Dutch Online Subscriptions

What is Audio Companion?

Audio Companion CDs enhance language learning anytime, anyplace. You’ll learn new skills on the computer, and then reinforce them by listening to Audio Companion. Simply play them on your stereo, or download to an MP3 Player and go!

Enhance your learning experience

Audio Companion activities correspond to Rosetta Stone CD-ROM software lessons. Just listen to Audio Companion and practice what you’ve learned, turning travel time into productive language learning time.

Extend your study time

You don’t have to stop learning when you leave your computer. Audio Companion lets you access your lessons whenever and wherever you want.

Build vocabulary and pronounce words and phrases

Audio companion features distinct words and shorter phrases to make them easier to hear and repeat. You’ll build good enunciation habits by hearing native speakers pronounce them first.

Speak and converse

The speaking portion of Audio Companion lets you listen to questions and answers, repeating them to use later. To help you build your conversational skills, first you’ll listen to a conversation and then repeat phrases individually.

Benefits summary:

• Reinforces what you are learning with our core CD-ROM products.
• Easy to download and compatible with audio players or on your computer.
• Free with the Level 1,2 & 3 set.

What You'll Learn

This set will help you:

• Learn the basics.
• Build intermediate-level conversational skills.
• Spell and write accurately.
• Speak without a script.
• Retain what you’ve learned.
• Read and understand your new language.

Sample topics include:

• Age, family relations, household items
• Questions, greetings, introductions
• Times of day, calendar terms, the weather
• Directions, locations, telling time
• Present, past and future tense
• Apologies and polite requests
• How to order at a restaurant and give and receive directions
• Emotions, opinions, and ideas

About Dutch

More than 20 million people speak Dutch as their native language. It is the official language of the Netherlands and its overseas territories, and is one of the official languages of Belgium, Suriname, and the European Union. Dutch speakers can also communicate with over 5 million speakers of Afrikaans, a daughter language of Dutch, spoken in South Africa and Namibia.

Dutch Learning Tips

• Dutch pronunciation and spelling follow logical patterns.
• In Dutch, a system of accent marks determines the pronunciation of certain letters. Rosetta Stone teaches you how to read these letters correctly.
• There are two main categories of Dutch nouns, common and neuter. Common nouns consist of feminine and masculine words.
• Almost all Dutch nouns can be turned into a diminutive, a word that denotes smallness, by adding a ‘-je’ ending.
• Dutch has strict rules for the positions of verbs, subjects, and objects. These rules determine when the subject is positioned before or after the verb.
• Dutch has both formal and informal ways to address others, depending on the age of the speaker and the relationship to the person being addressed.

Requirements for Rosetta Stone User Workstations

• Windows (32-bit editions only) 2000 or XP, Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.5
• 128 MB RAM
• 250 MB free hard-drive space
• 16-bit sound card
• 800 x 600 display resolution
• Speech Recognition feature requires a headset microphone (USB or analog)

Additional Requirements for Online Products

• 56K or better modem connection
• Browsers: Internet Explorer 6sp1 and Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 2.0, Safari 2
• Shockwave plug-in installed on browser

Note for Microsoft® Windows Vista™ users:

Current Rosetta Stone® products have been engineered to install and run on the Windows Vista operating system. Some 3rd party components used in Rosetta Stone products have not been certified by Microsoft as ‘Vista Compliant’. Accordingly, you may encounter some Vista-related operating issues. Rosetta Stone technical support may or may not be able to resolve these Vista-related issues. Rosetta Stone hereby disclaims any representations, warranties, guaranties and conditions with respect to the compatibility of the Rosetta Stone products with the Windows Vista operating systems.