Nov 19, 2013 The big failure of Rosetta Stone is that in an attempt to have a large quantity of languages that they offer, they have cut corners on quality. None of their programs are unique. They are all cookie cutter programs that use the same translations and pictures. There is nothing that was specifically designed for Brazilian Portuguese. Product Description. Foreign language learning with Rosetta Stone Portuguese Levels 1, 2&3 you connect with the world around you. With level one you begin learning fundamental vocabulary and essential language structure, from greetings and introductions to simple questions and their answers.

Are you considering using Rosetta Stone to learn Brazilian Portuguese?

Watch this video to get my review of this language learning software.

Rosetta Stone is probably the most popular language learning software out there, and they spend millions of dollars a year in advertising to convince people that it is the best.

But how does Rosetta Stone live up to the hype?

They claim that you can learn a language the same way that you do when you are a kid. They flash images in front of you and tell you what they are, and your task is to repeat them. You have to speak into a mic and correctly pronounce the words in order to move on. You learn bits and pieces of the language.

The Rosetta Stone methodology is good for learning vocabulary with alright pronunciation, but its not that great for learning how to actually speak and communicate.

The big failure of Rosetta Stone is that in an attempt to have a large quantity of languages that they offer, they have cut corners on quality. None of their programs are unique. They are all cookie cutter programs that use the same translations and pictures. There is nothing that was specifically designed for Brazilian Portuguese.

So you’re not going to learn anything in particular about Brazil with Rosetta Stone. You’re not going to learn slang, you’re not going to learn Brazilian Portuguese as it is actually spoken by Brazilians today.

This puts you at a huge disadvantage.

I can’t recommend Rosetta Stone to anybody because I don’t think it prepares people for the reality of Brazilian society. Its nothing more than an expansive deck of flashcards. I really have to wonder if these people even have a Brazilian visa.

If you really want to learn Brazilian Portuguese you should use Semantica Portuguese. Semantica is a company that specializes in teaching Brazilian Portuguese to those who are planning on moving to Brazil.

Semantica Portuguese is a series of high quality videos that tell the story of a girl who moves to Rio to pursue a fashion career. As you follow along her journey you are learning how to speak like a Brazilian, you’re learning about Brazilian culture and you really start to feel like you’re in Brazil. No other language learning course can do that.

Obviously I’m a little bit biased about this course because I am actor and presenter in part of the series. Before that happened though I was a student of Semantica, and I used their program to improve my cultural fluency as well as my speaking abilities.

Given the price difference between the two and the quality of instruction, I think you’d be making a huge mistake if you invested in Rosetta Stone. If you’re still thinking about using Rosetta Stone, here’s another article I wrote that goes even deeper into the specifics of why Rosetta Stone Portuguese doesn’t work very well for Portuguese learners.

You can check out Semantica Portuguese here, or read a more in depth review of Semantica here.

And for the love of god don’t waste your money on that Rosetta Stone crap.

Learning Portuguese is mandatory if you are headed to Brazil. Whether you’re going just for a few weeks, or if you’re planning on living here, learning the local language will significantly improve the quality of your travels.

But you already knew that. That’s why you’re looking to invest in professional assistance with the language, perhaps with a Portuguese teacher or a digital course.

Not all courses are created equally though. Some courses are designed without empathy for their students who will use them.

There is one course in particular that is the worst offender of this crime. It also happens to be one of the most well marketed language courses in the world. Maybe you’ve seen their bright colored boxes at Barnes and Noble, or at gift shops in the airport.

Of course, I’m talking about Rosetta Stone, the expensive language learning software that promises fluency in 30+ languages.

But is Rosetta Stone really that great for Brazilian Portuguese learners? Let’s dig deeper.

In the first lesson of this course they teach you how to say, “The girl is drinking,” “The boy is eating,” “the man is eating,” and “the woman is drinking.”

This is really useful stuff if on your first day in Brazil you go people watching in a park and want to give your friend a step by step account of who is putting what into their mouths.

I understand why they are teaching these things in this way; they want to teach you the verb ester through context at the same time that you’re learning common nouns like man and verbs like eating. And I get that they’re aim is to build your confidence up slowly with basic words like ‘boy’.

But honestly I can’t remember ever saying any of these sentences in a conversation in Portuguese, Spanish or even English for that matter. They could’ve taught the verb estar using examples that you’re likely to use as a foreigner in Brazil.

It’s certainly not the first thing that I would teach someone who is going to Brazil in a few weeks

I would start by teaching things that are more immediately useful, like how to say “Thank you” in Portuguese, “Nice to meet you?” “how much does it cost?” and “I don’t understand.”

I’m not sure what kind of conversations Rosetta Stone Portuguese’s creators expect you to have, but their material certainly doesn’t match any normal conversation I’ve seen in Brazil.

Here is a sample conversation that you’ll likely be a part of if you go to Brazil.

“Oi tudo bem?” Hey how are you?
“Tudo bom, e você?” Good, and you?
“Estou bem, graças a Deus. De onde você é?” I’m good, thank god. Where are you from?
“Eu sou da Australia.” I’m from Australia.
“O que você esta fazendo aqui?” What are you doing here?
“Estou aqui para trabalhar.” I’m here for work.
“Mas por quê aqui no Brasil?” But why here in Brazil?
“Porque eu acho que o Brasil é muito legal.” Because I think Brazil is really cool.
“Você já foi para o Rio?” Have you been to Rio yet?
“Ainda não.” Not yet.
“Lá é muito bom, você tem que conhecer.” It’s great there, you have to visit.
“Ta bom então.” Ok then.
etc.

You’ll learn 6 adjectives to describe hair before you learn how to say, “Where are you from?” with Rosetta Stone

Every time you meet a Brazil you go through some variation of this conversation. The questions might vary somewhat, but it’s a pretty safe bet they’re going to ask you where you’re from.

It isn’t until lesson 2.5 before they teach you this question, which almost every single Brazilian is going to ask you. In fact, before Rosetta Stone teaches you how to say, “Where are you from,” they teach you 6 adjectives to describe hair.

I’m sure that if you stuck with Rosetta Stone and diligently studied with it every day for several months you could have decent conversations with Brazilians, but you’d have to supplement what Rosetta Stone doesn’t give you with outside learning. That’s like going to a sem balança restaurant and having to bring your own beans.

I’ve really got to wonder though if the people who make this course even have a Brazilian visa. There is nothing in the course that suggests that they’ve adopted their method to Brazilian culture and the unique way that Brazilians speak.

For example, the greetings they teach are ridiculously formal and almost never used by foreigners in Brazil. You’ll have to wait until lesson 2.4 to even learn how to greet someone, which is an essential part of polite conversation. Once you finally get there, they teach you, “Como vai o senhor?” and “Vou bem.”

If you use these greetings with friends they will correct you and tell you to say, “Oi tudo bem?” “Tudo bom,” as a greeting and response.

The images Rosetta Stone uses to teach are not unique to Brazil and are the same ones you’d see in their Mandarin or Arabic courses. It would be more effective if they taught the word ‘child’ with a Brazilian kid laughing while playing soccer with his friends on the beach in Rio de Janeiro with Christ the Redeemer in the background.

It’s too much hassle for a company with a multimillion dollar advertising budget to travel to Brazil to take a picture like this one.

Quite frankly I cannot recommend that you use Rosetta Stone to learn Brazilian Portuguese. The lack of focus on useful conversation, the teaching of frivolous vocabulary and disconnect from Brazilian culture end up making your job as a student much more difficult. If you use Rosetta Stone you’ll have to relearn Portuguese as it is actually spoken once you finally get to Brazil.

Fortunately there is a course out there that teaches conversational Portuguese in a way that connects you to Brazilian culture.

You’ve probably never heard of it though because it’s a program that only exists for Brazilian Portuguese.

That course is called Semantica Portuguese. Unlike Rosetta Stone which teaches you through boring images, Semantica teaches you through stories filmed by Brazilian actors in Rio de Janeiro. This method is so much more effective because you get to see real people using the language in context.

Rosetta Stone Brazilian Portuguese Review

It was also made specifically for foreigners who are traveling to Brazil, taking into account the cultural differences that you’ll have to adapt to in Brazil. When you learn Portuguese with Semantica you also get to see and experience Brazilian culture which will reduce the culture shock you’ll feel when you arrive in Brazil.

Rosetta Stone Brazilian Portuguese Activation Code

You also won’t have the problem of buying a course that you never use with Semantica. Semantica teaches Portuguese through an ongoing series of stories, so you’ll want to keep learning so that you find out what happens to the characters.

It’s simply the best course that exists for learning Brazilian Portuguese.

Rosetta Stone Brazilian Portuguese Free Download

Click here if you’re ready to start learning Portuguese with Semantica.