Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I almost didn't buy this product due to the highly negative review on this site that I read that discusses the issue of it teaching a very "formal" version of the language and said it was totally worthless. However, after trying some other approaches, I purchased it anyway and gave it a shot. I am so happy I did. It is by far the most effective Arabic teaching tool I have discovered. It has been a joy to learn from Rosetta Stone Arabic. Let me just begin by saying that George's very negative review makes some valid observations. I think a little explanation of the Arabic language is in order. The Arabic spoken in the street, unlike in English, is very different than the Arabic spoken in formal situations like religious sermons or on television by news reporters. Formal Arabic, known as "fusaha", and also commonly called Modern Standard Arabic, is similar to the classical Arabic used in the Quran and is very different than the type of Arabic used by everyday people in comon situations. Morever, the street dialects of Arabic vary from region to region and are mutually unintelligible. A Lebanese and a Yemeni will not be able to talk together unless they use the formal Arabic, and neither will a Moroccan and a Syrian. But if both are educated, they can use Modern Standard Arabic to communicate. The questions are really two-fold: One, for what purpose are you learning the language and two, what are the resources at your disposal? If I knew I wanted to learn a specific dialect, say, the type used in Beirut, and that dialect only, perhaps for family reasons, and I had the money to move there and take classes in that dialect, I would absolutely go there and do so. But it is unfair to denigrate Rosetta Stone for not offering such specific courses. Rosetta Stone will never be able to teach all the different dialects in the Arab world. There just simply isn't the demand to make it worthwhile for them. If your purpose is that specific, George is absolutely correct: Save the money you would have spent on Rosetta Stone and just fly there and take classes. I am studying Arabic to speak to people from different regions, to watch the news, and to read books. For that pupose, the Arabic taught by Rosetta Stone is perfect. And the method they use is incredibly effective. I am learning lots of Arabic every day. And I simply do not have the time, money, or even the interest to spend the next two years overseas learning to speak Arabic like a local. True, I will never fool the next guy over at the cafe in Cairo into asking where in Egypt I grew up. But that isn't my goal. And believe me, you could do a lot worse. I first tried learning Arabic on my own. Impossible. The grammar is so complex you will absolutely never figure it out on your own. Books can't explain it. And then I invested in an extremely expensive online course taught by an "expert" which cost approximately double Rosetta Stone. Worthless. It was so complex it made Arabic sound like nuclear physics. And the instructor teaches using Arabic words and terms much of the time, so unless you know already lots of complex Arabic grammatical terms, forget it. I will not dignify that program by mentioning the name here so as to deprive it of undeserved publicity. I swear on my sacred honor I am not affiliated with Rosetta Stone. I don't have any investment in their company, I don't work for them, I just bought their product and am using it. My only purpose in writing this review is to guide other people interested in learning Arabic to a really effective and fun product and away from other paths that are much less useful.