I receive too many press releases to count. I usually ignore them, or, if I feel like the product might actually be a fit, I invite them to advertise or host a giveaway at Bloggy Giveaways. In fact, I’ve never just posted the information–until today. Rosetta Stone sent me a mass press release (but at least they bothered to find out my real name and address me as such!) and I thought the idea was cool. Here’s what they have to say:
Starting on March 12th, Rosetta Stone is inviting consumers to get into the St. Patrick’s Day spirit and brush up on their brogue by offering one week of free Rosetta Stone® Irish language tutorials online at their website www.rosettastone.com.
Rosetta Stone fully immerses users into the historical Irish language, recreating the instinctive language-learning experience with the help of vivid images and speech recognition technology. The easy-to-use platform allows users to learn Irish the same way they learned their first language and the program’s addictive quality helps users stay engaged and facilitates success.
Consumers can access the free Rosetta Stone Irish program trial by logging onto and www.rosettastone.com and clicking on the registration link (link will be live beginning March 12th). Free access to the lessons will be available from March 12 – March 19, 2009.
I’ve always wondered what it would be like to learn a language from Rosetta Stone. I’m not even kidding. I’ve always thought, “If I had time or knew I was visiting another country, I would so buy Rosetta Stone, if I could afford it.” (I have no idea how much a Rosetta Stone course costs, btw.)
So, yeah. I’m pimping Rosetta Stone and I’m not getting a dime for it. But how cool will it be teaching our kids a little Irish Brogue? My kids are going to love this and I wanted to share so you could love it too.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I am going to check it out. My red-haired boy was born on St. Patrick’s Day and loves anything that has to do with Ireland. I think he will love being able to learn a little Irish Brogue.
My husband got Rosetta Stone German for Christmas from my parents because he needs to learn German for his schooling. So far, we’ve been very, very impressed. To go from knowing no German to really being able to say quite a bit in just a few months has been great. Although he still has a long way to go and really wants to get some more speaking practice with actual people, it really seems to be an excellent tool for learning a foreign language. I took German in high school and have forgotten most of it, but I think I’m going to use the software as well to brush up on it. It is pretty pricey, but definitely seems to be living up to its promises.
My friends and parents all chipped in to buy me all three levels of Rosetta Stone Mandarin/Chinese for my birthday/Christmas last year. I LOVE it! I couldn’t be happier with how much I’ve been able to absorb. It is expensive, but here’s a tip: get to know someone who works at Barnes & Noble. They get discounts. Also, wait until it’s near a holiday when they get their 40% off discounts. Totally worth it!
I also have found two problems with Rosetta Stone:
1. No real world practice. I can understand much more than I can speak.
2. In a language such as Mandarin, the writing tool is somewhat primitive. I wish they had a book to go along with the computer program in order to learn to write the characters as well.
I’m bummed I didn’t read this post sooner, it might have been fun to learn a little Irish!