Rosetta Stone Language Learning Software

Tuesday, 02 March 2010 23:46

Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone is a company that specializes in language learning software. The company was started based on the ideas of Allen Stoltzfus, who later partnered with his brother Eugene and brother-in-law John Fairfield. They started the company in 1992 and named it Rosetta Stone, after the artifact that was the key to linguists unlocking the secrets of Egyptian hieroglyphics.

The language learning software that was created is unique in that it did not include the act of translation as a means of learning language that had been used by so many others. Instead, the Rosetta Stone products were based on learning a language naturally, through the use of sounds and pictures in context.

The Rosetta Stone language learning software sends the student into a completely immersive environment on their computer. Much like a child learning to speak as they grow older, the software they provide teaches languages by experiencing the world around you. Their software does not include things like dictionaries, memorization drills, or flash cards. It is based on making people think in the language they are trying to learn.

The software presents a well designed sequence of activities, which surrounds the user with images, words, and the voices of people who speak the language naturally. This leads to a progression of learning words and phrases to sentences and then entire conversations. The software makes the student interact with the program instead of passively getting the information fed to them. It includes hearing, writing, and pronouncing words while matching them to images.

The Rosetta Stone language learning software not only makes the person speak aloud to finish phrases and sentences, but also helps refine that by making them emulate the pronunciation of native speakers. It also offers review exercises that helps to transfer what is learned into your long term memory. The speech-recognition feature of the software not only helps with syllables, sentences, and words, but makes sure that everything is pronounced correctly.

The Rosetta Stone language learning software is currently available for learning over 30 languages, and has been used by thousands of schools as well as the U.S. Army, NASA, U.S. State Department, and the company Pitney Bowes.

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Last Updated on Tuesday, 02 March 2010 23:58

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