Which means the product has gone from strength to strength. Though Fluenz is a premium priced, comprehensive language learning software, you get the impression that much more money from sales has been put back into the software. Whereas many programs use the same method over and over again for many different languages, Fluenz tailors each lesson specifically for the different languages.
#ROSETTA STONE SPANISH BEST BUY SOFTWARE#
The amount of work that's gone into the software is worth more than many other programs. It just looks so much more polished and aesthetically pleasing. Words float around the screen into the palms of the instructors hands. It keeps you wanting to view the screen, rather than feeling like you're being punished by being forced to write lines on a chalkboard. There's also views of beautiful places and other images available. In both English and in your chosen language. With Fluenz you are learning from a person who you can clearly see mouth the words. One thing that will strike you when using Rosetta Stone is the blandness of its interface. Fluenz looks at the issues commonly encountered, and tailors its lessons accordingly. An English speaking person may have much greater difficulty with learning Italian than a Spanish speaking person. It's not just the characters of the alphabet that may differ, but the way in which they are pronounced. It's not only the words that differ, but the grammar rules as well. And these lessons are aimed at getting to the heart of what English people struggle with, when it comes to new languages. That's right, you get your own virtual instructor. Though it's very similar at times in it's methods to Rosetta Stone, it gives clear instructions in English, whether you are learning French ( my review), Spanish ( here's my review of Fluenz Spanish Latin America and here's the review of the Spain version), Italian( my review) or another language. So how does it differ from other similar programs?įluenz doesn't throw you in at the deep end. Though the program uses a little instinct and a lot of repetition, it uses it in a way that makes sense to most people. It takes a look at each individual language, and looks closely at where people commonly struggle. Though Rosetta Stone is undoubtedly great when used in conjunction with other methods, for many people it's simply not good enough alone.įluenz credits its users with intelligence. It's therefore a little unreasonable to expect me all to learn a whole new language as a child. As adults we have already fully-developed brains, habits, speech and reading ability. When we are in our formative years, our brains change dramatically. We are not children, we do not learn like children do. The single biggest thing that many people struggle with is the lack of context. You might quickly learn the phrase "A boy with a dog", but what good is that really? It can take a long, long time with Rosetta Stone before you're getting to the useful parts. Often giving the user a choice of four pictures or words, and leaving it to the user to click the right one. It teaches by repetition and instinct alone. This is because the Rosetta Stone, teaches the user in the way in which a child will learn its native tongue. Yet many others have complained that they cannot make sense of it. Many people claim to have been helped to learn a language using this software. One of the most popular language programs available on the market today is the Rosetta Stone software.
In this Fluenz review, we'll take a look at how well they've managed to pull it off. It promises much of the former immersion, with enough of the latter to be able to make sense of what's going on. Then there's the instructional, that gives the user clear grammatical rules, context and direction.įluenz promises to do a little a both. There's the immersive, which involves totally immersing the user into a language, and learning to navigate it by instinct alone. There's basically two main schools of thought as to how the language software should train the mind. There is no clear consensus on how best to learn a language, with opinion differing wildly on the best method to use depending on who you speak to. However, not all is well among the experts. Yet software has been making it easier for many years now. Anyone who's ever tried to learn a language from home can tell you how difficult it can be.