Reviews (4)

would prefer 0 stars
My kids won't touch it since the first time they tried it. It is very difficult and my son is 7 and knows quite a bit of spanish from school, as does my 4 1/2 years old. Saving it for the next garage sale.

Frustrating and confusing!
I have to agree with WaveDave's review! I just bought this directly from TL's website at $29.99 and hate it! No English translations anywhere left my 9 y.o. very frustrated! What is the point of memorizing 6 songs in Spanish if you don't even know what you are singing? Keep shopping! I'm sending it back!

Poor CD
This CD is poor to say the least, cute yeah, but if your child is trying to learn spanish you might as well forget it. The problem lies in the fact that there is no english reinforcement and to make matters worse, the icons are not clear. My son can't even figure out what the pictures are suppose to represent. They'll show you a picture of something and give you the spanish word and you find yourself saying "Is that a hoof, 2 feet, horse feet, claws, what is that picture?". And since there is no english equivalent presented you end up confused. "Pure language" works in real life but not in the world of computers and monitors. This company needs to go back to the drawing board.

An excellent aide in bringing up my daughter tri-lingual!
My daughter is 3 and she is learning a 3 languages so I need all the help I can get to make sure she learns Spanish. This program has adorable characters and excellent sound and songs and my daughter enjoys it. I love Pepa, the little cute and cool girl that's in the program. One fault is that it does not cover as much as Jump Start Spanish does. The conversation section of this program is better than Jump Start but still not satisfactory. Being that there is so little language software for kids, I appreciate it immensely. It's a nice addition to my daughter's educational software collection that brings with it variety, fun, & learning. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Discover how enjoyable, easy, and effective learning French can be. Included are a games CD-ROM, accompanying guidebook, audio CD-ROM, user's manual, and direct access to SmartStartonline.com. Start speaking, listening, and reading right away. There are 32 games and activities with three skill levels to keep you involved and learning while you play. Progress through 48 lessons based on the interactive CD-ROM conversations. Clear and simple explanations of grammar points are provided along with exercises that help you successfully put your new language skills to use in the real world. Take the self-correcting quizzes to check out your progress. Or stop by the Cultural Café for a relaxing break and find out about a great French film to rent or a new recipe to try out. Correlated to the guidebook exercises, this CD-ROM provides listening and speaking opportunities that get you talking. Great for practice on the go. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Not what I had expected
This course while extensive in activities, was not what I had expected. The course did not start out basic such as learning basic communication between two people. I think this course is better for someone who is some-what fluent in French already. In addition, this course is however good for refreshment or learning more where it comes to things such as ordering dinner or renting an apartment.

If you know any French, skip this product
The graphics are nice and clear, and it does teach minimum skills for communicating as a tourist; if you want practice with very simple conversations, try it. You'll learn to say and understand things like " I would like to rent an apartment". But if you can conjugate verbs, write, read or speak a little in French, don't bother. I can't understand French movies or conversations at regular speeds, so I thought this might help. It did'nt.

Not what I was hoping for............
I was disappointed in this package. There was no rhyme or reason, no direction, no coaching on where to begin. I was hoping to use it for my teenager and she was completely lost. If you want to learn the mechanics of the language, don't buy this package. If you simply want to memorize a bunch of phrases and words in French, I guess its ok. Definitely not what I expected for software in todays interactive environment

A great supplement
This is a cleverly put-together set of resources for learning French. The games are thoughtful and even fun and the speaking section does recognize words pretty well.

The drawback is that while this is excellent, it is an excellent *supplement* to other instruction in French. What there is on grammar is limited, and there isn't a lot on why things are the way they are.

As a vocabulary-builder, though, it is excellent and I would highly recommend it.

Spiffy French Software
I've tried several French software packages (and wasted a great deal of money), including Learn French Now!, Instant Immersion French, and others. This software, Smart Start French, is honestly the spiffiest of the lot. Unlike the others, this software gives a comprehensive approach--you do writing, reading, and listening. (And speaking, if you're brave!) Plus, you get a cassette, an audio CD, *and* a CD ROM, plus the grammar workbook thingie. Other software packages seem to overhype themselves and claim they will teach you more than they realistically can. This software, by contrast, is a lot of work precisely because it is comprehensive--but I really think you can learn some French from it. And, it's fun. It's more expensive than other packages, but I honestly think it's worth the extra money. (It's cheaper than a $400 class at the community college in any case.) That's my two centimes' worth. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

It really works! Fun cartoons, full immersion.
Gives kids an easy and FUN introduction to English as a foreign language. Torough immersion: pronunciation, grammar, sentence structure, plural & sungular, word recognition, numbers, basic math, telling time and more. Includes helpful parent's (or teacher's) guide. For ages 6 +. can't beat this for computer based ESL at home or at school.

Fun with English
I use this product with my ESL students. They respond to it well and like to choose among the many different activities to learn many essential English words and pharses. They can use this software to learn numbers, the alphabet, body parts and much more, as they play interesting games that hold the attention of high school students as well as elementary students. I highly reccomand this software to anyone who wants to have fun while learning English. ... Read more