Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I purchased, used and will return Rosetta Stone. And I've purchased, I'm using, and still haven't returned Fluenz. Although my father is German and I've been around that language all my life, I decided to learn French. When doing the initial research on available options I concluded that RS and Fluenz seemed to be the only choices for any kind of comprehensive self-teaching package. Although pricey, they were far cheaper than a French private tutor in my area, and probably cheaper than classes when factoring in all the material included.
Rosetta Stone presents an immersion type learning system in which one is supposed to learn as if one were a child. The theory behind this is that children learn languages fast, particularly their own, and going back to this stage would be productive for adults. After some reading I believe this theory was invented by Maximilian Berlitz 130 years ago, or in about 1888.My first few hours with the program proved rewarding in the sense that I learned a great deal of vocabulary, even if a lot of it was infantile. This session gave me momentum to continue, as well as the expectation that I would be presented with some sort of sequence allowing me to tie all the vocabulary together in a productive manner. In reality, the program generated more complex phrases, instead of single words or simple phrases, but without enough logic for me to understand the underlying grammar. I understood little yet the complexity of the sentences being generated kept growing. As advertised, there were no explanations of any kind, but the troublesome part is that the material was never presented for learners with a sense of clarity. Even the so called Milestone, which offered a more dynamic situation, was not designed to offer the right grammar clues needed to able to see the whole instead of many parts. I never tried again after my second attempt, having given up on the idea that arbitrary words and phrases would contribute to my progress through the language.
Fluenz had an opposite effect on me. They proposed to explain everything in detail so that I would understand what I was learning. They further suggested that seeing French from the point of view of the English grammar would make the process a logical one. After not much reading this view seemed to come from modern Linguists followers of Chomsky, as well as those versed in Cognitive Science. I was therefore expecting a great deal of fireworks. Yet, things went off to a slow start.
At first I thought that it was too simple, progressing too slowly. I jumped through the first three lessons. When I reached the fourth lesson of Fluenz it became clear the program was nothing if not meticulous in its presentation of the material. Even more surprising, the tutor was not simply talking, but going through a careful plan. The words presented in the initial conversation were exactly the words explained by the tutor, and exactly the words in the exercises. These workouts, to use their gym parlance, were actually quite effective; and sufficiently directed to allow me to retain and be able to use all the language being taught. There is little time wasted as every word matters, and every structure can be linked to everything else being learned. Again, the pace is very deliberate for an average learner, but it is quite clear that every new step comes after the prior one has been rigorously reviewed.
I'm well into Level 2 and the standard continues to hold. Overall the media production is well done, and the program not at all difficult to run. I'm currently looking forward to finishing the program and putting all the work to the test in Quebec. My expectation is that everything will work out.
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Product Description:
The new Fluenz F2 is the fastest, most powerful version yet. It is the direct result of hundreds of thousands of user hours, built upon their feedback and suggestions to enhance both performance and aesthetics. From small changes to a variety of great new features, F2 delivers a French learning experience far superior to anything else out there.
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