Learning Mandarin with Rosetta Stone TOTALe
By now, everyone has seen their airport kiosks, Western Union store counters, or infomercials, but with the release of Rosetta Stone TOTALe, the full-immersion language tool has finally hit the Web. I’ve been using TOTALe to learn Mandarin over the last month, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much I’ve learned. I’m months away from being able to have a conversation with a native speaker lasting longer than 20 (er shi) seconds, but my vocabulary has expanded far beyond 1 (yi), 2 (er), 3 (san), and water (shui). Beyond basic greetings and a few key objects, I’m now able to complain about odor and personal hygiene, which just may come in handy during my next visit to Beijing in October. I can even recognize several dozen characters, and pronounce 5+ variations of “xie” (it’s used for far more than just thank you, in which case it’s pronounced “shey”).
Rosetta Stone TOTALe takes full advantage of the Web, supplementing the traditional three-part Rosetta Course with Rosetta Studio, where you can speak directly with a native-speaking “coach,” and Rosetta World, which enables language learners to interact with others learning the same language by playing games and communicating in chat rooms. I also like being able to learn Mandarin using any computer, but the current version of TOTALe does not allow you to store the program locally on your computer, so you’ll need an Internet connection whenever you want to learn (the next version — coming soon — will include CD components so the software can be installed on your computer, and accessed without an Internet connection).
The price — a one-year TOTALe subscription is currently on sale for $999 — may cause some sticker shock for potential language learners, but compared to a university or language institute course, TOTALe is a bargain. There’s no free trial, unfortunately, but Rosetta Stone offers a 30-day money back guarantee on TOTALe, so if you don’t mind paying $999 up front, I definitely recommend taking advantage of the 30-day trial (Rosetta Stone provided me with a 3-month media demo account). I will continue using TOTALe for the remainder of my trial period, and will post next month about my progress, along with more details about the service and interface.
