When comparing Rosetta Stone vs InternetPolyglot, the Slant community recommends InternetPolyglot for most people. In the question“What are the best sites for learning foreign languages?” InternetPolyglot is ranked 12th while Rosetta Stone is ranked 23rd. The most important reason people chose InternetPolyglot is:
It remembers the words that you've scored poorly on in the past, and repeats these more often in games/tests than the words you know well.
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 Games focus on practicing the words you've struggled with
It remembers the words that you've scored poorly on in the past, and repeats these more often in games/tests than the words you know well.
Pro Free
Access to the whole site/program is completely free.
Pro Five different games to choose from for variety
You can choose from 5 different types of learning games so you can learn in a way that best suits you.
There is a picture game, typing game, guessing game, matching game, and word search.
Pro Very easy to use and covers most of your needs
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 Should be used along with another course/book
InternetPolyglot states on their site that the program is meant to aid in memorization only, and should be used along side other resources.
Con Games do not end on their own
You have to decide when you've had enough playing the games, or set a timer. The games do not end the game for you, so it's not smart about conserving your energy or ending the session when you've learned the material or when you've gone beyond 25 minutes which is the limits of most people's ability to focus.
