*Disclosure: I received a free Rosetta Stone for review purposes and am being compensated for my time. I am not required to give a positive review. As always, I am sharing my honest opinion with you.
My husband’s boss is French Canadian. He flies down a couple of times a month to check on his business, and it is always so much fun to chat with him because of his lovely accent. He will sometimes pause mid-sentence to try and remember the correct English word. We thought it would be a hoot to secretly learn French as a family and surprise him!
Our original plan was to use an inexpensive program that I picked up at Costco a couple of years ago for my high schooler, as well as a free online site that she had been using. I was overjoyed when I learned that we had an opportunity to review Rosetta Stone Language for Homeschool. Now I would be able to compare the three and see if Rosetta Stone was really worth the money.
Rosetta Stone Homeschool
We received Rosetta Stone Homeschool Level 1 French to review. The homeschool version allows up to 5 users on two computers. It comes with a very handy parent’s guide that contains several different lesson plan schedules. I have the choice of assigning my kids a full year curriculum, or choosing a particular focus like reading, speaking, or listening.
The Rosetta Stone French Homeschool program includes:
- Interactive Software with Parent Administrative Tools
- USB Headset with Microphone
- Audio Companion CDs – this is going on our upcoming road trip
- Supplemental Education Materials CD – worksheets, quizzes, course contents
- User’s Guide
- Parent’s Guide
What I Like About Rosetta Stone Homeschool
Independent Learning ~ My 10, 12 and 18 yr olds volunteered to test it out. Once I set the program up and we figured out how to use it (thank you User’s Guide!), I haven’t had to help anyone with their lessons. So great! In order to maintain transparency, I’ll tell you that I never had to help my daughter with the other two programs either. The difference –> I know exactly how my kids are progressing through Rosetta Stone by looking at the Parent Administrative section. I never had a clue what my daughter was learning with the other programs, or how much time was actually spent.
Language Immersion ~ English is not spoken during these lessons. A word or phrase is given along with a picture of the object or action. You are then given more pictures and must match up the correct phrase with each picture. This really challenges my kids to think about the connections between the words and the images.
Microphone Headset ~ First of all, it is nice! This headset didn’t come from the dollar store. The voice recognition aspect of this program is the key to its success. My kids cannot move on to the next lesson unless they pronounce the words correctly. I don’t have to monitor the lessons to make sure everyone is understanding. Note: This feature could be frustrating for a child with a major speech impediment.
Supplemental Materials ~ The pdf files for corresponding worksheets and quizzes are so helpful. I had a very hard time finding printables for my daughter to use last year so I could have something for her portfolio. The course content sheets list all of the words/phrases introduced in each lesson. We will be using these as study guides.
I was kind of afraid that my younger kids might balk at adding French into their school day. Not only did that not happen, but my 10 yr old begs to do it. She even uses some of her coveted Minecraft time to do extra lessons. That right there makes Rosetta Stone Language for Homeschool worth the money!
Connect with Rosetta Stone:
Try the Free Demo
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Sign up for their Homeschool eNewsletter (at bottom)
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