4Real Forums: Rosetta Stone for whole family

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Topic: Rosetta Stone for whole family

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cheesehead mom
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Joined: Aug 08 2006
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Posted: June 25 2010 at 10:07am \| IP Logged

Would it be possible to use the Rosetta Stone Homeschool curriculum for elementary through high school ages? Would I need to just purchase (or find used) levels 1 and 2?http://www.rosettastone.com/homeschool-spanish/level-1-2-3 ?reviews=true&featurereview=10841946
Also, can everyone work at their own pace with VERY little mom intervention?

Thanks.
Laura

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Ramie
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Posted: July 01 2010 at 8:35am \| IP Logged

I have Rosetta Stone French. Only my ds is using it so far, but you can use it for multiple students and they can each work at their own pace. So it absolutely can be used across the ages.

My ds just finished 3rd grade, and is 1/2 way through the first level. He actually took more than a year to get this far, but that's because on busy days I tell him to skip French. I think 1/2 a level per year is an appropriate speed for a younger elementary student working daily.

The main part of the program is the computer part - that can be done very independently. Occasionally, ds gets stuck on a pronunciation, or the computer doesn't recognize the sound the way it should. Often it's a simple hardware problem (like I have it configured for the wrong headset), but I do have to intervene now and then for little things like that.

I don't know what it will be like when ds is in the higher levels, but at this level, vocabulary and pronunciation are the only things he is learning really well without help. In order to put it together to form a complete sentence on his own, he needs my help. We do the worksheets and quizzes that come with the program, and he needs me to work with him for all of those. Both for explaning the directions (which are in French, but there is a translation booklet), and also for explaning grammar and pronunciation rules. I chose French for my kids because it's what I took in school, and I am able to provide the instruction that is missing in an immersion program like Rosetta Stone (at least that seems to be missing for me). At this level, he really needs to be talked through the worksheets.

An older child could obviously do it a lot more independently, but I still am not sure how you could go from doing the computer exercises in one lesson, to completing the worksheets without some additional explicit instruction. Maybe someone will point out that there's a step I'm skipping.

Ramie
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Posted: July 01 2010 at 9:07am \| IP Logged

I want to clarify that R.S. DOES cover grammar in the computer portion of the program, but not explicitly. It's method is to give multiple choices and the student picks the correct one. What I've noticed though, is that when it is time to apply it in real life (or on the worksheet), he doesn't automatically understand it. Sometimes he does, other times it needs to be explained explicitly. Once I explain the rule, he makes the connection from the rule back to what he did in the grammar lesson on the computer (which would never happen if it was just a textbook program), but IMO, he needs both aspects to really understand what's going on. At least at age 9.

cheesehead mom
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Posted: July 01 2010 at 11:10am \| IP Logged

Thanks so much for the help, I think I am going to try and squeeze it into the budget. I see they offer a payment plan for the homeschooling one too.

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