Rosetta

Rosetta Stone is controversial to say the least.  On Reddit's Learn Japanese group, people say things like "I pirated it and I still regret using it" and "utterly worthless."  The two primary complaints are

1. It's expensive.  (True.)
2. It doesn't do what any good textbook would do.  (Also true.)

Nonetheless, if I hadn't used Rosetta, I think I would have given up by now.  I'm very, very glad I bought it.

Rosetta Stone is an approximation of total immersion:  that is, once the lesson starts, you won't get one word of English.  This is its strength and its weakness.

Here are its problems, based on my experience and others' angry complaints:

• You won't learn (enough) conjugations from it
• You won't learn politeness levels
• I like Genki better
• You could use Anki flashcards instead
• It's not a good way to learn kana.  (I'll add:  or kanji)
• It's too hard to learn the vocabulary initially
• Sometimes it isn't clear what's going on in the pictures, so it's hard to pair the right phrase to the right picture

Each of these things is true (except I found picking up vocab to be easy).  Essentially they boil down to

• It's not a textbook
• It's not a textbook
• It's not a textbook

...and then some legit problems that I'll attempt to address in my next post.

So if it's not a textbook, what do I get out of it?

The main thing I get is that it keeps me practicing.  It's so easy to pick up my tablet, carry it with me, and go through a few pages when I have a moment.  It's more fun than reading a textbook.  The pictures make the stock phrases feel less flat and limiting. even if they really are.  (My son refers to it as "that Japanese game you play on the tablet."  Now that's a recommendation.)

I get to hear correct pronunciation over and over, while the mind is engaged in picking the right picture, so it can soak in without boring me.

It has gotten me able to rattle off and (a big thing, for me) actually hear simple Japanese phrases like "Ringo wa orenji no hou ga suki desu" ("[I] like apples better than oranges") and "Hiji wo kageshimashita" ("[I] hurt [my] elbow"), as well as the more common stock ones like "Doumo arigatou" and "O-genki desu ka."

That is, it's got me thinking in the new language to some degree, which is the point in the program.

Maybe some will have a blast using Duolinguo, Mango, or what have you.  If so, more power to you.  But they really do different things.  Rosetta teaches thinking in Japanese; other software that I have found teaches translation.  Translation's cool, but if you can think in Japanese, you'll be able to translate.