Rosetta Stone or Fluenz Spanish? Comparing the Best Programs


Posted on October 21, 2008 by Rosana

Rosetta Stone Spanish is the market leader when it comes to programs available to help you learn to speak Spanish. It’s been around for a long time and is a large company, with programs for learning many, many languages. Chances are you’ve heard of it.

Fluenz Spanish is a relatively new company. Chances are you haven’t heard of it.

If you are considering a computer program to help you learn Spanish, these two are the best. But how do you choose between the “tried and true” Rosetta Stone Spanish and the “innovative, research-based” Fluenz Spanish?

First, let me say that you can learn a lot of Spanish with either program. The most striking difference between the two approaches is that Fluenz helps you to learn Spanish by using English where Rosetta Stone makes a point of never using any language but Spanish.

Back when Rosetta Stone got started, people had observed that young children learned their native language by simply absorbing it from everything going on around them. So Rosetta Stone created language courses based on this observation. These weren’t computer programs then… this was before we had computers. Now Rosetta Stone has migrated to computers, keeping the same philosophy. They use pictures and Spanish words.

One American friend of mine here in Mexico, where I live, is a huge fan of Rosetta Stone.” I’m a very visual learner,” she explained. “I love all the pictures.” On the other hand, many people who have tried Rosetta Stone have gotten frustrated with this approach.I did myself.

Fluenz Spanish got started quite recently, by a group of Harvard and Cornell graduates who researched what has been learned about how people learn languages.

They discovered that in learning a foreign language, adults and teens use logic and comparison with their native tongue. So Fluenz Spanish explains things in English. Every single Spanish word in the program is translated into English.

There are a number of other differences between the two programs. Fluenz is designed for learning to speak the kind of Spanish you will need if you are a tourist or business person in a Spanish-speaking country. They have sessions created for the purposes of to helping you to:

  • Ask directions
  • Order a meal
  • Make hotel reservations
  • Give instructions to a taxi driver

Rosetta Stone gives you a more general introduction to the language, not focusing so much on Spanish for the traveler. For more about these programs, go to my Rosetta Stone Spanish review, or my Fluenz Spanish review. Whatever you decide, do take action and get going on learning to speak Spanish!

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  • http://training-dogs.com Rosana

    Hey, we all make typos! I just happen to have a sharp eye for them. Appreciate your taking the time to post your thoughtful comments.

  • spantofrench

    Please excuse the few typos I have made. Good luck in your language learning! I am having fun with French and approaching it the same way.

  • http://training-dogs.com Rosana

    Nice comments. I think it is probably a typo in the last paragraph where it says “will have you knowing every word.” NOBODY knows every word of any language.

    I think this is a great example of someone dedicated to learning!

  • Anonymous

    I used Rosetta Stone 1-5, and I became fluent in Spanish within 1 year. This is the case with 2 other people in my weekly Spanish Meetup group in Northern Virginia; http://www.meetup.com for a group a near you ;).
    The reason that the 3 of us speak Spanish fluently after only one year of “starting” our language journey with Rosetta is because our goal from any source of learning was to get a solid basis in Spanish, whether learning from Rosetta Stone, Fluenz, college, self-study book, tutor, etc. Even speaking with a native speaker will not give you access to every work in the Spanish language. I personally did the following to supplement my Rosetta:

    •Joined a weekly Spanish Meetup group to speak and receive corrections from fluent and native Spanish speakers after completing level 1. Those who are afraid to receive corrections from natives and other fluent people never become fluent. I LEARNED TO SPEAK ENGLISH BY RECEIVING CORRECTIONS FROM MY PARENTS. My grammar improved as I spoke, wrote, and read English from “grammar school” to present.

    •Watch Spanish soap operas (without subtitles). As my vocabulary increased day-by-day, my comprehension increased; of course I will not understand “some” of the idioms, colloquialisms and slang…as people who speak English as a second language do not understand when we use some terms that are specific to American cultures.

    •When I began Level 4&5, I began watching the news and listening to Spanish talk radio in the internet. As my vocabulary increased, my comprehension in these areas increased.

    •I asked to practice with Spanish speakers when in restaurants. This way I get to learn the different words from their countries. AS NON-NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS DO NOT LEARN ENGLISH SLANG AND OTHER WORDS IN THEIR SCHOOLING.

    In conclusion, I would say that it is okay not to sound exactly like a native Spanish speaker. And Rosetta, Fluenz, school, or living in a Spanish speaking country will have you knowing every word. I know people who have been in America 20 years and do not speak a lick of English. NON-NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS DO NOT SOUND OR USE ALL OF THE VOCABULARY THAT WE NATIVES USE, but we communicate and respond to them on a daily basis in America….correct? Other World Leaders speak English to President Obama, but they sound nothing like he does when speak; but he speaks with them and they get business accomplished. My son is in 5th grade (only speaks English) but reads on an 8th grade level; he would still need a dictionary to read the Wall-Street Journal. Does that mean he is not fluent in English? My point is that you do not have to know every word in Spanish to be considered fluent. I continue to learn new ways to speak English, Spanish, and now French every day.

  • http://training-dogs.com Rosana

    Snail, I agree that this is a good method but I see it only as auxiliary to using a real program.

  • Rosana

    Thanks, Lana. I felt that way too.

  • Lana

    Ok so i tried both programs and for me fluenz worked better – in a way that just on level 1 in a couple of days i was able to build some simple sentences where as with rosetta stone i was just building up my vocabulary but not grammar

  • snail

    Buy a DVD with a familiar movie. Watch it in English with Spanish subtitles on a computer and stop often and repeat until memorized. Then fetch another movie. You might be surprised how fast you will learn real language.

  • http://www.spanish-only.com Ramses

    That later will be now (just a coincidence ;-)).

    True, I didn’t go through all levels of Rosetta Stone, but that was because I couldn’t stomach it. I saw level 2 of Spanish once, and to be honest: it wasn’t that impressive. But that’s not the worst thing I think. The worst thing is that it’s all the same for every language. The truth is; no language is the same! I’m 100% sure that you’ll speak ‘textbookish’ Spanish at the end of level 3, if you’re even able to have a normal conversation with a native using slang and Spanish from the street (which everyone will use, believe me).

    Although some programs have their place for beginners, I think each person should switch to native materials as soon as possible. Like you said, Cory, we all can learn as babies (and should!). But babies don’t use books, they use the raw input they get from their environment. We, as adults, should also build a Spanish environment and learn like babies.

    Just my two cents.

    Ramses’s last blog post..8 Reasons you shouldn’t take a (Spanish) class

  • Rosana

    Thanks, Cory. Ramses turns up here now and then so maybe he will answer you later.

    I agree with you about the importance of using a language!

  • Cory

    Ramses,
    Did you go through the whole program. There are 3 levels to Rosetta Stone Spanish. Trust me, if you complete the course you are very conversational. Sounds to me like you’re describing level 1, which is very basic.
    Fluenz is pretty open about their and opinion of Rosetta Stone and it’s not good. But Rosetta Stone works. The claim by Fluenz that adults don’t learn language the way a child does is not accurate. Rosetta Stone Spanish worked great for me. Classroom methods never worked. Other translation methods never worked.
    I really think some people learn better one way and other people learn better another way. No matter where you learn your language, you need to use it. Unless you’re exposed to native speakers and can use what you’re learning, you’ll never fully learn that language.

  • Rosana

    Ramses, I’m enjoying our discussion. (Readers, if you click on his name you can go to his website on learning Spanish.)

    I believe that Barrons and Berlitz are based on FSI, and I *know* that Platiquemos Espanol is a complete makeover of the old FSI course, as I exchanged several emails with the man who did Platiquemos several years ago. I blogged recently about my current take on it:

    http://www.learnspanishrapidly.com/blog/learn-spanish/platiquemos-espaol-revisited/

    and if I found it boring, I’m not likely to be a fan of the other derivatives of the FSI that weren’t even redone as much.

    You raise an interesting point in saying that “real life materials are always better than courses.”

    I think a little bit of structure, such as provided by the various multi-media and downloadable mp courses, are a happy medium. Academic courses aren’t really designed to get the students talking, but on the other hand I know a LOT of foreigners here in Mexico where I live who have real life materials all around them but don’t seem to know how to dig in.

  • http://www.spanish-only.com Ramses

    I agree, but there’re courses based on the FSI program that sell below $200, so a lot cheaper than Rosetta Stone. Next to that; real life materials are always better than courses I think.

  • Rosana

    I downloaded the free FSI course and the sound quality was really terrible. Not to mention that the whole program is outdated, since it was made something like half a century ago.

    I’m in the middle of writing an ebook for this website which I’ll be giving away, which goes more into all this.

    Just bought a telenovela series this week at our local street market here in Mexico. It’s a real soap opera and they talk really fast. If I can stomach the plot, it will be good practice for listening.

  • http://www.spanish-only.com Ramses

    In the long run, Rosetta Stone isn’t that good. I’d never enable you to have a conversation, only covers basic stuff and doesn’t take cultural differences in consideration.

    I once tried it (when I already had a quite high level of Spanish), and was amazed by the lack of use of different tenses. It only covers a few, and the amount of words/phrases you learn would drive everyone crazy.

    Considered the cost of the program, time and money is better spent on a free FSI courses (or the courses based on it) and some telenovelas.