Foreign Language - Rosetta Stone set-up, features, versions, time,

[Bret Welshymer]

It's up and running and I did part of the first lesson this afternoon to try it out. I still can't run the parental controls on it though which is very disappointing and not a good design on RS's part, IMHO. It just means that I or someone will have to be in the same room three hours a day while each child does the course. Oh well.... guess we'll figure that problem out too, but at least I learned some Spanish words today.

I am sorry to hear of your frustrations. Are you using version 3 or version 4? Are you using the homeschool version or the personal version? My understanding is that the version 3, homeschool edition does not have any internet access.

Hi Bret,

I ordered from you guys, so it's whatever you sell, Version 3, homeschool, right? I don't think it goes directly to the internet, but the rest of the computer does. We normally don't let the boys on a computer unless there are parental controls set up which keeps them from going anywhere at all on the computer without permission. For some reason, RS won't run with the parental controls on. My daughter tried turning them back on and it was doing the exact same thing that it did the other day, nothing. I don't know that there's any thing to do to fix it, it's something in their software apparently.

We are checking with Rosetta Stone to see if they will provide a fix for using parental controls on Windows 7 and Rosetta Stone at the same time. Thank you for your patience.

Thank you, Bret! That would be wonderful! We've already had an issues because of it and I was wishing that the controls were available. Hopefully, they can do something about it. We don't have Win 7, we have Vista. I don't know if that makes any difference or not.

[momxnine]

I have Vista on the computer we're using for RS. Since that's the computer least used during the day (all my girls work), that's the one I decided to put all of the boys and myself on for Spanish. I didn't think about calling the tech company, I'll have my techie daughter do that.

They're basically good kids, they just get sidetracked. All the time. But our computers are in the dining room, so it's not like someone isn't walking through the room all the time. It worked out fine today. Daniel has the 1:00 - 2:00 time slot for RS and typing and Luke has 2 - 3. Their other typing is all done on their NEO's, so that helps as far as having computers in use all the time.

Ben.... haven't figure his out yet, probably morning sometime. He won't have all the high school stuff, so I'm assuming his time slot will be shorter. He gets a couple of weeks off before starting while I dash madly around trying to rearrange bookshelves and rooms and get everything organized. Someday I'm going to have a library where ALL school is done and ALL the books are in one place instead of everything all over the house. Someday.....

[TriciaMR]

Now that we finally got it all worked out and it's working, I'm liking it! Only on lesson 1 so far, but I'm "getting" it! I wasn't sure if I would since I'm also learning Swahili, but I'm thinking that maybe this language thing might be kinda fun after all. I don't know if my boys are getting it, but *I* am. lol

Anyway, my question is this: Are you supposed to have to do the voice recognition thing EVERY time you start a lesson? Or is there a way that you're supposed to turn it off after the first time and I missed it?

It does it every time you start. It needs to make sure the microphone is working.

-Trish

[momxnine]

Thanks! Just wanted to make sure we were doing everything right. : )

[cbollin]

Recently we replaced our PC with an imac. We have reinstalled the RS onto our imac but there is an error every time we get to the microphone check part. The computer is detecting that it's plugged in (went to system preferences, shows a USB mic, volume it adjusted, hears my voice) but we still get that error. Even had a new mic sent to us. Has anyone had this problem? Any suggestions? RS tech support is very difficult to reach and I am frustrated. As you know, RS is not cheap and I just want it to work.

I don't know, but while waiting for mac users on this forum who just happen to also have RS........ or while waiting for MFW office to open and see if they have ideas from their support.....

take a look at this forum of apple/mac users and their solutions to the same problem.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/25 ... 0&tstart=0
sounds like a weird trick that just might work with the input lines...... I don't know those people, but it sounds like they may have found a work around with this common frustration?

also,,, I don't know if the versions make a difference,

you might try to input something in the search box on the tech support... er... I mean.. "customer success center"
http://success.rosettastone.com/?language=english
I used the terms "microphone mac" and got a few pages that might have something.

((hugs)) on the frustrations with it all.

[CharleneHoell]

Hi,

I'll chime in since we had the same issues. I, too, did not want to deal with tech support. I had the same issue with the USB mic, but when I switched it to the built-in mic, it worked. If your mac has that, I would try that. One other issue we had was that RS would not recognize my son's voice on his user page. His voice works fine if he is on my user page, so he just pretends to be me. I haven't figured out why we have that issue, but we worked around it by having him be me

Hope this helps....

Charlene

[BHelf]

We have to use the built in mic too.

[wsterk]

it's working!!! Yay!!! tech support helped me, thank goodness!

[Julie in MN]

How difficult is it to install onto a different computer? I've heard terrible stories of how difficult it is to uninstall it and install it onto another computer. I know our current computer is not going to last much longer. it has been giving us problems for some time though. I fear though that our $ will have been wasted on Rosetta Stone if it does not work on the new computer we get.

Two things I've learned about that.

1. Get in touch with Rosetta Stone (I use the online help, even though I purchased from MFW) and have all your CDs and codes ready. Use their help desk to make sure you always have 2 access codes. So if you lose one because your son's computer crashes and reformats itself (oh, that's my son!), you get a new one from Rosetta Stone so you always have 2 for next time his computer crashes...

2. You will not save the student progress unless you have already saved it online, or saved the "report" on a jump drive (a saved "report" won't plug into the new connection, but just for your records). So when you restart, you can start where you left off, and even though all the previous weeks will show as zeros, you will have those records if you planned ahead.

I'm not sure it's any harder than any other program that crashes, though. And even if you lose some of your records because you didn't plan ahead for the crash, you won't lose money, because Rosetta Stone has people who can help you get your program up and running again (if you purchased new, such as through MFW like we did).

Julie

[Julie in MN]

I had just read a bunch of reviews for RS and they received great reviews for their products but terrible reviews for customer service. Many said that when they tried to get new activation codes to install it on a different computer their representatives would not give them a new one. I am just concerned that the same would happen to us even though we bought it new from MFW.

I happened to have to call their customer service today regarding the voice recognition working for one dd but not working for the other. We got the problem fixed but my experience with their customer service was far from great. So I guess I am fearing the switch to a new computer will be full of hassles.

Glad to hear that you have had a good experience transferring the product onto another computer. That gives me hope.

I don't know, I wouldn't say the problem was fixed quickly, but it was always fixed. I have transcripts of those conversations. If you ever need them to wade through, you can email me But here is one letter from them about preparing in advance for switching computers (hasn't happened to us, usually it's a crash issue here, so I had to get help reinstalling on the same computer through longer conversations, but I kept this just in case):

• ~11-28-11
  Dear Julie,
  
  Thank you for providing your proof of purchase. An additional license seat has been added to your Activation ID to correct your issue. You will now be able to activate using the same ID. The same has been done for your Homeschool ID.
  
  In the future, if you are moving your installation from one computer to another, upgrading your operating system, or if you foresee your installation being compromised or lost, it is essential that you follow the deactivation process below to allow future use of your license seat.
  
  To deactivate your Rosetta Stone product:
  
  Start the Rosetta Stone program and stay on the Home Screen.
  
  Click the Settings button, the circle with the three horizontal lines in the upper right corner of the screen, and choose "Add or Remove Languages."
  
  Click "Deactivate Products."
  
  Make sure the box next to the language that is being deactivated is checked and click "Deactivate Selected Products."
  
  A warning screen will appear, click "Yes, Continue with deactivation" and then STOP.
  
  Your Activation ID and Deactivation code will be displayed on this screen. Please carefully record both of these numbers so that you can provide them to Rosetta Stone Support to complete the deactivation process. After you have recorded these codes or provided them to support, click "Finalize Now" or "Okay, I have copied these codes."
  
  We are committed to your language learning success, and we are excited that you are continuing to learn with Rosetta Stone. If you have any further questions or concerns, you may reply directly to this email or call Rosetta Stone Support for assistance.
  
  Have a great day!
  
  Mary Beth
  Rosetta Stone Support
  (800) 280-8172

HTH,
Julie

[4littlehearts]

Thanks Julie! I Bookmarked your last posting to keep for the time we will need to install it on a new computer.

[NJCheryl]

Interesting you posted this question. Over the summer our computer crashed. We had to get a new one. I'll confess and tell you my daughter had started RS last year in 6th grade. We lost all her progress when the computer crashed and I have been reluctant to install and start over. We also lost my kids TT grades, but at least they had completed those programs. It definitely reminds me to keep up on printing out progress and grades.

Cheryl

[MFW-Lucy]

Hello all,

Note in Julie's post, Rosetta Stone thanked her for her proof of purchase. If you do not have the invoice for your original purchase from My Father's World you can e-mail us at info@mfwbooks.com and we can send you a copy of your invoice. You must show original proof of purchase for them to help you with a new activation code.

Hope that helps, if and when you have to make the switch. Sorry Vicki to hear about your computer.

Blessings,
Lucy

[4littlehearts]

Thanks, Lucy for chiming in and addressing my concern. I do believe I still have the invoice MFW sent when they sent my package.

[MelissaB]

Also will it work on a MAC?

We use Mac. With a little help from tech support in the beginning, our dd uses the earphones and all, no problem.

Melissa B.

[Julie in MN]

Hello,
I was wondering if anyone could offer some insight on the Rosetta Stone Spanish (Latin America), is it worth it to purchase all 5 levels? Are levels 4 & 5 necessary? Someone told me Levels 4 & 5 are to be used only if you plan to live abroad, don't know if that's true. Any insight anyone could offer would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You,
Stacey

Hi Stacey,
I'm not sure what ages you have? If you go to the sample of the MFW Rosetta Lesson Plans (page 5, the one you have to look at sideways), it shows how to use the same Level 1 in different ways with different ages.
http://www.mfwbooks.com/downloads/pdfs/ ... sample.pdf

That is just to say that I think level 1 can be used for several years if you have younger ones.

If you have high schoolers, I think you will likely want at least 2 levels (since most colleges expect 2-3 years of the same foreign language), so it might be cheaper to buy them at the same time, plus they will mesh better in case versions change at all over time. By the 3rd year of high school (or definitely the 4th), students typically need to spend more time interacting with the language (talking in the language, reading literature in the language), but they may still do Rosetta to continue building their vocabulary etc.

Does that help at all?
Julie

[MelissaB]

Our experience is exactly like what Julie said. We purchased R.S. Mandarin for our oldest daughter when she was a third grader. We've used Level 1 now for two years; and she's only halfway through it. Now that she's 11 yrs. old, I've noticed that she's moving forward and progressing a bit faster.

[TriciaMR]

And now I'm getting nervous about installing it and setting up, in my mind (haven't actually done anything with it yet). Please tell me it's not too difficult to do
Also before I install I have a few questions:
How many students can use it? Can I add more users later?
Thx

Not sure that there is a limit on number of students.

Here is what I would do for installation...

Get the kids occupied (with a video, or outside playing, or reading). Something where you are pretty sure you won't have any interruptions.

1. Restart the computer. Don't launch any thing else, just restart and log in.
2. Put in the CD (or is it a DVD these days?) and let it automatically start the install.

It will prompt you for more disks.

I can't remember 100% for sure, but you may have to start rosetta stone, and pick the language and level(s) and install them right away - it seems like it was that way for me. I know I have all 3 levels of Spanish installed.

Or... wait until the kiddos go to bed, so there are no distractions. I know I get flustered (and I'm a computer science major!) when my kids start interrupting in the middle of software install or upgrade where I need to think about the answers to the questions that it prompts me on.

I had problems with my installation, and called, and they were very helpful, so no worries!

[mothermayi]

Installation was easy and I'm not tech-savvy at all. I didn't install all five levels of Spanish or all three levels of Mandarin. I only installed them as we were ready for them and it worked fine. Customer service is great so don't hesitate to call them if you need help. Also, I was able to install five students on my version (v.3 homeschool for Spanish and totale for Mandarin). Have fun!

[MelissaB]

Agreeing with Trish. If I remember correctly, we called RS to get help with the headphone set. They were really helpful.

That was 3 years ago. We've used RS for Mandarin ever since and like the results we're seeing.

[Julie in MN]

I purchased RS Spanish homeschool edition years ago, and it is not compatible with Windows 8. New computer = new RS. I called RS and they offered me an upgrade at a ridiculously good price, so I ordered right away. Today, I discovered what they are sending me is the Personal (not homeschool edition) Version 4.

Does anyone have experience with this? I know there's a totally different version, so my old MFW lesson plans may be useless regardless of personal vs homeschool. I truly didn't use the old version to its full (or even half) potential, but we are serious about going forward with it now.

Customer Service at RS tells me that we'll be fine going that route. I can load the program on 2 different computers and have 5 different learners on each.

I'm thinking this may only work for Jr High for my dd (and will be good for both myself and dh). For the price I paid, that's OK. But if I want to give her HS foreign language credit in the future, is using the personal edition going to work?

Cyndi,
Were they unable to give you any option using the homeschool edition on Windows 8? On my laptop with Windows 8, I just go to the desktop and it looks just like Windows 7 anyways, didn't realize that some things wouldn't work there (luckily my son is done with foreign language).

Hmm, maybe the office has a plan for this situation, not sure. Just saying hi, I guess!
Julie

Hi Julie! No, they didn't give me any options, but they really did offer me a very low price. I guess I'll play with it when it gets here and decide what to do from there. If nothing else, it will be an excellent tool for us Arizonans to be able to converse with Spanish-speaking people easier, and I don't feel like I'm out a lot of money because of the upgrade price. (I may end up having my dd do Spanish through our community college or online when the time comes, anyway.) I'm just hoping this version is useful for school now!!

[MFW-Lucy]

Cindy,

We had to upgrade years ago when they made a big change (before 3) and they gave us a great deal too. That is one thing I am impressed with when it comes to their customer service. The programs are exactly the same in versions 3 and 4. What you will not have is tracking of each lesson. My Father's World current Daily Lesson Plans will work with version 4 for high school credit also. Hopefully that will help you feel good about what you are getting, but you have a great attitude about it:)

Blessings,
Lucy

[Cyndi (AZ)]

Oh, thank you, Lucy! That makes me feel much better!