| | |  | Indoor-Outdoor Living | Home » » » Rosetta Stone V2: Thai Level 1 | | | | | | | Description: | | Thai Level 1 starts at the very beginning. You progress from words and phrases to complete sentences. Basic content and structures help you engage the world around you, culminating in practical language for getting around town. At any time you can prac | | | Features: | |
• Rosetta Stone helps you understand everyday language through our proficiency-based listening and reading activities
• You will pronounce words correctly after practicing with our proprietary speech comparison tool
• Find the words you need when you need them Connecting new language directly to real-life images means the words spring to mind when you're in everyday contexts
• Rosetta Stone teaches you to spell and write accurately Language-specific keyboards and drag and drop tiles perfect your writing skills
• Learn to communicate by quickly combining words and phrases into complete sentences and dialogue
| | | Product Details: | | | Package Length:
| 9.8 inches | | Package Width:
| 8.1 inches | | Package Height:
| 2.3 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.2 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 19 reviews |
| | | System Requirements: | | | Platform:
| Windows Vista / Windows 2000 / Windows XP / Mac OS X | | Media:
| CD-ROM | | Item Quantity:
| 1 |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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 LOVE THIS! what language should i learn next with rs?Aug 27, 2010
i don't know WHAT the reviewers who gave this software a 3 star or lower are talking about. i love learning languages for fun: i know cantonese, french, arabic, and russian (with a little bit of spanish and georgian on the side). i am only on my first unit but this program has been working on me and i think it is totally worth $200. that being said, i can understand why some people would give this a negative review; learning languages is NOT easy; you won't get it overnight. its a bloody learning cd; not a magic wand. you have to have solid discipline and work hard to grasp a language. if you are TRULY focused, rosetta stone will work WONDERS.
why do i think rosetta stone gets it done? well, i believe that the best way to learn a language is to associate pictures with sounds; just like you did growing up. when wee little children learn, for example, there's no english label to it; it just is. for all the languages that i learned while i was growing up, it was via a book, teacher and transliterations. while they do work, it doesn't assimulate you in the language completely. the teacher will always resort to english translations and speak to the class in english for the first year of the language. rosetta stone is different. imagine if someone kidnapped you and dropped you off in a distant land where you don't know the language at all, you are completely immersed and you learn the language via sounds and associations; just like you did as a child. there is no english to help you out; you just have to rely on your senses. that's the way to quickly learn a language. when you were a child and learning how to speak, how did you learn? well first of all, you are completely immersed in the language. you would learn by seeing an object, repeating the object's name over and over with your mum and dad, and eventually seeing and memorizing how the written form of the object looks like. studies show that children learn languages easier when they are young and that is the same method that rosetta stone is using.
the only downside about rosetta stone thai is that they don't teach you the alphabet which is a little tough when you are trying to match what you hear (poo chai- man) to the written form. however, it is also a good thing because it forces you to really look at the thai word. once you start looking at the words, you will start associating each letter with a certain sound. i would suggest you pick out a small group of consonents, vowels (44 consonents and 32 vowels in the thai language) and study/practice writing the alphabet at the end of each lesson. if you just do 10 consonents or vowels at the end of each lesson, you will have the entire alphabet learned by the end of unit 1.
i can't wait to leave work today so i can go back home and learn some more thai!
ReviewJul 30, 2010
Personally I think it is way overrated. And over priced. My thoughts. I live in Thailand and it did help somewhat but not that much. Maybe i didn't give it a chance.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Great Idea (But that's not enough)Apr 03, 2010
While I initially enjoyed this product tremendously, its limitations quickly became apparent. Although it is a fine product for teaching such simple things as counting and how to say "boy" or "dog," its utility breaks down rapidly as such more-complex tasks (such as saying "There are many boys riding their bikes"). Although Rosetta's method may work sufficiently for other languages, there are a number of challenges inherent in the Thai language that do not lend themselves well to this type of program. For starters, the Thai alphabet is completely different and the program does not help at all (or very little) to understand how this alphabet functions. Further, the sentence structure is much different than in English (or French or Spanish - maybe it is a little closer to Chinese). And, to really make things difficult, there are no spaces between Thai words (who ever thought that was a good idea?!). True, these are difficulties that any student of Thai would encounter, but I feel that my chances of surmounting these problems with a personal tutor of whom I can ask questions would be much greater. I plan to invest in a good teacher if/when I move to Thailand. In any case, I do not recommend this program and, if you are planning to spend only a couple of weeks in Thailand, then this is doubly not the program for you.
Something Better than Rosetta!Mar 30, 2010
The Short Version: Try free online lessons at [...], or on youtube using their search engine for the same name. If you want bang for your buck, this is the way to go.
The Long Version: After using - and owning - both Pimsleur Thai, which I found good, and Rosetta Thai, which I found better, to be fair, I learned useful language facility from both in a short time, although Rosetta Thai, using a reward system of picture to phonetic word (and Thai script), had advantage over Pimsleur's methodology. I didn't like that I had to load my Rosetta content disk into my computer every time I wanted to study, but I did like that their system keeps score of your progress even after you remove the content disk (you must install the program access software to your hard drive). Pimsleur is for afficionados of older audio intense learning methodology, but again, if you really want to learn and you load your cassette or CD (both formats are available) up for listening every night, their method worked well for me too. Of course the advantage of audio-only technology is just that; kick back and absorb what you hear and move on from lesson to lesson at your own rate (as well as study from the provided study guide at your own option/convenience, which I never have to date). The price of Rosetta Thai, as well as all of their software, is daunting to most. The cost of the Pimsleur Thai (I suggest you buy the more comprehensive package of more (16?) lessons than not, as again, their system works well and you may find it as addictive as I have) is more reasonable... as well as worth every dollar. Still, as I'm one of those people who keeps his eyes open - even when finding something that works adequately - I did find something, though by accident (and am now greatful that I did).
For less than a hundred bucks, this is exactly what I was looking for: [...]. If you go to their site, or preview it on [...] (just type in - [...] - for a search and you'll get video samples of their lessons, as well as similar free lessons from their site), as I did when I first found it by accident, you may agree with me that this is far superior if you've tried other learn Thai methods/programs. In fact, I can't believe that it is offered so inexpensively, as now having the comparison the other products I've tried, as noted above, [...] is so much better, and... for so much less! If you have iTunes, you can download it into the free Apple software using the podcast downloads that iTunes has built into its software, or you can download directly from the site if you don't have iTunes. Either way, you won't be disappointed with the voluminous material you will receive; more than (last count) 125 grammar usage Premium lessons, as well as more than 300 vocabulary lessons, including more than 3,000 Thai-English words.
[...] teaches using the best proven methods of teaching to insure that its subscribers easily learn what they have paid for; some of us learn better by seeing, some by hearing, and some through experience (in this case, by saying or practicing what you hear). Using all three methods in their video presentations of either grammar or vocabulary lessons, one has the advantage of using all three methods at once.
I've been to Thailand twice in the last six months (beginning Thanksgiving, 2010), and I always hear from the Thai people that I speak with that not only do I speak well, but I understand a lot too (the Thai people are very generous in this way, I have found). (I'll mention here too that what I have learned has given me the confidence to speak, and, consequently, learn yet more through the conversations that I am able to engage). Having spent two years in Thailand over forty years ago while in the U.S. Army - and remembering little more than how to count or get from point A to B - I can tell you that what I have NOW learned in a much shorter period of time using the [...] methodology and material has served me very well.
So, if you're looking for something that will help you learn (enough, or more, depending on you)Thai in a short time, try out some of the lessons on either their site or on [...]. Having iTunes, and an iPod nano, I'm also able to transfer my lessons and take them with me when I'm not near a computer. As well, if I have my computer along and haven't downloaded the material from their site, I can always log in and access whatever lesson I want. LTP also has other methodology on their site which will enhance your learning experience.
And finally, as you will find that L-T-P also teaches colloquial usage as well, you may find something else mentioned that I found in one of my other Thai language books (including my very handy Becker Thai-English dictionary)... Thais enjoy catchy sayings. So, I'll end with this one which someone can hopefully translate for themselves very soon: the proof is in the pudding. Hmmm... now that makes me hungry, or "hiw," as in the phonetic "hue", which is Thai.
I hope this review has been helpful to you! I enjoy sharing what I find that's really, really good.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Don't buy itFeb 10, 2010
I've been living in Thailand for more than six years and have a decent grasp of Thai, but not great. I wanted to learn more using the much-touted Rosetta Stone approach. What a nightmare.
I was constantly asking my wife what this meant and what that meant. I understood a lot of what was said thanks to my current level of Thai, but many parts of each sentence I had no idea what they were talking about. If you are learning on your own without the constant help of a native Thai speaker, this will not work for you. Take it from someone who has knack for languages.
Other readers have also commented on the lack of attention the importance of tones in the language. Someone who does not know this won't understand that there are five different tones in the language (hi, mid, low, rising and falling). Don't waste your money.
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