your trying to understand, it just shows you a picture, then listen, repeat then regurgitate.
The voice recognition software is impressive until you realize how much you can just mumble everything and it will pass even on the highest accuracy setting.

Anki is a really good program and you don't have to waste your time on stuff you already know.
http://ankisrs.net/

http://talktomeinkorean.com/

Thank you for this.

[Seoulteacher]

I really like the website: www.livemocha.com. You can actually practice writing and speaking and it will be reviewed by native speakers for free! It's basically a community of learners so they ask that you review submissions in your native language when possible. There's even the opportunity to chat with native speakers. Also, they have courses not just in Korean but other languages as well. Good luck!

[scottdk]

The most effective would be to make some Korean friends.  Really really, you'll learn a lot more, because they will tell you more natural ways of speaking.  Like you mentioned you want to improve your listening this is a great way.  Using the sources that people have listed will be good, but I really suggest conversing with Koreans more often than using any program.

[SpaceRook]

The most effective would be to make some Korean friends.  Really really, you'll learn a lot more, because they will tell you more natural ways of speaking.  Like you mentioned you want to improve your listening this is a great way.  Using the sources that people have listed will be good, but I really suggest conversing with Koreans more often than using any program.

Korean friends are a good supplement to studying Korean, but I don't think they are valuable as the main way to learn Korean.  Most are not trained teachers and will be speaking way above your level.  It is literally impossible for many of them to reduce their speech to a beginner's level.   They will also become impatient and bored (even if they don't say it directly).  Additionally, the conversations have a way of constantly drifting back to English.

By all means, talk with Koreans.  But don't expect miracles.  Ultimately, for most people, learning a language is largely about having the discipline to self study.

[theoperator]

I have to agree with most of you in saying that Rosetta Stone is a mixed jumble of should and shouldn't. In my experience, it helped with certain vocabulary when you reach a certain level, but mostly it is listen / repeat multiple times until the program assumes you are finished. Sometimes it thinks a certain word is very simple (when it really is not) and only repeats it 2 times, while other words it will do it 5 times.
As other posters have pointed out, there are WAY better sources to use.

I have personally met with the creator of www.talktomeinkorean.com and his understanding of a foreigner trying to learn Korean helps makes his lessons very easy to comprehend. It is still my #1 go to if I need help.

[adamsmith]

i've done a few lessons of pimsleur now. i find it a pretty effective method of learning conversational bits through audio immersion. the one drawback is that there is no visual aspect, and without any phonetic breakdown of the words or phrases it can be difficult to learn the best pronunciations. when i have the time i think i'll stick to a written + audio form of learning the language. best of luck!

[bb]

Ditto what everyone else said about the shortcomings of Rosetta Stone. That said though, as a supplementary tool I found it helpful, particularily re: pronunciation practice. Few other programs have a pronunciation evaluation feature.