Fluenz Spanish

Software Review

Fluenz Spanish is a comparatively new product on the market that has travelers and business people as its main audience. The designers of the learning content have tried to make language skills and vocabulary as relevant as possible to its target audience and include content that is pertinent to the situations they are likely to encounter. It is easy to use software and while the word tools and some other features are not as extensive as other software packages, the content that is taught and the sequence of delivery have been very carefully designed. The content of the course makes up for any lack of features and makes it a good choice for beginning Spanish students.

Teaching tools that are included in the program are high quality and explain the language points clearly and concisely. Audio and video files help learners to hone their pronunciation skills and you are exposed to a great deal of information about Spanish culture and tradition. There are fewer features on this program than other programs: a glaring defect is the lack of MP3 files. The makers of the program however, are working on this and future editions will have files that can be downloaded to MP3 and I-pod.

Fluenz Spanish is excellent for beginners, but may not offer enough of a challenge for high level learners. If you are intending to use your Spanish for a trip to a Spanish speaking country or you are just starting out, this program will give you a good grounding.

WHAT’S INCLUDED

(features / teaching tools / support etc)

This program has fewer features than some other programs on the market, but what they do is done very well. The innovative approach taken to the design and implementation of the program and content mostly makes up for the lack of some other features. The program does come with a dictionary, but not the translators or verb and word search options that come with some programs. This is really not much of a problem though since there are millions of these on the Internet free anyway. You can see your progress through the course, but it does not have a progress tracker like some other programs and does not keep a record of quiz or test results.

Teaching tools that are included in Fluenz Spanish are – audio and video files with each lesson, speech recognition for pronunciation practice, word recognition activities (though fewer than some other software) and cultural information and lessons.

Support for the Fluenz Spanish program is good with several options available to users: FAQs, tutorials, user guide, email support, live chat and phone support all accompany the program. However, it is unlikely that you will experience problems as the software is very easy to install, use and navigate with a streamlined interface.

LEARNING POTENTIAL

The Fluenz Spanish program is ideal for beginners of Spanish and takes a unique approach to instruction which many users find easy to understand and put into practice. The vocabulary and language are introduced to the learner and then there are follow up activities included. There are a variety of listening, speaking, reading and writing activities included, so it is a very balanced program in that sense. Activities are logically sequenced and progress in difficulty.

The lessons are delivered with video attached to the activities and you can elect the lessons yourself and move through the program at your own pace, which allows for more learner control. The program also encourages learners to repeat activities and revisit different language points. This is important since grasping a language point will usually take a few goes to learn thoroughly.

The content is aimed at beginner’s level and will not be satisfying for Spanish learners that have a good level of Spanish already.

VALUE FOR MONEY

Your language learning goals really hinge on how much value for money this program offers you. If you just want beginners Spanish, then it is fantastic value, because it will offer you very easy to understand and use fundamental Spanish. If you are looking for a complete package that will take you from beginner to advanced level, then this is probably not the best product for you.

      AT A GLANCE

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