The first ever hard science is out about Rosetta Stone Spanish software and confirms what users of Rosetta Stone products have known all along. The independent study out of Queens College, City University of New York (CUNY) proves that just 55 hours of study with this product will significantly improve your Spanish language skills, regardless of age, race, gender, income and education.
The CUNY study, entitled “Measuring the Effectiveness of Rosetta Stone,” assembled a sample group of 176 students between the ages of 19 and 70 to take an adaptive placement test, study exactly 55 hours of Rosetta Stone Learn Spanish software, then re-take the adaptive placement test to measure the distance covered.
The findings show, among other things, that 55 hours of time spent with Rosetta Stone Spanish software is equivalent to 45 hours of class time and 39 hours of homework in a college Spanish class. This also represents a cost savings of $2,015 versus what you would pay for the same instruction (3 credit hours) at a public university.
The Rosetta Stone method of teaching languages works so well because its methods focus on exposing the brain to exactly what it needs to process and integrate new language skills – in an immersive environment where you instinctively learn to speak by experiencing the world around you. Images, words and the voices of native speakers all combine to create this successful learning environment.
The immersion method simulates the way a child would naturally learn to speak: by hearing phrases, seeing images and matching them up. The Rosetta Course unit in TOTALe programs also require the student to communicate in only the language being learned.
With 31 languages to choose from, this method can help with any of your foreign language needs. The programs also come with a six month money-back guarantee in case you don’t see the desired results. This is another good indicator of how confident the company is that you will get what you need from any given Rosetta Stone language program.
The CUNY study only addresses the bare minimum amount of level 1 study for 55 hours, which equates to one semester of study of a college language course. They plan to increase the study time to be able to further measure how easy and relatively fast it is to learn a language using any product by Rosetta Stone.
During the initial study, all students were given the option to complete the coursework at home or to use a Rosetta Stone facility. Interestingly, the results showed that those who completed the work in the facility did only slightly better than those who did the work at home. The difference was not significant – meaning that if you plunk down the money for a TOTALe program (markedly more expensive, but also more expansive web-based instruction) you will get your money’s worth or get your money back.
The CUNY study confirms that any use of these language programs represent a significant time and savings compared to money and time spent on college language courses. In short – Rosetta Stone is better than taking a college language course.
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