When comparing Rosetta Stone vs Readlang, the Slant community recommends Readlang for most people. In the question“What are the best sites for learning foreign languages?” Readlang is ranked 4th while Rosetta Stone is ranked 23rd. The most important reason people chose Readlang is:
You can read any content in your target language using the browser extension, and translate any words/sentences you don't know quickly.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Speech recognition technology
Instead of teaching word recognition, Rosetta Stone uses speech recognition technology to make sure that students are learning to pronounce the words correctly.
Pro Provides immersive learning without uncomfortable experiences
While trying to cary a conversation in a foreign language can be an effective way to learn, sometimes it causes a lot of stress. Rosetta Stone takes this concept and applies it to a stress free environment.
Pro Real human contact
At the end of each lesson, students are able to review live with real teachers.
Pro Games with other students
When learning another language, a learner from that language can be invited to play a game for mutual learning purposes. Unfortunately, Rosetta Stone hasn't spread very much to countries outside of the US, so this game system isn't very developed yet.
Pro Translates native content quickly
You can read any content in your target language using the browser extension, and translate any words/sentences you don't know quickly.
Pro Creates flashcards from words you don't know
Readlang takes the words you translate most often and turns them into flashcards for you to practice.
Pro You can import long texts, including whole books
This is impossible or very annoying with other similar services.
Cons
Con Makes no use of native language
While Rosetta Stone tries to emulate "learning by immersion," many people find the inability to find direct translations of words to be an unnecessary an ineffective part of the program.
Con Uses the same course for learners of different nationalities
For a user learning English, the course will be the same whether they are Chinese, Russian, Italian, etc.. While this is a good way for the company to remain efficient, many cultural differences are overlooked.
Con Inconvenient meeting times for teachers
For users in the US, it can be easy to find a teacher to work with. In any other country, it can be extremely difficult to find an available teacher because of the differences in timezones.
Con Not a good way to learn a language by itself
It's not your standard learning website with structured courses. Instead, it helps you get more familiar with your target language by translating content when needed.
This can be really beneficial for someone trying to improve their fluency, but isn't going to directly teach you grammar. Readlang is better used to supplement your learning while learning from structured courses.
