Customer Rating: 
Summary: Mostly Adequate, but Overpriced
Comment: This is a great tool for learning the language via immersion. Rather than teaching through a structural method in which the mechanics and vocabulary of any given language are laid out in an organized manner, with Rosetta stone you learn mostly through pictures and figuring things out on your own.
This works really well as a means of forcing you to confront and use the language based on hearing, rather than reading, but I personally have found that it still works better as just a supplement to a more traditional structural textbook approach to learning the language. The Rossetta stone approach works great for stuff like learning vocabulary and basic phrases that any "beginner" to a foreign language will need, but when it comes to teaching more general rules of the language(i.e. things like conjugating verbs, feminine/masculine/neuter nouns and pronouns, etc, etc) the method is kind of lacking. There were many times that I found myself having to consult textbooks to figure out quite a few of the language's nuances in a much more direct manner than Rosetta Stone's method is able to provide.
Which doesn't mean that it's a bad program, but for the price I was hoping that it would be comprehensive enough on its own that you wouldn't need too many supplements. I think it would be better if they would integrate the "immersion" approach that they use here (which is very effective in its own way), with the more traditional structural method of teaching foreign languages. This would allow you to move back and forth as needed and adjust the program to your own learning style. As it is, it's definitely a valuable tool, but I don't think its comprehensive enough to justify the price.
Customer Rating: Summary: Helpful, multifaceted, not a crash course
Comment: I had to move to Germany with little notice for work, so I literally started using this as I was travelling to Germany and I had NO previous German experience, although I had studied Japanese in high school and Spanish in college. While I felt that the program was well-paced and taught the language basics well, it did not prepare me for those day-to-day conversations/phrases that I needed to know right away (not that it promised to--I'm just saying that if that is what you need, get something else for the basic phrases first!) It was about two weeks of daily study before I got to things like introductory conversations, shopping, etc. that I needed to know to be polite company.
Having said that (that if you need German IMMEDIATELY, supplement Rosetta Stone with something more conversational), I did find the repetitive and logical nature of this program effective. It focuses not just on learning words and phrases, but on learning how the language WORKS--sentence formation, conjugation, etc., by example not by lecture or brute memorization. You also learn through reading, listening, speaking, and writing, so it is effective whether you are an active, visual or verbal learner.
Like pretty much any educational software, there are things that are pretty ridiculous (WHY do you learn sentences like 'The horse drinks' before you learn things like 'My name is...'? And why must some of the people be so silly looking in the pictures?) but these are minor complaints. If you have the time (and the money) to do Rosetta Stone, it is probably an safe bet that you will learn as much as if not more than with any other program. I recommend that you stick with the 'suggested' course, not the more complete course option at set-up, because that had TOO much repetition and I ended up, half-way through the program, switching to the recommended program. Also, if you really want to learn the language and have more than a month to two months in which to do it, buy the combo-pack of I and II or I thru III. You save money (and that means less packaging and shipping, good for the environment). The only reason I can think one would want only part I (other than not shelling out too much money all at once) is if one just wanted to sample German to see if there was interest in going further.
So, in summary, good effective program but NOT going to immediately prepare you (in, say, a week or two) for living in Germany. But a good way to solidly start learning the language for full comprehension, not just for getting groceries and asking directions but for expressing thoughts.
