It’s hard to say which software is “better” in this particular category. The two Italian lesson programs, Rosetta Course Italian and Rocket, use different teaching techniques. Each technique may appeal to some students, but frustrate others.
Rosetta stone
This Italian course takes a very new “organic” approach to language learning. They try to simulate the way a very young child learns to speak his mother tongue. They create an immersive environment, where the student learns words associating them with their image. The association of words and images, and the learning of the grammatical structure, is done through trial and error with an interactive game. This makes Italian lessons more interesting, lively, and fun.
Rocket’s Italian courses take a more traditional approach to an Italian lesson. It is much more structured, with vocabulary lists, word dictionaries, and grammar rules clearly explained. Although Rocket also uses word and picture associations in an interactive game format, they are used more for exercises and practice (like flashcards), rather than teaching the student the words through trial and error.
Characteristics
One characteristic that these two language lessons share (and that distinguishes them from classroom Italian lessons) is that they are led by students. The student is able to set the pace and schedule, and only progresses to the next level when they feel comfortable doing so. In this sense, Rosetta is probably superior. The software tracks student progress and provides feedback on areas in which they need additional practice. Rocket lacks this feature.
Comparing
Both dual language programs provide audio clips so the student can hear how the word or phrase is pronounced. Rosetta Stone audio, however, is interactive. You can analyze the student’s spoken words and provide feedback on pronunciation and accent. Rocket lacks this interactive audio feature. However, because Rocket’s audio lessons are not interactive, they are also portable and the student can load the lessons onto their iPod or MP3 player and take it with them.
If Rocket’s Italian lesson software itself is significantly less interactive than its competitor, you may find an interesting way to compensate for this flaw. Rocket offers an online learning forum. This allows students of Rocket language courses, via email and forums, to practice communicating in Italian with other students, language teachers, and native speakers. While Rosetta Stone offers interactivity with this software, Rocket offers interactivity with real Italians. Obviously, as the Student Forum is text-based, it helps mainly with the written, not the spoken.
In general, Rosetta Stone Italian language courses are preferably for people who want to learn to speak Italian, while Rocket language courses are best for people more concerned with reading and writing.
cost
Rosetta Stone is $ 230, and that’s for Level One Italian software only. Buying all courses (one through five) costs $ 700, and that’s with the discount for buying all the lessons together as a bundle!
Rocket language courses, on the other hand, cost only about $ 100. That is also for the entire language course. There are no separate levels for Italian lessons.