Rosetta Stone Portuguese - Speak Like a Natural

Rosetta Stone Level 1 Brazilian Portuguese uses the Dynamic Immersion method to teach language in much the same way you learned your first language: through the association of objects, actions, and ideas with words both written and spoken. This method requires active participation, and all lessons are taught in Brazilian Portuguese. Don't worry. Go with the flow. The software covers reading, comprehension of what you read and hear, and speaking in very subtle and great ways. Just follow the examples in the exercises. Grammar? You can't go wrong. You won't even know it's there. Learning really is a painless process.

To get started, simply load the software and hook up your microphone. Repeat the examples, and see how close your pronunciation compares to that of Brazilians. Practice your reading and listening comprehension with on-screen writing and dictation. This language course is a natural for anyone who really wants to learn Brazilian Portuguese--it lets you use your own skills of pattern recognition, correlation, deduction, and induction that you use in everyday conversations.

Accept the language on its own terms. Translation isn't necessary. In

fact, translation is a skill in itself that not everyone masters. And that includes many people who are fluent in different languages.  Translation is the last part of learning a language, not the first, and it is not easy. So why put unnecessary strain on the brain cells?

There are many different kinds of exercises that check and re-check to make sure you really got the lesson. At the same time, if you need to hone up on a particular skill, you can use the bailout button in the lower right-hand corner to go back and select whatever unit, lesson, or skill needs your attention. Listening comprehension, writing, and reading comprehension take the student to consistent levels of activity and reinforce previous lessons while introducing new elements for practice and learning.

There are stunning, vivid, colorful, action photographs in most lessons for the sensation of real-life experiences, but then you'll run into some not-so-hot cartoon etchings for some lessons. These are a letdown that throws language learning back into an artificial sphere of abstractions. They need to be fixed in a new version to maintain consistency of quality. Since language and culture are intertwined, it would be more realistic for the color photographs to show actions and events in Brazil rather than the photographs currently used in the software, which were taken here in the United States. The lack of photographs from Brazil feels like the result of a budget crunch.

I did find some errors. For example, in Unit 4, Lesson 1, page 8, the use of talvez with the present subjunctive should be saved for Level 2. In Lesson 7, page 9, crianças has been used in the sense of children as in English, as the sons and daughters of the parents. This should be filhos. Anything not so hot here is a minor footnote when you consider the total language package. And the not-so-hot elements can always be fixed in a new version.

Bottom line: Rosetta Stone Level 1 Brazilian Portuguese is all about effective communication. The Dynamic Immersion method can get you where you want to be in Brazilian Portuguese if you actively participate and have fun with it.

Installation was easy with a broadband connection on a PC loaded with Windows XP. After I inserted the Application disk, the activity light on my computer flickered and then stopped. Since it had finished doing whatever it was doing, I exited out of the Add Software screen. Hidden behind it was the Installation shield for the program. From here I followed the Next buttons, and very quickly Rosetta Stone Level 1 Brazilian Portuguese had its icon on my desktop.

The yellow disk in the white envelope with the round transparent window was titled "APPLICATION / v.2.1.5.3A." It would be nice if the yellow disc also said "Installation and Setup" on this disk.

Inside the envelope was a sheet of installation instructions, with Macintosh on one side and Windows on the flip side. In Rosetta Stone User's Guide Levels 1 & 2, installation and running the software is on page 4 under topic 1.3, "Installing and Running Rosetta Stone." I would think the installation would come first, and the methodology second.

I strongly suggest that you read and follow the Rosetta Stone User's Guide Levels 1 & 2. Then, once you are ready to begin study, keep the Start Here card close by and use it until you are familiar with all parts of the software.

On the flip side of the card, in the lower right-hand corner, it gives you the technical support toll-free number and the Internet site for support.

This language learning software is a breeze to use. On the Activities screen, you have file labels on the left-hand side in a vertical column: A--listening and repeating for Preview and Guides; A again for listening and repeating as a lesson: B--reading; C--speaking; and D--writing. [See screenshot Activities]

There are eight units in the software and each unit has approximately eleven lessons, plus review lessons. Look for the prize ribbon icon for tests. And if you get stuck or need to go back, just click the last icon on the lower right-hand side of the screen (known as the bailout button). The question mark icon is the help button, and the first button is the settings button. There is also "Rosetta Stone Curriculum Text: Brazilian Portuguese Level 1," with all the lessons in written form.  The curriculum text only reinforces the software lessons.

With this software, you can measure how close your pronunciation comes to that of a Brazilian speaker. Let me clarify that: how close your pronunciation comes to the Brazilian speaker in the example. There is room for variation, but you know you are on the money when the dial goes into the green zone. In the yellow zone, it is good to very good. If you are in the red zone, then you need to practice, practice, practice. Some advice, though: if you try and try and try and still find yourself in the red, just walk away and come back some other time. You are probably trying too hard. The closer you come to imitating the Brazilian speaker's pronunciation, the more effective your communication will be.

[See screenshot of cartoon etchings] The quasi-primitive cartoon etchings take language learning out of reality and make it abstract. The stark contrast from the beautiful photographs to these so-so abstractions screams mistake. Just remember, the total package is good. Overall, this language software delivers on all fronts.

A word of caution, though. While using the microphone to practice my pronunciation to match that of a Brazilian speaker, a friend of mine who happens to live in Rio de Janeiro sent me an instant message. That little act crashed my computer. If you have your entire life on your computer like I do, you may want to disarm programs like instant messaging until your language lesson is finished, or get a larger hard drive, or take stuff off of your computer to accommodate unexpected Internet interaction. My computer came right back up, thankfully.

Rosetta Stone Level 1 Brazilian Portuguese is pure performance. From Unit 1, Lesson 1 to Unit 8, Lesson 12, this language software consistently gives a well structured lesson with examples from previous lessons for reinforcement.

Rosetta Stone displays its help service in not one but two places that I found. The first is on the flip side of the Start card with the toll-free telephone number, and the second is at the Internet link at the lower right-hand side of the screen. Then, each lesson has the question mark icon at the lower right-hand side. The question mark icon button in the middle takes you to Rosetta Stone's support site on the Internet. [See screenshot of Users Options]

[See screenshot: o avião está voando]

Listening comprehension and reading comprehension use vivid, colorful pictures or cartoon etchings placed two on top and two beneath with a speech button for each picture at the center. Initially, the writing that describes the picture is on the picture. In the next exercise, however, the writing will not be on the picture, and the speaker will read a word or phrase and the student must select the corresponding picture. It's the same with reading comprehension. [See Screenshot:  Reading]  A phrase will be at the top of the page. The speaker will read it, and the student must select the corresponding photograph.

I was surprised to see how Rosetta Stone handled an important exercise in language acquisition: dictation. [See screenshot:  Dication]  A picture is displayed; the speaker says the phrase or word to be typed in. By clicking the speaker icon, the sentence is repeated.

Photographs of Mexican dancers should be replaced with those of Brazilians dancing. Mexican culture has nothing to do with Brazil. The two cultures are very different and distinct.