I found a few interesting indications that The Rosetta Stone language learning software 
may not be serving the US military well (Warwick, 2009; Western, 2011; also see http://www.buildingpeace.net/2009/02/air-force-language-training-what-works.html). The research discussed by all three sources is focused on motivation, and seems to stem from only one study (Warwick, 2008) cited by Warwick (2009) which is unavailable to the general public as far as I can tell. Many military personnel seemed to have become frustrated by the language learning method employed by the software and lost interest in using it. As Warwick (2009) puts it,
the software’s instructional methods, which involved inductive learning (a series of action pictures associated with an accompanying phrase in the target language), particularly frustrated them [the learners]. After a short period of use, many students lost their motivation to learn and concentrated more on “beating” the software (p. 48-9).
For it’s part, I would have to say that Rosetta Stone spends far more money on product marketing than on product research.
The English School of Canada invited me to give a workshop for 22 of their teachers on Friday. I felt really good about it, and it was especially rewarding because I gained a lot of insights that I know will help me in my future thoughts and writing about corrective feedback. I am looking forward to engaging with more teachers at different schools in the future and making the research accessible to them, so I can learn their reactions to where the field is currently.
PAUL GREGORY QUINN 