5 stars (Rosetta Stone is the BEST!) - I tried other language software, tried to save a few bucks. It was not worth it. Rosetta stone works, it is sort of fun and before you know it you are learning the language in a way that stays with you.
4 stars (Which dialect of Vietnamese is taught?) - My disclaimer: This is not a review of the software's useability. I am extremely satisfied with the software's ability to teach me the content as intended by the publisher.
However, if you are in the U.S. you may realize that a great majority of the Vietnamese population here is South Vietnamese. This is because during and after the Vietnam War, the majority of refugees was from the non-communist side (south). Therefore, if you encounter Vienamese speaking people in the U.S. there is a good chance that they will speak with a south Vietnamese dialect. Once you are done with the course, you will be able to speak moderate Vietnamese with a NORTHERN accent and dialect. The northern accent is quite different from southern (vastly more different than English with a southern vs. New York accent). Additionally, the vocabulary is 5-10% different. So you'll be able to get by, but if you go to Little Saigon in whatever city, don't be surprised if language is not exactly as expected. The U.S. population if Vietnamese ir primarily southern.
Now, if you are going to Vietnam, and want to learn the language for travel purposes, this program is probably quite adequate. Just like anywhere else in the world you will find different accents and dialects in the region.
Anyway - have fun learning Vietnamese - the software works. All the pro's and con's have been reviewed elsewhere - so I'm not going to be repetitive.
5 stars (Minh noi tieng viet!) - The Rosetta Stone products are great. I have bought Vietnamese level 1 and Japanese level 1 and 2. I consider vietnamese to be a much more difficult language to learn since it is a tonal language. This software helped me a lot and now I am even able to chat on the internet with vietnamese people. However, don't think that this software is all you need to learn the language. Since there are no translations(it is only based on pictures, sounds and text in vietnamese) I had to use several dictionaries to help me through the lessons. In this page is a nice and free dictionary for ...And I also recommend a dictionary such as The Rough Guide Vietnamese dictionary where at the beginning is a reference to the basics of the language. This is where you might want to start before studying the lessons in the RS Vietnamese I. |
