Hi!

So I personally have been using Rosetta stone as well. I'm midway into level-2, so I also have not finished. I agree that it certainly helps with listening (something I personally have a rough time with), but I disagree that you wont get any grammar out of it. It does (rather subtly) make you learn some basic grammar, although that is not the focus.

As to its effectiveness... I have found that it focuses more on daily activities (as though you were living there) than it does on conversation. Still, it definitely helped me when I decided I wanted to get a penpal. And that would be my next suggestion--as soon as you are comfortable find a penpal (preferably who already knows English and wants to improve). I did this over a year ago and now I can chat for an hour and half in (quite bad) Russian. In fact, having an awesome penpal has been by far the greatest help so far, so I would strongly encourage it!

~ Selevercin