Rosetta Stone is a featured part of many of PLC's programs. From what I have seen, it is a very effective way for students to improve their skills. If one expects to master a foreign language by only learning from a computer, you will likely be disappointed. However, Rosetta Stone in conjunction with classroom learning and real conversation practice will help students improve their skills very rapidly.
Rosetta Stone connects with learners on many different levels. When a new word is introduced, the word is heard by the student, the student sees a picture depicting the meaning of the word, the student sees the word written out, the student is asked to pronounce the word, and the word is incorporated in subsequent writing and grammar exercises. This type of repetition and the fact that student is presented the word in each way that language is used really helps to ensure that learned words and phrases (later in the program) are retained. Some people learn visually, others are auditory learners, and in my opinion, everyone learns faster from writing because it adds the element of requiring the person to physically create the word. Rosetta Stone guides the student to learn using all of these processes.
I particularly like the pronunciation portion of the program. I have found that my students find the pronunciation and speaking exercises in the program more difficult than vocabulary and grammar exercises. I have also seen pronunciation skills improve dramatically with use of the software. The software will not "pass" a student in a pronunciation exercise easily. It pushes the student to practice, repeat, and improve pronunciation. There have been many cases where I feel that a student is saying the word correctly (at least at an acceptable level) but the program requires more precision before the student can move on.
Pronunciation exercises are one of the reasons that I feel that having a native English speaking teacher helping students along with the software is important. One of the weaknesses in the program is that it is sometimes hard for students to identify what mistakes they are making when attempting to pronounce a word. I am often able to listen to the student and point out the problem area that needs to be corrected. Without having a teacher available, the student may become frustrated as they continue to repeat the word incorrectly.
Rosetta Stone teaches pronunciation and it simulates conversational exchanges, but having a teacher available to expand on conversation skill development is vital to achieve mastery. I have found that some Thai students are comfortable speaking to the computer, but when I attempt to engage them in a real conversation, they lack confidence. Rosetta Stone builds language skills, but it trains the learner to build language skills within the context of the software. The randomness of a real life conversation with a teacher is very important in preparing the student for real life interactions in a foreign country. The students are not able to anticipate what questions I might ask them, so they are forced to improve their listening comprehension.
Real life conversation practice is also very important in training a student to think on their feet and construct accurate responses even though they are limited by their vocabulary. When working with a language learning software, there is one and only one correct answer. When you are having a conversation with a person, you can say things in different ways to communicate your point. For example, if you don't know the English word "orchard" you can substitute with the words "tree farm". The words "tree farm" would be scored as incorrect in Rosetta Stone, but it is perfectly understandable when communicating with a real person.
My experience with Rosetta Stone is that students who practice the program every week improve their English skills significantly. There is no magic program that will teach someone a foreign language over night, but the Rosetta Stone program is effective and comprehensive and really helps students improve skills and develop confidence. However, language is used to communicate with people not computer software. For this reason, we at PLC consistently engage our students with personal instruction, reading practice, and conversation practice to ensure that students are able to transfer the skills they are learning on the computer to real life situations.
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