Rosetta Stone

[Vanchu, Anthony J. (JSC-AH)[TTI]]

We have Rosetta Stone available of our lab computers for our students
(all adult learners) to use.  Our experience has been that some students
find it a useful supplement to what they're doing in classes.

I wouldn't, however, recommend it as the foundation for a program of
learning Russian--there's just too much that a CAI program of this
nature doesn't/can't include.  Besides the things that others have
mentioned, one basic problem is that the series of images that they show
to elicit responses is the same for each language they offer (or at
least for Russian and Japanese, both of which we have).  So there's
nothing there that ties in to Russian culture specifically and a number
of things that are just plain culturally inappropriate for the Russian
context.

One other problem--at least in the version that we have--is that the
contents listings for all the lessons are in Russian.  That's fine for
instructors, but it doesn't help out students very much, so they have
either to sit there with a dictionary and figure them out, or simply go
through it one lesson at a time.  We've actually done a translation for
them that sits by the computers.  A lot of extra work for something
that's supposed to work on its own.

All that said, to reiterate, it's a potentially useful supplement to
work done in the classroom.

Tony Vanchu

Dr. Anthony J. Vanchu
Director, JSC Language Education Center
TechTrans International, Inc.
NASA Johnson Space Center
Houston, TX
anthony.j.vanchu at nasa.gov
Phone:  (281) 483-0644
Fax:  (281) 483-4050

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