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Talk Now- Learn Georgian - Beginning Level

5 stars (Excellent way to learn vocabulary) - This item is very user friendly and is a very good way for a beginner to learn Georgian. The software has good examples of pronunciation, and even lets you compare your voice to their recordings. It has memory games as well to allow you to quiz yourself at the end of a lesson. I wish they had the next level in the series! ...
Topics Entertainment :: Learn learning :: Foreign Languages (Language) :: Reference :: Education (Educational) :: Computer software (programs) :: :: Talk Now- Learn Georgian - Beginning Level

 

Instant Immersion Japanese Deluxe

1 stars (One of the worst ever) - I have tried many different language programs and this is by far the worst. I couldn't even figure out how to use the thing. I really that learning a new language isn't easy, but this is by no means the proper way to go about it. The software is confusing, there is no reference book, and it is definately not for beginners. Stay away from this program. 3 stars (Lots of information, little direction.) - It's as clear as the title. When I got this I had no idea what to do and was confused about whether or not I bought a bad product. Once you give it some time though, you realize there is a lot to it (not the language, of course there's a lot to that, but the software). It's lacking direction almost entirely though, so that means you'll need to put in a good amount of effort. Doesn't that make sense though? You couldn't seriously think you could learn a language with a new set of characters without putting in effort did you? It just takes some figuring out. It's good to start off with the blackbelt disc and learn the kanji and then after you've spent some time on that try the other set of discs. Switching back and forth seems the best way to do it. Since you don't have a tutor (but you can get a 2 week online tutor for free) it might be good to make up your own excercises or something. I just used a method from learning spanish. Write the word in english, then write the kanji version of it twice, then write the romanji form of it so that you know how to pronounce it. Writing and studying will help you learn. I'm unsure exactly about whether or not I'm writing correctly. I haven't gotten that far in the program yet though. 3 stars (Difficult, but effective with help) - After owning this program for two days, I can confidently tell any prospective buyer that this is a SUPPLEMENT program. As mentioned before, it has no clear beginning or process to it. You are brought to a menu with links to such things as "Dialogue" "Exercises" "Prono...
Topics Entertainment :: Learn learning :: Asian :: Foreign Languages (Language) :: Reference :: Education (Educational) :: Computer software (programs) :: :: Instant Immersion Japanese Deluxe

 

Rosetta Stone Dutch Personal Edition Level 1

4 stars (a fun way to learn some Dutch) - This is a clever use of a computer. The attempt is to put you in a "virtual" Dutch-speaking environment. To fully utilize the product, you'll need a mouse, keyboard, speakers, and microphone. There are about 3,200 images (many duplicates) shown in groups of 4. You select either mode-A, -B, -C, -D, -E. For mode-A, a native speaker says a phrase or sentence in Dutch, which you also see written on the screen, and you move your mouse into the one of the 4 pictures to which you think the statement applies. You click the mouse and get immediate feedback on whether you're right or wrong. For mode-B, you hear the native speaker's statement but get no writing on the screen (practice in aural comprehension). For C, you get the writing but no speaker (practice in reading comprehension). For D (you'll love this), you get the native speaker, and you repeat what he or she says into your microphone, and you get immediate pictorial feedback on the screen as to how closely your pronunciation matches that of the native speaker. For E, you get the native speaker and no writing, and you get to type in Dutch what he or she says using your keyboard, and you get immediate feedback on whether you're correct. It's clever and a lot of fun if you enjoy studying languages. But ... there's no accompanying book to speak of, just a list of the 3,200 statements without translation provided. Before buying this product, I had previously spent several months studying Dutch grammar (see my poignant review of "Colloquial Dutch" by Donaldson, a fine book by the way). Hence I already knew the rudiments and had a context in which to place those 3,200 statements and make sense of them. I had the fine Dutch-English dictionary published by Routledge, "201 Dutch Verbs" by Stern, and "Colloquial Dutch" by my computer to refer to. I found this course a painless way to review grammar, supplement my vocabulary, and learn to say some useful things by rote. I...
Fairfield Language Technologies :: Learn learning :: Foreign Languages (Language) :: Reference :: Education (Educational) :: Computer software (programs) :: Mac Macintosh Machintosh Apple :: :: Rosetta Stone Dutch Personal Edition Level 1

 

Rosetta Stone Turkish Personal Edition Level 1

3 stars (Quasi-Immersion Works Fairly Well) - The Rosetta Stone method teaches you language the way you learned it as a child - by associating words to visuals. There are no translations in the program, so you really have to do the mental work to understand what is being presented to you. In that way it's a great program. For me, one of the drawbacks is that the same visuals and phrases are repeated over and over within a lesson. This has the effect of reducing lessons to a Concentration game, where you are remembering which words go with which picture, rather than actually absorbing why you are saying what you are saying, or how what you are saying works as a structured language. I find I have to force myself to be more deliberate when completing the exercises. Another drawback is that after completing fifteen lessons there still has not been any exercise where I have been asked to construct a phrase on my own. As such, the program is good for building reading, listening comprehension, and pronunciation skills, but not for speaking. The most fascinating aspect of the course is how different Turkish is from Romance and Germanic languages. Really the only things they have in common are the Roman alphabet and some cognates. Turkish manages to feel ancient while still living. Consider this: the word for man is "adam". Overall I would say this product is by far the most disciplined teaching tool I have seen for Turkish. It is equal to a semester of language instruction in terms of the number of lessons and the time required to complete them all. And for this reason alone I would say that the price is right. 5 stars (Turkish Rosetta Stone) - After my first lesson I was able to understand and speak more than over a years worth of personal training. I first learned of the product from an airline publication and was "bargain" hunting for the same product. Amazon saved me almost 50% off what the airline publication was charging!!! The lesons are complete and...
Fairfield Language Technologies :: Learn learning :: Foreign Languages (Language) :: Reference :: Education (Educational) :: Computer software (programs) :: Mac Macintosh Machintosh Apple :: :: Rosetta Stone Turkish Personal Edition Level 1

 

Talk Now- Learn Icelandic - Beginning Level

Talk Now! Learn Icelandic - Beginning Level...
EuroTalk :: Learn learning :: Foreign Languages (Language) :: Reference :: Education (Educational) :: Computer software (programs) :: Mac Macintosh Machintosh Apple :: :: Talk Now- Learn Icelandic - Beginning Level

 

Rosetta Stone Russian Level 1 -amp- 2 Personal Edition

4 stars (A useful and fun programme) - After studying Russian, by myself, for about six months, I found that although my knowledge of the grammar and the vocabulary had progressed, my speaking and listening skills remained poor. I decided to buy Rosetta Stone Russian in order to learn how Russian words and sentences sounded. The programme was easy to install and easy to use. Best of all, I really enjoyed using it. The programme begins by showing four pictures and a word. The task is to pick the picture corresponding to the word. It is possible to choose whether the word is spoken or written, or both spoken and written. Gradually as you progress you meet simple phrases and eventually sentences and whole paragraphs. This method works really well as you are continually tested, while the whole learning experience feels more like a game than studying. While the listening and reading elements of the programme work well, I found it was less successful with regard to speaking and writing. The speaking part of the programme involves attempting to imitate a native speaker. The programme compares the sound you make with what the sound should be. I generally found it almost impossible to imitate the Russian speaker in such a way that the programme considered I had done so successfully. I therefore found this aspect of the programme more frustrating than useful. The writing part of the programme unfortunately requires using a very fiddly onscreen keyboard, which makes the whole process very slow and tedious. The key thing anyway with writing Russian is learning how to form the letters by hand and no computer programme can teach you to do this. I would suggest that someone beginning to use this programme should at least already know the Russian alphabet and ideally some of the grammar. Moreover to complete some of the exercises a dictionary is essential. There is no doubt that working through all the exercises is very useful. I found the programme especially good at helping ...
Fairfield Language Technologies :: Kids (Children) :: Cyrillic :: Learn learning :: Foreign Languages (Language) :: Reference :: Education (Educational) :: Computer software (programs) :: Mac Macinto :: Rosetta Stone Russian Level 1 -amp- 2 Personal Edition

 

Talk Now- Cantonese

5 stars (Great for what it is) - Each language software package can only handle a few angles on language. Talk Now! offers inspired games and oral repetitions for learning vocabulary, telling time and more. The bad reviews must be generated by users who expect everything from one cd. Not me. I love Talk Now! for what it is and hope they expand their scope with all languages as they have with Cantonese. If you want to become fluent, buy several software packages and visit the country for more than a year. If you want an almost effortless and fun introduction this is it. It's one of a kind. 2 stars (Not the best product I've tried) - If you just want to learn a few words in Cantonese and learn well by plain rote, this is probably a fair course. However, if you're serious about learning Cantonese, skip this one and try something else. This course just throws out random words with no context of how they'll be used. Grammer and enunciation are given very little attention here. If you've studied Cantonese at all, you'll understand the importance of both. The audio is not terrible clear and the pronounciation doesn't seem to jive with what I'm learning from my wife and other courses. This course is okay for the price (I got it on sale bundled with the Mandarin course for $10), but if you plan on ever having a conversation in Cantonese someday, I'd recommend the excellent Pimsleur course. Basic Cantonese by Virginia Yip is quite good as well. Even Teach Yourself Cantonese by Hugo Baker is pretty good once you get used to the format. 3 stars (Great methods, mediocre content) - The good part about this software is that it provides a fun and engaging way to learn some basic Cantonese vocabulary. The words and phrases are spoken twice, in a male and female voice with accompanying pictures. The games and self tests are fun to work through. It also provides a way to record your voice and compare it to the speakers' pronunciation. The bad part is that it does not go ver...
Euro Talk :: Southeast Asian :: Foreign Language - Dictionaries & Phrase Books :: Topics Entertainment :: :: Talk Now- Cantonese

 

Rosetta Stone Polish Personal Edition Level 1

Rosetta Stone Polish Personal Edition Level 1 ...
Fairfield Language Technologies :: Learn learning :: Foreign Languages (Language) :: Reference :: Education (Educational) :: Computer software (programs) :: Mac Macintosh Machintosh Apple :: :: Rosetta Stone Polish Personal Edition Level 1

 

Talk Now- Learn Dutch - Beginning Level

5 stars (I'm already speaking dutch!) - The format for this language-learning program is excellent. The biggest problem I found when i tried to teach myself Dutch, was that I had no clue how to pronounce what I was reading. With this program you have 2 native-speakers saying each word (a male and a female), which is enormously helpful in learning the pronunciation. Another great feature is the record button, which allows you to record your own voice, and then instantly compare it to the native speakers. I love this! In fact, my pronunciation was much closer than I imagined it to be. And my boyfriend, who is from the Netherlands, was very impressed with how quickly I was able to pick up so many words and phrases, and say them like a seasoned speaker, and not with a silly accent. There are also quizzes and games, which offer more ways to learn, touching on all aspects of comprehension. I highly recommend this software. Not only was it painless to learn, it was a total blast! Even my 5 year old son loves to use it. ...
EuroTalk :: Learn learning :: Foreign Languages (Language) :: Reference :: Education (Educational) :: Computer software (programs) :: Mac Macintosh Machintosh Apple :: :: Talk Now- Learn Dutch - Beginning Level

 

Rosetta Stone Chinese Level 1 -amp- 2 Personal Edition

4 stars (Very good if you are a somewhat advanced) - As most of the reviewers have mentioned, this course is not for the beginner, even though Rosetta Stone advertises it differently. It can be very useful to you under the following conditions: 1) You already have an understanding of Chinese grammar, so that the sometimes very complex sentences even in early lessons won't overwhelm you. In turn you will profit immensely from the amount of vocabulary you can learn in a short time. 2) You don't expect to get conversational proficiency. Rosetta Stone teaches you to describe pictures, something which is done in many real-life language courses I have visited. One could say it is just a concentrated form of this particular exercise. That said, it will enhance your ability to describe and to link words to objects and anchor that link in your brain. For me that method works much better than vocab lists, even in a flash card form. Especially, I don't know a better way to learn modifiers, an essential part of Chinese grammar. 3) You always have a dictionary at hand to look up words because the programm does not give you any translations. 4) You don't expect it to teach you how to write Chinese characters. This is always something you have to do on your own, a computer cannot really help you. By changing between Pinyin and character script (traditional and simplified) in Rosetta you can learn how to recognize characters, but I think of it more of a vocabulary builder. Also, if much text is displayed, characters tend to get too small in order to be recognized. 5)You see it as one more tool in your collection of Chinese learning materials. In my opinion for Westerners Chinese can only be learned this way, you can't rely on a single book to provide everything. It gets 4 stars because of the price which I find outrageous. Given the fact that the Chinese version is merely an adaptation of the general Rosetta Stone system, it should go for no more than $150 both levels. So tr...
Fairfield Language Technologies :: Kids (Children) :: Learn learning :: Asian :: Foreign Languages (Language) :: Reference :: Education (Educational) :: Computer software (programs) :: Mac Macintosh :: Rosetta Stone Chinese Level 1 -amp- 2 Personal Edition