Amazon.com Product Description

Designed by a team of language-teaching specialists, Tell me More Italian 4.0 is the result of several years of research and development. This method spans all the areas essential to learning a foreign language--spoken and written. Tell Me More Italian 4.0 includes over 1000 exercises and educational games, 35 hours of conversation practice, and over 500 sentences and 2000 words in speech recognition. With detailed cartoon grammar lessons and a glossary of 1500 words, Tell Me More Italian 4.0 is a complete course in Italian expression, comprehension, pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

No way to learn a foreign language
I am extremely disappointed with this product. It may be useful for someone who has a working knowledge of Italian, but for a beginner, it is useless. It does not allow you to start with the basics and progress to more detailed lessons; the first videos and dialogues are way too complex for a beginner. Also, the program should allow you to set up a profile for each family member so everyone can move through a lesson plan at their own pace; it doesn't.

Programma magnifico
I have wanted to master Italian for years but never quite had the time or the right program. If you have a PC, this is the program for you! The creators have made learning fun and very inter-active. You learn through a variety of activities so nothing gets boring. And there is a sense of humor running throughout. The only possible weak spot is in the grammar section which is good but very basic. However, if you want to learn without knowing the why of some point of grammar then this weakness is not too important or you can get a grammar book as a suppliment which I did but only because that's how my mind works. Most teach yourself methods don't help you learn how to say the words, this one is very strong on that. You can repeat the pronounciation of a word, phrase or entire sentence until you can say it as well as the native speaker with the click of your mouse. I have already been in an Internet chat room IN ITALIAN after only two months of study. Okay, it was pretty baic stuff but still we were chatting in Italian. Ciao a tutti. E buona fortuna! ... Read more

Features

• World's first CD-ROM with Instant Sound - simply mouse over to hear! (CD-ROM cover design may vary)
• 10 languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Thai, Japanese and Indonesian
• Speech samples by over 40 authentic native speakers, including seven varieties of English
• World's first 'Talking Grammar' for ESL learners with conversation patterns for English, French and German
• Officially recognized by the U.S. Education Department's GEM Consortium and by the British government's National Grid for learning.

Reviews (2)

Forget about this product!
As the other reviewer says, "Fonetiks is a unique publication in more ways than one..." The curious fact is that the exactly same comment can be found at their own website. If you use a search engine and type in keywords like the name of this product, you can get to their website pretty easily, and you will see how the product looks like. When I bought this product, I was dissapointed so much. If there is a no-star option, I would rather choose it because this software does not help anything. As I, myself, am an EFL(English as a foreign language) speaker, I found this product a good-for-nathing. You can only hear few sample sounds from these ten languages listed above and the sound quality is also baaaad! I am a student of linguistics and I was taking a phonetics class. I thought this CD-ROM might be a helpful tool for my studies, but it turned out to be a waste of money. If you are taking a phonetics class for some languages and if you have thought that this might help you, no! Just forget this.

Fonetiks Pronunciation Guides with Instant Sound
Fonetiks is a unique publication in more ways than one. It's the world's first CD-ROM where you can simply mouse over text to hear it spoken - quite a big step forward in language learning, making an instant connection between the spoken and written word.

But it's also a new way of looking at languages: each language is divided up into six types of sounds: single vowels, diphthongs, triphthongs, voiced versus voiceless sounds, consonants, and stress/intonation. The result is that seemingly 'hard' languages like Mandarin or Japanese suddenly become quite easy to get to grips with.

Another unique thing about Fonetiks is the fact that it presents seven varieties of English: American, British, Australian, etc. - ESL learners won't find this anywhere else, at least not in this breathtakingly convenient mouseover format. The same goes for Parisian versus Canadian French, and German versus Swiss German.

As if this were not enough, there is also a unique "Spoken Grammar" for ESL learners, plus conversation patterns for English, French and German. More than 40 people comprised the "cast" of authentic native speakers that put this production together. This is a unique, major resource for people who love languages. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Now you can 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. It's the natural way to learn.

The Rosetta Stone Explorer contains 22 lessons for beginning learners with nearly 900 real-life images and phrases spoken by native speakers. It develops all key language skills--listening comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing--while its systematic structure teaches vocabulary and grammar naturally, without lists and drills. Includes previews, exercises, and tests for every lesson, with automated tutorials throughout the program. (Ages 6 and older) ... Read more

Reviews (4)

This is the way to learn a foreign language
I bought the Explorer AFTER I signed up for the free lessons that Rosetta Stone has on their website. I tried the French and the Portuguese lessons and was amazed at how quickly I learned the words. This is the way I learned English--symbol association, and it's the way a child learns its first language. How many times have you seen a parent point to a picture or a toy and say "Lion", or "Dog" to the child. The idea is bootstrap your knowledge by associating the word with the image in your head. The Explorer only offers the first 22 lessons of the Level I's 92 lessons. So, don't expect to be speaking in full sentences after going through the 22 lessons!

Rosetta Stone Italian
This software is very misleading. I purchased Rosetta because it was described as being easy and very effective. The box advertises that this program is used by NASA, well I hope they don't use this version it only gives you 1/4 of the full program. The box makes you think your getting a complete program but your not. After you going through all the exercises just once to get a feel for it you find out you have to go online and buy the rest of the program. I've also purchased Smart Start Italian, Quick Study Italian and Transparency 51 Languages and all are 95 % better then this program.

Rosetta Stone - No!
I ordered this program sight unseen, because it seemed to have had lots of favorable comments. I was immensely disappointed with the program. The sound quality was very poor and the basic setup of the program would not lead me to become very fluent in Italian.

Excellent for beginners
I have tried Berlitz Italian previously and was seriously disappointed by the difficulty in learning the basics of Italian language (especially because it was EXPENSIVE!). I just received the Rosetta Stone version of learning Italian and sitting here for only 10 minutes and learned recognition and basics immdiately. Excellent learning tool. ... Read more

Features

• Italian language learning software based on advanced learning algorithms
• Covers 1000 words and over 250 phrases
• Subjects include food, counting, clothing, time, travel, and more
• Native-speaker pronunciation; pictures to help associate words with meanings
• Works on Palm or Pocket PC device

Features

• Through a set of 20 easy-to-follow lessons, you''ll be guided through the basics of the Italian language
• Compare your pronunciation with the prerecorded native speakers' voices
• Learn how to ask questions, read street signs, and talk about the weather
• From there you'll learn other important lessons like how to order at a restaurant, counting money, and shopping around
• By the end of the lesson you'll know enough Italian to make your way to Roma and Milan all on your own!

Features

• This complete course has 3,600 total exercises, organized in 35 different activity types
• Writing Workshop helps you improve your written expressions
• Grammar and Vocabulary Workshops teach grammar rules, verb conjugations and key vocabulary words
• Advanced speech recognition technology evaluates your pronunciation, and automatically detects and corrects your errors
• Great 3D animations illustrate lip movements

Reviews (1)

Forget about boring grammar exercises and learn with fun!
The complete course version 6.0 is just amazing! You'd practice the whole foreign language competence while having fun and forgetting about the spinning hands of your watch. Particularly interesting are the 3-D phonetic animations and the dictation exercises, but there are lots of other enjoyable activities to make you improve your skills indeed. I would recommend this software in particular to those university students who wish to take full marks in their dictation exams and to those who don't realise where they fail to pronounce a foreign word correctly or a sentence with a natural rhythm and a perfect intonation. The software highlights your mistakes and brings you to perfection! You can also choose to have the translations of the written texts in the other five languages available, in this case French, German, English, Dutch and Spanish. Just choose the wished interface language each time you start the program. Last but not least, you'll get the three levels in a single box at a very good price. Don't miss this occasion and enjoy! ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

How can we tell that KidSpeak: 10-in-1 Language Learning is a superb language-learning package for kids? Because it's a bit too hard for Mom and Dad. The cognitive sponge that makes setting the VCR easy for your 7-year-old is the same cognitive sponge that makes foreign languages so easy--and exactly why having your kids use software like this is a terribly good idea, the younger the better.

This multi-CD package offers equally well implemented modules for Spanish, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Indonesian, Korean, Hebrew, Chinese, and Portuguese. Whew! We think it's a great idea to offer 10 languages at once, because there's no telling what language your child will decide to take later on--so the more exposure earlier, the better. Plus, this number of languages won't put off kids the way it will adults--instead it will probably inspire your kid's curiosity.

Unlike adults, who freak out when they don't see new words written out, children usually handle linguistic unknowns with an instinctive curiosity. Hinting at the solid pedagogical underpinnings of its design, KidSpeak takes advantage of this instinct at every turn: in the Chinese module, for instance, Chinese characters are used right off the bat--no Romanization here. This is actually exactly what you want--unlike adults, children won't be afraid, and they'll learn the characters faster this way. Each module offers effective alphabet games, number games, animal games, a few songs with animations--all with navigation instinctive to children. None of the modules is a course in conversation--they're much more concerned with recognition of everyday words, which is a good way to introduce your kids to new languages and cultures in a fun, painless way.

Each language has its own animated host and culture-specific stylization, but the games and learning activities in each are similar and well designed. Each CD has both Macintosh and Windows versions on board, and (brilliantly) there is no installation involved--you can run each language module immediately off the CD. Especially cool: the CD includes a resourceful parents' guide and an impressive children's workbook for each language, all in PDF format you can print out at your leisure. (Ages 6 to 10) --Erik Macki ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Kidspeak 10-in-1 Langauge Learning
I have a great deal of experience with teaching foreign languages to children. By the time my daughter was 18 months old, she spoke and understood 10 foreign languages. I just received 10-in-1, two days ago.This product is outstanding. My five-year-old daughter who has been exposed to these languages before, loves the games, such as dominoes,tic-tac-toe, memory, vocabulary puzzle-building and more. I am thrilled with the product and would recommend it to anyone, child or adult to work on vocabulary, comprehension and pronunciation. It is truly an immersion program, which is best, but it has a help button if you suddenly have trouble understanig something. if you want to encourage foreign languages for you kids, buy this product.

My child loves it
I got it for only a couple of languages but my daughter (at 4 & 5 & 6 years old)loves to play with many of them. She will spend aquite a bit of time with it. Hard to tell if she's learning but exposure is good for young ears - and it is not "Mom, I don't want to". Of course I have never tried to put her on a regular schedule with it either.

Too many languages
This is a 3 CD pack. CD #l contained Spanish, French, and German. The basics of basics. My first problem is my having a Windows 98. These CD's are ment for Macintosh and Windows 95. Although it ran instantly I found it locked up after I would exit a lesson to try another language. Was this because I don't have a Win95? It was none the less annoying having to take out the CD and put it back in so I could pick another language on the CD. Another bad point was that each language has praise and instruction of the activities in the selected language which served no purpose.You had to go to the help button to see what the buttons ment in English.That slowed me down having to switch rather than having an instant translation after the foreign language was spoken. Less bouncing around if that was included. The exiting of your language lesson also was spoken/written in your selected language which was foolish. If you're learning German for instance, and you don't read German, you don't know if you're asked if you want to leave or not, and which is the yes and no. Pick the wrong one and you're still in that language when you wanted out. The Spanish in CD #l was a pain in the behind because it was Castillian Spanish, spoken in Spain and Argentina. Their "c's" are pronounced like "th" which can be very annoying if you're expecting crisp pronunciation like you'd speak in Mexico or other Latin American countries. CD #2 contained Japanese, Chinese(Mandarin),Korean, Indonesian. The Japanese was useless as there weren't that many activities and maneuvering the program was difficult because when you selected something, it didn't work. The Chinese was excellent, although I only understood "hello". Again, the CD locked up so I had to take it out and put it back in to run the Korean. Hated it. Didn't bother with Indonesian. For some reason, in the Asian languages, the tone of voice rarely changes so you don't know if the voice is happy or not. CD #3 contained Italian, Portugese, Hebrew. I enjoyed the Italian much better than the other two languages. The memory names of objects/animals/days/numbers games were fun, though I stayed away from Dominos in the math games. How many Americans have ever played Dominos! There were no directions for it either! The 3 levels of difficulty for vocabulary I was impressed with.I liked the songs too for the animals and alphabet though I could only pick out a word or two.I found I partly wasted my money because I have to ignore the Spanish, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian. I seem more suited to French, German, and Chinese. Maybe it's because I'm an adult and not a child who can learn l0 languages at once like I thought. Beware, you or your child learn no conversation. Had the CD's not locked up and had languages that turned out to be turnoffs, I would've rated this higher. I won't return this because of a few uninteresting languages. I'll have enough on my plate mastering the French, German and especially the hardest one, Chinese.

Disguised as just another game for kids of all ages
I got Kidspeak when I was much younger and still have it to this day. It's a step to beginner and very easy to understand. I find myself taking it out and studying for a french exam with it. Kidspeak introduces you to 10 languages and 10 fun characters. It includs popular Spanish to the rare Hebrew. If all your for is to know how to say hello in Italian than Kidspeak is defientely for you. I love the characters that interact with the gamer throughout the learning experience. They pronounce and sound the words and pharses wonderfully. I've gone through every language on these cds and can say proudly that I know how to count to ten in all 10 languages. To get an idea what exactly you will receive in Kidspeak here you go: Languages: Spanish, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Indonesian, Korean, Hebrew, Chinese, and Portuguese on 3 cds.
I'm very glad that my mother got me this game for my sister and I. I learn so much just by clicking on a mouse. Parents, please don't deny your kid's the chance to explore so much and learn new things outside their mother tongue. The games are so rich and fun even for me, a college student.
Don't turn down this chance, seriously. I have been in love with languages for as long as I can remeber and Kidspeak brought that out in me.

Kidspeak needs to review their product
Spanish alphabet incorrect, which diminished my confidence in remaining languages. I returned the product. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

OK
There is only one thing I can say, Your choice ... Read more

Product Description

The first software package to apply speech recognition to foreign language learning, Talk to Me® is the indispensable method for speaking a foreign language rapidly. More effective than ever, this new version offers ALL 3 LEVELS: BEGINNER, INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED. 100 HOURS OF TRAINING in pronunciation and comprehension. PROGRESSIVE LEARNING METHOD The activities are set out in order of difficulty, so that you can focus your study efficiently. INNOVATIONS FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING State-of-the-Art Speech Recognition. The software understands what you say, evaluates your pronunciation and corrects your errors until your accent is perfected. Interactive Dialogues: Without touching the keyboard or the mouse, speak in a user-friendly manner with your computer. Evaluation of pronunciation with S.E.T.S. The S.E.T.S. technology (Spoken Error Tracking System) produces vocal graphs that precisely identify the mispronounced elements you should work on. 3D Phonetic Animations. Learn to improve your articulation of each phoneme by watching the exact movement of the lips and the mouth. Cultural videos. Improve your listening comprehension with videos about everyday subjects in the target language. Exercises and educational games.Complete your learning with fun exercises such as: "Word Order", "Right Word", "Picture/Word Association", "Dictation" and "Crossword puzzles". Talk to Me® is ideal for preparing for an exam, a trip abroad, a business meeting or simply for fun. ... Read more

Features

• The first software package to apply speech recognition to foreign language learning, Talk to Me® is the indispensable method for speaking a foreign language rapidly.
• All 3 levels included: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. More than 100 hours of learning! Includes 15 engaging activities such as "word order", "right word",, dialogue, videos.
• State-of-the-art speech recognition technology enables you to evaluate your pronunciation, and automatically detects and corrects your errors (using S.E.T.S.® technology). Free headset and microphone included.
• Talk to Me® is ideal for preparing for an exam, a trip abroad, a business meeting or simply for fun.
• Based on immersion, the same method as if you were going abroad to learn the language.