Amazon.com Product Description

Learn a new language with the award-winning method used by the U.S. State Department to train diplomats. Proven effective by NASA astronauts, Peace Corps volunteers, and millions of students worldwide, the Rosetta Stone Language Library teaches new languages faster and easier than ever before.

We all learn our childhood language by associating new words and phrases with the world around us. The Rosetta Stone method replicates this process by presenting vivid, real-life images to convey the meaning of each new phrase. Instead of translating, memorizing, and studying rules of grammar, you actually learn to think in the new language. Vocabulary and grammar are integrated systematically, leading to everyday proficiency.

This comprehensive program provides up to 550 hours of mastery instruction in listening comprehension, reading, writing, and speaking. Systematic structure teaches vocabulary and grammar naturally, without lists or drills. Previews, exercises, and tests accompany every lesson, and there are automated tutorials throughout the program. Graphical speech recognition displays your voiceprint and compares it with the native speaker to help improve your pronunciation. (Ages 6 and older) ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Blows the competition out of the water!
Nothing I've seen comes close to this program. It's an entirely different level. But do yourself a favor before shelling out the $300. Go to the rosettastone.com web page and ask for a demo cd. They'll send you a sample with every language they offer included. It gives you a very good sense of what it's all about.

English speaking son in law
Hi,

I bought this program because I am married to a French Canadian and we never taught our kids to speak french. The last visit we had with her parents was the straw that broke the camels back for me, so I did a little research, saw that this program was used by NASA, the State Department and the Peace Corps and decided to go ahead and spend more on any one piece of software than I have ever spent before. I couldn't be happier!
I told the kids, (16 and 14) that I wasn't going to make them use it, it was up to them. Granted, they are probably a little more motivated than most, but the program is fun. I speak a little french, but it is always me translating everything in my head, this program works completely differently than any other that I have ever heard of. There is no english at all, and as you go through you find yourself not translating as much but just answering the questions. Other reviewers have done a better job than I ever will, but my 14 year old figured out the first lesson the first day, and he has never had any french at all. I cannot say enough about it, and if it is the price that is holding you back, all I can say is what is it worth to you to learn french, to learn it faster than you probably could otherwise and to have fun as you are doing it? For me it would be a bargain at twice the price.

Thanks

Excellent learning method!
I have, in the past,purchased every kind of "Learn French" product on the market.Some were good;others lacked real content;some were frankly boring; or some assumed too much about the beginning student.However,the Rosetta Stone method surpasses all of them.In the two days I have been using it,I have learned,and more importantly, retained everything I have studied so far.This is not to say it is easy..but the new words and phrases that are introduced to you make you think and visualize,not just repeat over and over the same phrases/words until you are blind with boredom.Each level includes four different methods of learning,and all of them together equal perfection.When I can comfortably speak/read French on my own,I think I will pursue learning another language..because these programs are so complete and well presented.
I can't recommend this product enough!

Fun to use, very extensive
The Rosetta Stone language learning system is based on the idea that foreign languages should be learned the same way as children learn their very first language - not by learning words isolated from their content and later putting them into sentences using painfully learned grammar rules, but by direct association of words and sentences with visual images. The Rosetta Stone contains no instructions in your mother tongue. If you bought German, the program communicates with you only in German. The only means which the program uses to explain you the meaning of the foreign words are pictures. You may not understand the meaning of the new word or phrase immediately. However, the program will use this word over and over again, and soon you will get an idea what it means. Remember how parents teach their children to talk, repeating the same thing again and again in different combinations? This is what Rosetta Stone does to you. You do not get a translation - insted, you get an image, an idea, a feeling.

I purchased French, but all 24 languages supported by Rosetta Stones use the same software and the same or nearly the same structure of lessons and images. The program works as follows. Once you have chosen a lesson out of a list, you have a selection of several modes of learning. In one, the program tells you phrases, and you have to choose one of four pictures which fits the phrase. In another, you see a picture and chose one from four written words/phrases. In the third, you chose the written phrase which matches what you just heard. In the fourth, you see a written word/phrase and match it with one of four phrases read to you by the computer. The program keeps on making new and new combination of the words and phrases for as long as you need to start feeling confident. If you want to practice your writing, Rosetta Stone will offer you either to put together sentences by dragging whole words with a mouse, or will suggest you to type them in from scratch and will correct you mistakes along the way. Finally, another part of the program works on your pronunciation and intonation. It not only records your voice as you repeat after a native speaker, but also provides graphical analysis of the patterns of your speach, thus helping to identify mistakes. This part of the program requires a high quality headset..., a cheap computer microphone will not work.

This program costs much more than the other programs on the market, but it also has a lot more to offer. Levels 1 and 2 combined contain over 200 units, and each unit may take several hours (depending on your age and language learning ability) to master. A great advantage which helps to make the buying decision is that Rosetta Stone offers a fully functional demo version of the program, which can be downloaded from their web site (rosettastone.com). This demo differs from the real thing in that you can try only 5-6 units out of 210 in any of the languages. This is sufficient to get a very good idea of how you like the program, as well as to understand how the level matches your prior knowledge of this language. Actually, I must say that Level 2 goes pretty far, I was surprised how advanced the sentences were when I opened one of the level 2 units in a language which I learned before.

In French which I bought each level came on 2 CDs, one with the software, the second one with the language library. Probably as a heritage from 1993, when the disk space was scarce, the program reads language data straight from the CD instead of copying them to hard disk. One has to keep the language library CD in the CD-drive, where it starts spinning every half a minute or so. With a noisy 40x drive it is rather annoying. The program runs on any Windows version after 3.1 (including XP) and on the Mac.

Besides CDs, the program comes with a manual (how to install and run the program) and a booklet with cirriculum, which contains a list of all words and phrases used in the program. There is no booklet on grammar, and no dictionary because any of these items standard in adult learning would contradict the spirit and the method of The Rosetta Stone. Both the manual and the booklet can be downloaded in PDF format from The Rosetta Stone's web site (another good way to evaluate how much you can expect to learn if you buy the program).

The developers claim that the program covers 5-year middle/high school program and includes around 2500 words. I had several other language programs in the past, and there is no doubt that Rosetta Stone covers a lot more language than any other program I saw.

Overall, it is a good learning tool, fun to use. It is not cheap, but if you divide the price by the number of hours of patient instructions which you get from your computer, you will end up with a cost which is way, way lower than any teacher would charge per hour for individual or group lessons. All of us used The Rosetta Stone method of learning between the ages of 1 and 7 and keep on using it when teaching our little ones. The fact that the developer remains in business for over 10 years and keeps getting new awards shows that it is also good for adults. I liked it. Check out the demo version, you probably will like it, too. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Learn a new language with the award-winning method used by the U.S. State Department to train diplomats. Proven effective by NASA astronauts, Peace Corps volunteers, and millions of students worldwide, the Rosetta Stone Language Library teaches new languages faster and easier than ever before.

We all learn our childhood language by associating new words and phrases with the world around us. The Rosetta Stone method replicates this process by presenting vivid, real-life images to convey the meaning of each new phrase. Instead of translating, memorizing, and studying rules of grammar, you actually learn to think in the new language. Vocabulary and grammar are integrated systematically, leading to everyday proficiency.

The Rosetta Stone Level I program offers a comprehensive course of study for beginning learners, leading to intermediate proficiency. The program contains over 3,500 real-life images and phrases in 92 lessons and more than 250 hours of mastery instruction in listening comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing. Systematic structure teaches vocabulary and grammar naturally, without lists and drills. There are reviews, exercises, and tests for every lesson with automated tutorials throughout the program. (Ages 6 and older) ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Their method works!
The Rosetta Stone people believe in total immersion. Nothing is translated; all meanings are conveyed by a clever use of pictures. You see a french expression, hear it spoken, and see its meaning illustrated, all at the same time. The method works. It allows the English compartment of the mind to quiet down and the French to take over. I felt that I was absorbing french vocabulary, pronunciation, and sentence patterns more efficiently with this program than by any other learning method I have tried.

For the most part the pictures make the meanings obvious, but when they don't you are on your own. I kept Google running in the background and used its translation facility to look up the occasional mysterious word. That usually worked, but the lack of English translations within the program is a design flaw in my opinion. Doubtless they would protest that including translations would go against the spirit of total immersion. Well, having to stop to look things up in a french-english dictionary is not total immersion either. But this flaw is not fatal. The program is so good otherwise that I was willing to put up with the inconvenience.

The method is not a complete approach in itself. No grammar is taught except for what you can figure out for yourself from the examples. French Now! by Transparent Language is another excellent program that complements it nicely. Rosetta Stone is expensive, but their "French Explorer" is modestly priced and provides a generous sampling of their fuller Level 1 and Level 2 programs. If you simply can't afford the fuller programs you might consider using French Explorer in conjunction with French Now!

only ok
All in all this program isn't bad but it doesn't seem to have anything on grammar. Without learning the grammar of a language it is almost pointless to learn it because you will sound like a fool to someone who knows the language. The only other program I have tried is French NOW by Transparent Language which is just as good as this program, has grammar turtorials, and is much more affordable.

You will be talking in no time.
I have tried a variety of language software titles to learn to speak French and I was beginning to get rather frustrated. After several months, I was still unable to put together coherent sentences. That's pretty sad, considering I've taught English to a variety of ages for 4 years and have a strong grasp on sentence structure. However, there's good news! Within a few lessons, I was putting together ideas with Rosetta Stones' French tutorials. The program uses photographs to piecemeal together ideas. You feel much like a child exploring the world in a new language and you will find yourself thinking in French in no time! In addition, you don't have to sit through boring grammar lessons, it just comes naturally. I highly recommend this product, even though it is considerably more expensive than some of the others, it is well worth the price of admission. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Very well designed!
This software is very complete, with all the skills to learn German involved: speaking, writing, grammar, listening, comprehension...

The speaking capabilities is outstanding, as the software recognizes your voice and can correct your pronunciation mistakes.

Activities are very interactive and diverse, making it very engaging and fun.

I used it a lot, and still the length of the software is amazing.

Very well designed!

Super program!
I'm a Spanish and Chinese teacher who has decided to learn German. I received this set for Xmas, and I love it! The lessons are well presented with a variety of activities that help you work on all four aspects of language learning--reading, writing, listening, and speaking--with an emphasis on listening and speaking skills. It has a variety of activities to help you learn, and you can spend a lot of time on favorite activities--I love the crossword puzzles for vocabulary development. The input is generally comprehensible, and unlike other reviewers, I find that there is more than enough material to keep me busy for many many hours. The only shortcoming of the program is the somewhat inaccessible dictionary--I would suggest you buy your own German-English dictionary for convenience.

I plan to recommend the Spanish version of this program to my students who are having trouble in class.

Useless, and frequently pathetic.
For starters, all the content offered would have easily fit on a single CD-ROM, so their offering so many disks reminds of bogus language courses from the past which had 30 or so cassettes or videocassetes, each with about 10 minutes or so of playback. Each area of the course is essentially worthless. To just describe one disk, the vocabulary disk has about 2,000 or so words almost randomly chosen. Very few of the essential words of the language appear, and instead hundreds of terms deal with country names and things you don't need to know your first days, such as cufflinks and redcurrant.

It is true that pictures and videos help remember words, but the images are thoroughly depressing and pathetic on many ocassions. For example, the woman in the "kiss" term looks like she is doing so forcibly, and in general any picture or video (one in about 30 definitions has a 2 or 3 second video) in which people of any age appear seem to either have a great dislike for the photographer, or for life in general. It is rather disturbing to see such suffering when one is trying to learn a new language.

The other disks are even more worthless, and everything has a depressing quality to it. Needless to say, I sent it back, and will instead try another product. I recommend staying far away from this one! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Instant maybe. Immersion questionable.
My dad got this for me to supplement a Latin textbook I have been studying for my high school language course. It is quick and easily understandable. You get plenty of words and phrases, which is perfect for a traveler. If you want to learn the language for the sake of knowing it, not travel, however, you'd better get a book to supplement this. It doesn't teach about pluralization, verb conjugation, or other oddities that the language holds, such as, in Latin, the ending -m which implies a direct object. The Latin CD also does not use the dashes over the vowels (ie. â,ç,î,ô,û). Overall, I am very happy with the product and with the price of $39.99 (USD), but I am also quite glad I have my textbook (ECCE ROMANI) to go with it.

Okay for the price
I was hoping this set would contain the first CD or at least part of the first CD in the two-CD Instant Immersion programs, which would have been a great deal, and would have truly given you a good start in all these languages. However, this set only has very basic material for each language, and in fact is more like having a basic CD vocabulary and phrasebook for each language rather than a real mini-course or introduction, which for me is only marginally useful.

The vocabulary sections are divided up into 8 sections: first words, colors, food, numbers, shopping, countries, time, body. The ninth section is for phrases, and one advantage is that they are pronounced individually for you, which you can do for the individual words, too. There are two categories of games, easy and hard, and the program tracks your progress.

If you like to collect lots of phrase books with basic vocabulary, this might be fine for you, as you can at least learn some words and phrases that might be useful, but for me the major shortcoming is there is nothing on the grammar. I would rather invest the money in the 2-CD version of the half dozen languages I'm interested in, and then pay the extra for the 5 and 8 CD advanced Instant Immersion software when I'm ready to progress to the next stage of learning.

Still, for a reasonable price you get 33 languages, including all the main European ones plus things like Swahili, Korean, Finnish, Hindi, Tibetan, Vietnamese, and so on. So if you like to play around with exotic languages this might be the set for you, but you'll need to supplement it with a real language learning course if you're serious about really going anywhere with your studies.

I need to mention one drawback to the CD's, however. I have reasonably fast, 16x read and 48x write speed CD, and the program still runs fairly slowly, although I have a half gig of RAM and a 2.6 GHz system. It's mostly noticeable when using the pronunciation capability, but it spends a lot of time just seeking when you're jumping between sections. It's tolerable on my CD player, but if you have an older, slower one, be advised it's going to be slow.

One solution would be to get Tenebril software's Virtual Drive Manager program which will copy it to your hard disk so you can run it from there. I've tested it on about a dozen programs and it works on most of them. So it's not a sure thing but the program isn't that expensive and it does work for many things. Tenebril can be found on the web, where I bought it. I don't know if their software is carried by most computer stores or not. ... Read more

Features

• CD-Rom with booklet to learn real French
• It uses conversations with French natives which are written down exactly as spoken.
• It uses colors to show what is and what is not pronounced in spoken French
• It's a step by step repetition of entire excerpts of conversations.
• Rules of the French spoken language are explained in a simple way.

Reviews (15)

I've tried them all and this one is IT!!!
With an impending vacation to Paris, I wanted to become familiar with the French language, having never studied it before. I've read and listened to nearly every major French language program out there, including Barron's, Berlitz, Michel Thomas, Living Language French, Teach Yourself French and Instant Immersion. Smart French is by far the best, both in value and in what it teaches. I couldn't understand why after studying these other methods, when I watched a French film, I could understand little to nothing of what was being said. After purchasing Smart French and working each of the interactive lessons, I finally get it. What is taught in the textbooks is not the way the French actually speak. They contract so much that the written French is quite different from the spoken French!

A child learns a language first by hearing it spoken and mimicking the sounds, then by attaching meaning to the words. This is what Smart French does. It teaches you to hear first, repeat the sounds that you hear and translate later. First you learn to hear, then speak and finally to understand. All the other methods teach basically the same way and method, while Smart French is very different. I wholeheartedly recommend Smart French!!!

Not a stand-alone product
This is an excellent tutorial in spoken French, but falls a little short in one or two regards. For example, it could *really* benefit from a vocabulary list. The French and English are placed side by side, but there are numerous occasions wherein the English translation fails to include entire words from the French, leaving the user to figure out what the French words mean from context, which words mean what, or running to a dictionary (which are notoriously short on idiomatic expressions). While language is certainly learned in this manner by children, it can be frustrating for the student of French who wants to learn quickly. A vocabulary list would solve this problem. Also, because the CD-ROM is set up in a non-linear fashion, while listening to the CDs one has to hear the same phrases repeated over and over ("we suggest you follow our approach" and "this is called liasion" come to mind), which becomes tiring. Having said that, I highly recommend this series for anyone who is studying/has studied French and wants to know how to *speak* French. I use it in conjunction with Learn in Your Car series (a terrific vocabulary builder), and a free resource online, "Chloe ou Les aventures d'une Parisienne." But if you are a beginner, you will certainly need something in addition to this series.

The SmartFrench CD=Remarkable Tool to Learn French
With the SmartFrench CD, I have finally found the tool I searched for, to help me practice speaking French the way native speakers do. Through a series of interesting interviews with charming and engaging speakers, one can choose the level of expertise from beginner to advanced to practice speaking and understanding. The various levels maintain the challenge for the student. The CD is easy to use. I appreciate that the steps in the process were outlined and all I needed to do was to follow them. However, one can also choose to skip steps and still benefit from the practice with the CD. I definitely recommend the CD for all students of French who want to understand and be understood. Thanks Christian!

Tried them all -- FINALLY something that works
With an impending vacation to Paris, I wanted to become familiar with the French language, having never studied it before. I've read and listened to nearly every major French language program out there, including Barron's, Berlitz, Michel Thomas, Living Language French, Teach Yourself French and Instant Immersion. Smart French is by far the best, both in value and in what it teaches. I couldn't understand why after studying these other methods, when I watched a French film, I could understand little to nothing of what was being said. After purchasing Smart French and working each of the interactive lessons, I finally get it. What is taught in the textbooks is not the way the French actually speak. They contract so much that the written French is quite different from the spoken French!

A child learns a language first by hearing it spoken and mimicking the sounds, then by attaching meaning to the words. This is what Smart French does. It teaches you to hear first, repeat the sounds that you hear and translate later. First you learn to hear, then speak and finally to understand. All the other methods teach basically the same way and method, while Smart French is very different. I wholeheartedly recommend Smart French!!!

Fantastic Product
Over the years I have tried many ways to learn French, including tapes, CDs and individual instruction, with limited success. SmartFrench has created a unique and effective way to learn which dramatically increases confidence and comprehension. Just a few lessons using the SmartFrench techniques made my last trip to France an entirely different experience! I would recommend SmartFrench to anyone who wants to understand and speak French. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

One star is certainly too generous for this product...
Is it just me or is having "long live Parisian Bread" as one of the first things taught to you in a foreign language a little ridiculous? If you want to be thrown into a language -- I guess that's what Topics Entertainment considers "immersion" -- and then randomly learn various words, expressions, etc., without any kind of basic French foundation -- like the alphabet, maybe? -- to build upon or some cumulative-based structure to work with in the process, then you definitely should buy this. Otherwise, forget it--it really is a waste of your money. (Goddamn Best Buy for it's no returns on opened software. Perhaps I'll have some luck on ebay.com HAHA!)

Very good.
I really like this software. The fact that it is based on immersion (you hear the language first, and then communicate) is a real advantage of this software. Immersion has been considered the best way to learn a language, that is why spending time in a country is the best way to learn a language. That is what happens with this software, but you don't have to travel to France! It is also very complete as it involves reading, speaking, listening,...
It is a great value as well as you receive a very complete package.

Zero stars should be an option for this product
This is the worst software product that I've ever owned, bar none!!! It has no systematic plan of instruction and it thrust the user into language tranlation situations right out of the chute, with out even the slightest preparation.

As a primer it is totally worthless. It doesn't begin with an overview of the alphbet, nor a review of basics of French grammar, nor does it deal with the elements of sentence structure. It jumps right into conversational translation without the least bit of preparation.

If you are a beginner, steer clear of this product. It's a waste of your time and your money. Never have I encountered a more frustrating software product. Were I the developer, I would not want my name associated with this product.

I'm returning it if that tells you anything.
I don't know why I gave it two stars. I guess I felt a little generous. I have been studying French for a little over 4 years and I wanted something really interactive. It's semi-interactive but most of it is just a jumbled mess. The exercies don't go together. There are no themes to choose from. It's hard to learn any new vocabulary when it is all jumbled together. I wouldn't call this instant immersion. I would call it instant confusion. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

KidSpeak Spanish French German Italian Japanese Hebrew is a double CD-ROM featuring six comprehensive language programs. It is fun and easy to use and will help multilingual children practice a choice of different languages through a range of games, songs, and puzzles.

Each of the different language programs is an immersion program, so all the instructions are in the chosen language. For this reason, younger children who are not so confident with the basics of the language may need adult support. More confident children will quickly pick up what they are expected to do and will be able to work independently through the games. There is also a very useful help option which explains the choices of games in English.

Having chosen the language that they wish to work on, children can then play a range of games and listen to songs to consolidate the vocabulary that has been introduced. Most of the games can be played at three levels of difficulty. The games include activities such as identifying fruit, colouring fruit appropriately, pairs games with pictures and words, identifying animals, ordering pictures, setting given times on clocks, and putting objects into a backpack. A wide range of vocabulary is consolidated, such as numbers, the alphabet, animals, objects, times, colours, fruits and vegetables, the weather, transport and leisure activities. A set of online activities, which can be printed out, will also help to review what children have learned.

KidSpeak Spanish French German Italian Japanese Hebrew would be a very useful buy for children ages 5 to 12 who are multilingual or who are learning a range of languages at school. It is also ideal for a parent who wants to introduce their child to a new language. --Amanda York ... Read more

Reviews (7)

There must be a better bang for your buck.
I bought this software on the recommendation of some software review site, and I must say my 9 year old daughter and I were disappointed. The graphics are sometimes hard to make out on the screen. (The animation altogether isn't very appealing at all, but that's not why I bought it . . . )And my daughter kept repeating, "But I want to learn sentences!" It's just an okay introduction if you want to learn the names of fruits and vegetables.

I could not run the software on window XP
The software is too old to run on the window XP professional. I could not use it.

Awesome For Kids
KidSpeak 6-in-1 is an awesome product for kids to have fun with and learn several languages(Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Hebrew). The animation is very fun and my kids really love this. I love the fact that my child will talk to me in a different language and I'm sure other parents would agree. When it comes down to it, Transparent Language did an awesome job with this software and I couldn't be more satisfied with it.

Language Learning For Kids
KidSpeak 6-in-1 is my child's favorite thing to do on the computer. There are many fun games and activities to do in KidSpeak which teaches a child foreign language. The cartoon animation and the characters are very entertaining for my child who spends hours at a time playing this game. This is a good way to have a child exposed to foreign languages which are easier to learn at a younger age. Before you know it, your child will be talking to you in another language. KidSpeak 6-in-1 has 6 languages included with it (Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Hebrew) meaning there is plenty for a child to learn and do in the program. I would recomend this program for all children because it is educational yet fun at the same time.

I have Windows ME
I haven't really been able to run this software, I think it's because I have ME. I have used it before on my sister-in-law's computer and thought it was a great way to grab a young child's interest in another language. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Learn French Now! 9.0 Deluxe takes you from beginner to confidentspeaker in no time. Listen and speak activities, grammar tools, and vocabularygames build a solid foundation, while real-life video content lets you interactwith native speakers. Learn French Now! also adds online features that create aninteresting and authentic atmosphere, making it fast, fun, and highly effectiveto learn French.

Learn French Now!'s four stimulating titles include: Fundamental French,Survival Phrases for French, Conversations in French, and A French SurpriseBirthday Party. GrammarPro!, the software's comprehensive grammar tool, addsmore than 10,000 words, extensive tutorials, and grammar quizzes to yourdesktop. Installed, GrammarPro! integrates seamlessly with all four Learn FrenchNow! titles to provide detailed grammar analyses with just a click of yourmouse.

Online features, fun interactive games, conversations, and phrases round outthis deluxe suite. Practice your pronunciation using the integrated speechfeatures, then record your voice and replay your conversation. Learn at your ownpace by deciding when you need translation. Microsoft Windows users also receiveGlobalWriter98, a word-processing tool that helps you write in more than 100languages, as well as a handy screen saver. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Excellent Software!
1)This is the most powerful and wonderful learning tool I have ever seen. You can click on the words to get better punctuation.

2) You can view what you are speaking. The pictures are good and speak directly from your word text.

3) You are able to read it in english and read and hear in french at once. And see it. Which allows easy memory of what you are saying.

4) Easy installation and offers great support and help guides.

5) You will learn quickly.

6) This is good for beginners because again it allows you to click on each word. It is even good for those who need to catch up on what they are speaking...

I believe it is a good price and worth your time and effort.

Very helpful.
1. You can click and hear almost all the French words in this software. And it shows the meaning of the word and a little bit of grammar at the same time too.

2. The pronounciation is very clear.

3. Adequate and very good convasation and listening sourse.

4. Lots of activities to keep you learning- and they are all interesting!

5. BUT not enough grammars..

If you are bigginer with no French grammars, this software can be a bit hard.
But overall, this software is the best language learning software I've ever used and I strongly recommend it.

Sorry I Ever Wasted My Money On This @%$#
I bought this title back in August when the reviews seemed overwhelmingly good. But it is obvious now that someone connected with this company was trying to boost the rating with false commentaries. This is truly the worst piece of software I have ever used. There is no rhyme or reason to the GUI, even the sound of the French speakers is muddled. I have the Rosetta Stone French Explorer that my husband and I enjoy using.We were surprised when we actually started the learn the language. But rather than spend the extra money for the Rosetta Stone complete software program I fell for this drivel. As my husband says, quite often you really do get what you pay for. This lousey piece of &^$# is heading for the Goodwill Store.

Beware many of the other reviews, written by company...
It's hard to imagine a more transparent attempt to inflate the user ratings for these products. Over half of the five-star rated reviews are copy-paste identical. Not coincidentally, there is one such review for each language product they make. I'm glad Amazon is bunching them together so you can see this clearly. Beware!

A friend lent me the French version and it's mediocre and unstructured.

Try this! Its good!
French Now by Transparent Language is excellent for language learning. It gave me everything I could need to learn and practice all aspects of French. It has an Alphabet Reference, Pronunciation practice features, Grammer tutorials, thousands and thousands of vocabulary words and phrases, and many games to help practice it all. My favorite feature is the Conversation practice which has you talking back into the computer with a microphone and then the computer will tell you if you answered correctly and how well your pronunciation is. In the end, I could not be happier with this software, it does everything its supposed to and more. ... Read more

Features

• This suite of learning applications, games and lessons are designed to dramatically improve your listening, speaking, reading and writing skills
• Exercises and multimedia clips build students' vocabulary, grammar and comprehension skills
• Have fun and build language skills with Word and Sentence Pronunciation activities
• Advanced speech analysis tools compares your pronunciation to native speakers for superior speaking skills
• Talking dictionary includes thousands of native speaker Sound Dictation activities to enhance listening skills

Reviews (2)

hard to learn
i already learn french in school. And if i dind't already know a little bit then i would have a huge problem with learning from this from scratch. It's difficult to use. It doesn't teach you vocabulary. And i've found errors in the some of the translations. Overall I dont find this product useful, and it's totally not worth the money

complete disappointment
This product is a complete waist of money. It doesn't teach you step by step, all the material is translated into english. ... Read more

Features

• French language learning software for kids of all ages
• Teaches over 700 words and expressions
• Enjoyable animation, activities, and interactive games, puzzles, and songs
• Award-winning software designed and developed by leading educators
• Includes 12 printable activities and projects to reinforce learning

Reviews (1)

Parlez-vous français?
This interactive learning experience is fun, colorful and very humorous! It makes learning enjoyable! The only drawback to this program is that it is quite difficult to understand at first. You need to have substantial knowledge of French to be able to catch on to the process; luckily there is an English translation to everything so that you can figure it out. Overall I found Asterix to be a good learning tool in my ongoing effort to learn French. ... Read more

Features

• Organized into multiple categories, to find the sentences you need instantly -Greetings, Shopping, Emergency and more
• Contains hundreds of basic phrases tailored for each country - whether you need to finda tailor in Rome or a vegetarian restaurant in Paris
• The perfect pronunciations can be replayed as often as necessary, to make you sound like a native

Amazon.com Product Description

Learn to Speak French Deluxe Traveler's Edition adds advanced speech recognition technology, cultural movies, and much more to take interactive language learning to the next level. Build skills in French pronunciation, vocabulary, comprehension, speaking, reading, writing, and grammar. A personalized learning system customizes lessons to meet your needs. Plus, this comprehensive five CD-ROM suite comes with Parlez-Vous Francais? interactive DVD, Fodor's France 2003 travel guidebook, a Telex microphone, and a workbook that lets you study French while away from your computer.

Learn to Speak French Deluxe Traveler's Edition's advanced speech recognition technology lets you compare your pronunciation to a native speaker's, and also engage in conversation simulations. The included Telex M-40 microphone is designed for high-quality recording and voice communication with minimal background noise. A built-in assessment test determines the best place to begin. Then you create a flexible study plan, embark on your language studies, and track your progress. To round out the suite, the expert advice contained in the included Fodor's France 2003 travel guidebook helps you plan the perfect trip to France. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Learn to Speak French worked for me
I actually bought this product in Oct 2003. I knew I would be vacationing in Paris in May 2004. I worked through the programs one after the other for the past 6 months. Well, I went to Paris and was able to order in restaurants, buy things and converse at a basic level. The program works if you work at it. Where I think the program excels is in correct pronounciation. Hearing the people in the programs speak over and over and using the verbal dictionary helped me learn to pronounce correctly. The program includes a microphone and Fodors travel guide, along with a set of CDs and a VCR tape. The CD's contain the most important part of the program. Part of the focus of the program is to speak into the microphone and be graded on your speech quality. I think this is overrated and concentrated on pronouncing as the actors in the programs do. Also, as mentioned by another reviewer, the Fodors travel guide is a great reference tool if you actually plan to go to France. This program is well worth the money. Caution: It will not make you fluent. I don't think any program can achieve that.

Unusable
Learn to Speak French is a terrible product. The Learning Company says it can be used on Windows XP, but it just isn't true. It loaded well and seemed to run OK, but within 10 minutes it crashed the system because it used up all the resources. There seems to be a bug that doesn't allow resources to close when you leave an area.

When I went to TLC home page to look for a bug fix I discovered that L to SF is supported over the web only and no support by e-mail or telephone is available.

There is a fix to correct some problem with Win 2000 so, with nothing to lose, I downloaded it and attempted to install it. The first step was to go to the drive that had the L to SF CD in it. I did this and when I clicked OK it returned to the C drive. Nothing I tried would take me to the D drive.

Maybe this works well on earlier versions of Windows, but on a Pentium 4, 2.8 Ghz, with 1 Gig of RAM it was useless.

Excellent product and a great way to learn French!
I am very impressed with this product. For starters you get a lot of stuff for [the price] and this software has to be one of the best deals I've seen on any software. In addition to the 4 CDROMs you get a DVD, an audio CD, a ... Fodors Guide book, a very handy reference book, and a high-quality microphone. That's alot for [the price]. The software was very easy to install and everything went smoothly with the installation on Windows 2000. The software itself is excellent and very easy to use. Many many excellents lessons to work through. Short of hiring a private tutor I think this is probably one of the best ways to learn a foreign language. The simulated conversions are very impressive. I highly recommend this product!

Great software!
I bought this software to brush up on french before a trip to Paris. I thought it was excellent and the interactive nature of the program made it really fun. It's also convenient that it comes with situation specific lessons and drills (business,travel,shopping) so that you can tailor your learning to your needs if you don't have time to do the entire program. Highly recommend it to others.

What a wonderful way to learn French!
I have the Learn to speak French CD set from "The Learning Company" and it is absolutely WONDERFUL! I've been to France many times since "learning" French with this program and it really works! After each lesson you talk into your microphone what you have learned and it rates your French as a tourist or a native. If you don't do well you can do it again and again until you get it right. I've tried many programs and lessons and this is absolutely the BEST! You have to get it and you will be saying Merci to The Learning Company for teaching you such a wonderful language. It's so easy! ... Read more

Features

• Join your live-action CD-ROM show hosts as they guide you through the fun & easy lessons on each disc(6 CD set)
• Use the Patented EuroMethod approach to learn by doing -- immerse yourself in a new culture and pick up words & phrases as you go
• Easy-to-follow, step-by-step instruction in 102 different languages guide you effortlessly around the world
• In no time, you'll be ordering food, making your way around, conducting business and asking questions
• Covers greetings and expressions, travel, service and emergencies, food -- with speaking drills and memory games to improve your abilities

Features

• French language learning system with portable audio lessons
• 3-CD-ROM set with 750 hours of instruction and cultural activities
• 8,000 word audio glossary; 3,600 exercises; 6 workshops
• 3D animation; S.E.T.S. for correction of pronunciation errors
• Beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels

Amazon.com Product Description

This English-French talking dictionary is designed for anyone who needs to use English or French, from the beginning student to the language professional. The dictionary comes with a set of tools for speedy look-up of any words, checking their meaning and pronunciation, and verifying translations of any text on the computer. The variety of settings and levels makes the software simple and straightforward to use.

The Shooting Gallery exercise helps the user learn new words more quickly. The program offers different levels of difficulty and different word ranges to suit the language level, including the 500/1,000/1,500/2,000/2,500/3,000 most commonly used words. The crossword puzzles included in the software are never repeated, and are also offered in various levels of difficulty.

The AudioPad module is designed to teach correct pronunciation. With the help of AudioPad, the learner can listen to the original speech of a professional native speaker and also record and listen to his or her own speech. In addition, each sound fragment is graphically displayed, which makes practicing more vivid and helps the user to imitate all nuances of the pronunciation with greater precision. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Collins English/French Talking Dictionary
This dictionary is everything I hoped it would be. First, it is the standard Collins dictionary in electronic format. It includes parts of speech and multiple definitions for the word. Liberal use of color in the definitions make it easy to distinguish usage description versus French words versus English words. As in most bilingual dictionaries, only a few of the verb conjugations, mostly past participles, are listed. Therefore, these French language words cannot be found.

The audio quality of the native speaker's pronunciation is very good and includes singular and plural pronunciations. The audio files take about 500 Mb and are normally left on the CD-ROM. It can take from one to five to access them. The IPA phonetics is the first entry for the word. The audio is also very helpful for learning to pronounce IPA sounds.

The user interface is easy enough to learn with the teaching demo. Highlighting a word and dropping it on the "Trap" icon instantly opens the dictionary to the correct word. Right clicking on the word copies it to a word list for later review. I love this feature. The crossword and shooting games also key off of this list.

This is a great product and a great learning tool. The latest update can be downloaded from Intense Learning Office's web site, so one does not have to worry about buying the latest version.

Useful Tool
For a person who is taking a French 101 course, this dictionary is a valuable tool. One of its greatest features is the fact that it "talks," allowing you to familiarize yourself with the French language. The big downside is that the interface itself is not very aesthetically pleasing: a drab gray background (the same color as your browser's "framework") with arial font. At the top of the program window are two tabs, one that reads "French-English," the other "English-French." Not surprisingly, this allows for reverse look-up, itself rather useful.

The word at the top of the list--whether selected by typing or by scrolling--is always bolded in red, the parts of speech in yellow, various phrases in dark blue, pronunciations in green, purple for associated French words, and the list of words (except the one selected) in royal blue. Right clicking on any word--whether in the definition or elsewhere--acts as a hyperlink, taking you to its definition. Right clicking on the speaker icon calls up "Audio Pad": a small window opens that allows you to record your own voice next to the one provided by the dictionary to perfect your pronunciations.

To get a sample of the quality of definitions before you buy, you can access the Collins French-English dictionary online at ....., identical to the software in terms of content. The online version does not, however, offer the audio pronunciations, though it is more aesthetically pleasing, a nice white background with real hyperlinks and most letters in black for high contrast readability, unlike the drab gray program that looks like something developed between DOS and Windows 3.0.

Whatever a person may think of its appearance, purchasing this software is invaluable primarily because of its many sound files (taking the relative quality of its definitions as a given). I would recommend it to the struggling student, though it might not be the best tool to use as a "stand-alone" to learn the language: it should be supplemented by other learning resources. (At the very least, one should also make use of Laura K. Lawless's French website at ...... it has a number of lessons and audio files to aid anyone from beginner to expert, though if you don't have pop-up blocking software, you might want to download the free Google toolbar first ......as About.com sites are notorious for their annoying ads.) As an aside, the Collin's French-English Talking Dictionary also comes with a "shooting gallery" and a crossword puzzle feature, both of which will help one learn even if they are not quite on a par with the appeal 3D animation and stunning effects hold for those entranced by the gaming industry. :)

In conclusion, it may not be the best software ever developed, but for the price it is reliable and useful and the content itself is of quality. The main thing is that it is just a bit ugly. Whatever the case, it could very well mean the difference between that A or B in the class: if I were you and I were wavering between buying or not, I would go ahead and take the plunge. Even if it isn't everything you thought it might be, it certainly isn't going to hurt you any and in the end it just might help. Go ahead. Jump in. :)

Essential for the student of French
I bought this book for use with my self-study aids, and I can't tell you how invaluable it is. For one thing, it is so handy to have on my computer while I'm surfing through French websites and come across a word I don't know. It's greatest value to me, however, has been the pronunciation. I had opted to study using a college textbook (used, no audio CDs) and workbooks rather than purely audio sets like Pimsleur et al., and my only exposure to hearing French speakers was software, a few DVDs, internet radio, and this. This is by far the most helpful aspect of this software. Now, I often get compliments on my french accent, and I owe most of it to this program. One warning: this program is not a translator. If you don't speak any French, this program is not going to help you navigate through foreign websites or newspapers, particularly if you don't know which words are verbs and which aren't.

It's worth noting that you will not find all of the verbs' many variations on this program (you will find "manger" of course, but not (tu) manges (indicatif), (je) mangais (l'imparfait) etc. As a student, or fluent speaker of French, it is up to you to recognize what verb is being used...then you must look up the verb in its infinitive form (-er, -re, -ir, etc.) It does have entries (and mercifully) pronunciations for some common or unusual variants that could otherwise stump the self-studier, like (j) "aille," (present subjunctive for aller) or (il) "faille." Again, the biggest help is the pronunciation.

In sum, if you are in need of a handy computer dictionary that is faster to access and use than a book, you might want to think about this program. If you are studying the language by yourself, I can't imagine how you'd live without it. ... Read more

Features

• Learn to speak, read, and write French with natural confidence
• 2 full years worth of robust, convenient, and engaging curriculum
• Over 50 lessons, hundreds of exercises, and refreshing games and puzzles
• Easy record and playback capabilities; upgraded speech recognition engine
• Includes audio lessons on CD and a 184-page reference book

Reviews (1)

Very Good
This software is awesome for learning French! First you start off learning the alphabet and learning vowels, etc., then you move onto Basic Phrases, Beginner I, Beginner II, and then Intermediate (Comprehensive Courses). A reference book comes with the package along with 5 CDs. It has frozen one time in the pass, and sometimes the speech recognition can be frustrating. However, great software product overall. ... Read more

Features

• Learn to speak by learning to understand -Listening activities will tune your ear to the subtle points of communicating with another language
• Wide variety of interactive skill-building exercises build understanding of any language -- from Arabic to Zulu
• Pronunciation analysis makes certain you speak like a native
• Participate in real, native dialogs to improve your skills
• Record and playback your conversations to hear your pronunciation and grammar

Features

• Entertaining instructions spread out over the course of 20 lessons help users develop vocabulary, grammar, and phonetics
• Personalized lessons focus on a specific series of concepts and moves through them at a pace you set
• Learn the alphabet, spelling, season, days of the week and months of the year
• Ask questions and find directions for anywhere you're going
• Search for a home or apartment, deal with automobiles and business negotiations and talk about occupations

Reviews (3)

The Ultimate Way to learn French
I remember the first time I used Tell Me More. I was amazed by the quality of the product. I could not believe what I was seeing. Tell me more is the best software to use to learn French. This software transports to you to a whole new world in France. It enables you learn the French language and the French culture. This software enables you to improve your accent while improving on your vocabulary. As a result, the learner becomes fluent in the French language; while speaking the language with a French accent. In addition, the practice exercises are interesting and educational. As a French tutor in college, I will strongly recommend Tell Me More to you.

The Ultimate Way to Learn French
I remember the first time I used Tell Me More. I was amazed by the quality of the product. I could not believe what I was seeing. Tell me more is the best software to use to learn French. This software transports to you to a whole new world in France. It enables you learn the French language and the French culture. This software also enables you to improve your accent while improving on your vocabulary. As a result, the learner becomes fluent in the French language; while speaking the language with a French accent. In addition,the practice exercises are interesting and educational. As a French tutor in college, I will strongly recommend Tell Me More to you.

Immersion training in the comfort of your own home
Bonjour. This software is amazing! I only started a week ago, but it definitely seems to have all the material necessary to learn to think, speak, and write in French.

The package comes with a headset (headphones and microphone) to practice your French out loud. It has word games, writing tests and speaking quizzes. You can also program the software to be an easy judge or such a difficult judge that a native French speaker would have a hard time.

The voice recognition software shows the sound frequency of each word spoken properly in French and then compares the sound waves of your speech to see how close you are speaking to a native French speaker.

This program is NOT easy. It's easy to use, but it is still a challenge to teach yourself French. It can be total immersion if you choose, or you can ask for English translations along the way. If you really want to learn French, with some effort this will work. Merci beaucoup. Au revoir. ... Read more