Product Description

With the Rosetta Stone Arabic Personal Edition Level 1, you have the same new language-instruction techniques at your disposal that the U.S. State Dept, the Peace Corps and NASA use!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5884 in Software
• Brand: Fairfield Language Technologies
• Model: 035-00
• Released on: 2002-06-25
• Platforms: Windows NT, Mac, Linux, Unix, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP, Mac OS X, Windows 95
• Format: CD-ROM

Features

• This powerful tool uses advanced multimedia tools to immerse you completely in Arabic, as you experience the language just as a native-speaker would
• You'll enjoy 12 special activities with 92 lessons each -- all of them fun and interesting, and sure to teach you more about the language
• Key skills in listening comprehension, reading, speaking and writing are developed as you get a taste of Arab culture
• Previews, tests and automated tutorials help you when you're stumped, so that your Arabic speaking skills never cease to grow!

Amazon.com Product Description
Learn a new language with the award-winning method used by the U.S. State Department to train diplomats. Proven effective by NASA astronauts, Peace Corps volunteers, and millions of students worldwide, the Rosetta Stone Language Library teaches new languages faster and easier than ever before.

We all learn our childhood language by associating new words and phrases with the world around us. The Rosetta Stone method replicates this process by presenting vivid, real-life images to convey the meaning of each new phrase. Instead of translating, memorizing, and studying rules of grammar, you actually learn to think in the new language. Vocabulary and grammar are integrated systematically, leading to everyday proficiency.

The Rosetta Stone Level I program offers a comprehensive course of study for beginning learners, leading to intermediate proficiency. The program contains over 3,500 real-life images and phrases in 92 lessons and more than 250 hours of mastery instruction in listening comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing. Systematic structure teaches vocabulary and grammar naturally, without lists and drills. There are reviews, exercises, and tests for every lesson with automated tutorials throughout the program. (Ages 6 and older)

Customer Reviews

It can be done!
Tell most souls spawn from an academic mileu that you want to learn Arabic on your own and you'll get a wry smile and a patronizing mental-pat on the head. Ignore the nay-sayers! As the above reviewer mentioned, this program is a vital tool for Arabic self-study. Along with it, I recommend purchasing "Alif Baa" along with the Cd's to learn the script. Also pick up Wehr's dictionary along with the 'Oxford English to Arabic' dictionary. Around lesson 4.05 of the Rosetta program, you've reached the point where you're ready for some supplementary material. So far, your approach to the language has been passive, and if you have a desire to write in the language, as well as understand long strands of verbal narrative, you'll need more material. I recommend Vol. 1-2 of Al-Kitaab [the 'red' book] along with the accompanying Cd's. Also, if you have a thirst for grammer and more traditional structure, try "Elementary Modern Standard Arabic" [the orange book] Vols. 1-2. You can also purchase a marvelous software program entitled "Emsa Companion" that is critical for those covering the material on their own [see creativeworks.byu.edu/HRC/arabic.html]. Learning a colloquial dialect can also be fun--and critical if you need to find a toilet while touring the Middle East. Try 'Levantine Arabic for Non-natives' (see the reviews before buying.) There's so much more, but I grow weary of the keyboard. Master this material and you'll be well on your way. It may sound expensive, but it's far cheaper than a couple of semester of school. Adieu

Excellent addition to other study materials!
I've just started to learn Arabic in August of this year and have done a lot of looking around for materials to help me. I've read all the reviews on the Rosetta Stone software and have begun using this product. My opinion:

This is a fun tool to help you acquire vocabulary, practice pronunciation, and see how the language works. Some people don't like the fact that there are no English translations anywhere, but I actually enjoy the total immersion because it becomes a puzzle for me to figure out. It keeps me studying longer than if I was just looking at a bunch of flash cards. And since there aren't many Arabic speakers in my neck of the woods, the speech recognition part is indispensible.

Yes, sometimes it's hard to tell exactly what meaning the picture is conveying. That's when I pull out a dictionary and look the word up to confirm my guess as to the meaning. And it's not going to teach you phrases you need for travel, either. I have a pocket phrasebook and a Pimsleur CD for that.

Also, I wouldn't recommend that a rank beginner start right off the bat with this. First learn the alphabet and how the script works, because this won't teach you those things. But once you get a little feel for those things, then this would be a fun addition to your program.

No book or tape or software product can ever replace talking with native speakers, but for those of us who can't get to native speakers, this is a darn good 2nd choice.

Highly recommended so long as you understand that it is one of several tools to use to learn the language.

Great Program
I purchased Rosetta Stone Personal Edition Arabic 1 and 2. The first few lessons of the program will get you used to the sound of Arabic and teach you some grammatical constructions and vocabulary.

To get the most out of the program, however, you really need to be able to read the script. You will need a human or a book to teach you this skill. One of the reviewers is correct in recommending "Alif Baa" with CDs to learn the sound and shape of each letter of Arabic script. I receive private Arabic lessons from the Defense Language Institute, and I learned to read the Arabic alphabet with "Alif Baa." We also use the Wehr and Oxford dictionaries.

My Rosetta Stone program is now very useful to me and is helping me develop good sentence structure and learn vocabulary naturally. My instructor is a native speaker and compliments the sentence structure and native accents.

This is truly the Cadillac of Arabic language learning programs but a bit overpriced. Buy it used from E-Bay and Amazon for a big savings. You can also buy it directly from the company during December for a fairer price.

You won't learn much conversational Arabic from Rosetta Stone. Pimsleur's Egyptian Arabic (used widely in movies) or Eastern Arabic learning tapes and CDs will do a great job (without books) at teaching you a dialect for speaking on the street but won't teach you how to converse in Modern Standard Arabic, the formal language used in the Rosetta Stone program, books, newspapers, and television news.