The Rosetta Stone tapes and CDs, famous for being used by the U.S. government for training, offer students a full language course. They currently offer online components. Berlitz also does this, allowing students to have online recordings in place of regular CDs or tapes. More traditional options still exist, including the Berlitz CDs and the Living Language set of CDs, tapes, and podcasts, which allow students to learn the basics of a language on their own.
Rosetta Stone offers more than a dozen languages, including lesser-known ones, such as Filipino or Welsh. Berlitz also offers a wide variety of languages, including Spanish, English, French and German as well as less common languages such as Turkish. Living Language offers a selection of languages, but has more materials available for the more common languages.
The Rosetta Stone CDs vary in price, from around $200 or a Level One Spanish course to around $600 for Spanish Levels One through Five. Berlitz's online offerings start at $499 for the full self-study course. Their CDs can be found on Amazon.com for around $40 for a premier kit. Similarly, Living Language beginner courses can be found on Amazon.com for $50 or under.
Rosetta Stone claims that 55 hours of their instruction is the equivalent of one semester of college study. Berlitz's online self-study courses allow for up to 2,000 hours of study, while their CDs and the Living Language offerings for sale on Amazon.com vary widely.
With many options to choose from, students should carefully evaluate both the amount of time and money they can devote to learning a new language, as well as their learning styles. Students who learn best online might choose Berlitz's online offerings, while students who want an immersion program may choose Rosetta Stone.
Numerous other options are available for language students who wish to study on their own and learn through language tapes. These offerings can be found in many bookstores and online at websites like Amazon.com. Students who wish to find podcasts can search for individual languages through iTunes, which often offers podcasts for different levels of speakers.