4 stars (Great supplement for those learning Latin) - I am a linguist and have purchased six of Rosetta Stone's language programmes. I have found them to be excellent supplemental tools in aquiring foreign languages. Without translations, your mind is forced to rely upon context (visual and verbal) to extract meaning. The repetive phrases ranging from one or two words to an entire paragraph engrain a syntactical map of how sentence structures are fabricated. I found that the more you work these lessons, the better they work for you. Repeating the phrases out loud each time after the speaker is much more powerful than simply listening.
The Latin speakers on this product render an excellent restored Classical Latin accent; the /r/'s are trilled (unlike the liquid English /r/ produced in some other Latin softwares) and the vowels are crisp and distinguished. The lessons provide enough exercises and variations to keep one occupied for a substantial length of time. Any Latin student that dedicates one or two extra hours daily to this programme in addition to their regular Latin homework will no doubt be head of the class.
My only gripes are that the pictures are lower quality than other Rosetta Stone programmes; they are small and have low resolution. And there is just one level with which one can only achieve a high-basic skill level at best upon completion.
5 stars (Buy this right now!) - I was interested in learning Latin, and my high school only offers Spanish and French. I resolved to learn it on my own, and this product was invaluable. It was amazing how fast I picked up Latin! Within a couple of weeks of study, the language seemed to flow off my tongue. Buying this product is the single most important step you can take to learning Latin. My only criticism is that there isn't a Latin II product to continue my studies. |
