Fluenz Italian 1 - Macintosh

by Fluenz

Product Features

• Build your vocabulary and language abilities
• Spell and write accurately
• Speak without a script
• Retain what you've learned
• Read and understand your new language

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5 x 5 x 5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• ASIN: B001BSGL4O
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 24, 2008
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,490 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #73 in Software > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Italian

Product Description

The only interactive language program offering an immersive environment that recreates the best elements of great one-on-one tutoring.

Be Fluent in Italian

The Harvard, Cornell, and University of Chicago graduates who developed Fluenz were determined to create a program that conveyed the unique beauty of Italian while providing a step-by-step path through the language. By bringing the magic of a great teacher to the computer screen, Fluenz Italian makes reaching fluency in this storied language possible for every single learner.

Love Italian, Actually Learn It

As strong believers in the magic of Italian, the program designers moved beyond the cookie-cutter approach typical of computer language education: methods that boast a suspiciously simple way to learn and treat adults like children by emphasizing the association of words and pictures. Instead of the "fast-food" approach to Italian, Fluenz is all about taking learners step by step through the most beautiful language in the world.

Fluenz Italian brings the power of an amazing teacher to lead, challenge, and inspire adults and teens with a real love for the language. The application is ideal for those who need everyday conversation skills, as well as for those who want to establish a strong foundation for advanced learning.

An effective approach for English Speakers

It is impossible to understand how Italian nouns must agree in gender and quantity (plural or singular) not only with articles, but also with adjectives and adverbs, without a clear explanation. Fluenz is the only interactive program offering tutor-led explanations in English that guide learners through the strategies necessary to reach fluency. This realistic, no-nonsense approach produces real results.

The Magic of Learning: Audio CD for Your Car or iPod

The Fluenz Italian Audio CD is the ide

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If only high school languages were taught like this, November 6, 2008

By 

Working Stiff (Seattle) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fluenz Italian 1 - Macintosh (DVD-ROM)

I suppose you could pay more money to learn a language by hiring a private tutor. And I imagine you could take a lot more time by enrolling in a college course. But if the idea of using a software-based system sounds appealing, you won't do better than Fluenz. I say this with some authority, having spent hundreds of dollars on Rosetta Stone, Berlitz, and other language-learning software -- not one of which deserves to be mentioned in the same breath with Fluenz.

What's so great about it? For starters, everything they teach you is relevant to what a traveler in Italy will need to know in order to meet new people, ask directions, see the sites, order food, find the right train, conduct business, etc. I mention this in contrast to Rosetta Stone, a similarly priced software program that seems insistent that you learn the silliest phrases -- things that absolutely will never come up in conversation. Sure, I imagine you could make the case that Rosetta Stone (eventually) teaches you to substitute relevant words for the ones they supply. But in the meantime, you're stuck learning about running horses, red blouses, and jumping dogs. Fluenz does an infinitely better job of thinking through the kinds of things a visitor to Italy will actually need to know.

Next, the Fluenz system is so much more interesting to use, with an on-screen hostess to give you direction on pronunciation and usage. Rosetta Stone consists of endless clicking on objects to match them to a word or phrase being spoken. This is compelling for about...oh, three minutes, and then it becomes tedious. By contrast, Fluenz frequently moves you around from listening to words and phrases, to repeating them, to matching them, to writing them, to putting them in context. And you don't stay with any one type of learning tool long enough to get bored with it.

Finally, there's the uniqueness of the program. While Rosetta Stone teaches Italian to every user in the exact same way -- whether that user happens to be In Bombay, Brussels, or Belorussia --Fluenz assumes you speak English, and uses what you already know about English to make learning Italian easier. This facet of the program, by the way, must be experienced to be appreciated.

If you've tried Rosetta Stone and been a bit underwhelmed, you must try out Fluenz. At the very least, go to their web site (at Fluenz.com) and take a look at the demo. You'll see what I mean about it being a vastly different and more useful learning tool than anything you've likely come across previously.

Arrivederci.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great learning tool, March 2, 2009

By 

B. Kaplan (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fluenz Italian 1 - Macintosh (DVD-ROM)

I studied in Italy for 5 months about 10 years ago. Having been proficient in Spanish I was able to pick up Italian pretty well during the 1x a week classes. But once I came back home to the US, I didn't have anyone speak with in Italian and keep up what I had learned. So over time I lost my ability to speak any meaningful Italian. I was always frustrated about that fact and wanted to re-learn the language but never knew the right way to go about it. I didn't want to go to class after work and I became lazy about it even though I kept saying I was going to start it up sometime. Finally, a few months ago, my friend from Italy mentioned to me a new program called Fluenz. He had seen it for other languages and promised me that I would like it better than Rosetta Stone or anything else. I decided to give it a try and he was 100% right.

Fluenz teaches the language in a very practical manner that helps you get through day to day situations. The review above did a very good job of laying out the program. Each lesson takes me approximately 30 minutes. I'm halfway through Italian 1 and I already feel pretty good about going into a store, train station, a restaurant, taking a cab, meeting people, etc. And each lesson re-enforces previous lessons which is a very important facet--so you don't forget things you've learned and have to constantly find those earlier lessons to review. It's as interactive as I could ask for and breaks down the language in ways to help you remember.

I truly recommend Fluenz for anyone looking to learn a new language or just improve on one they already know. I can't wait to finish Italian 1 and move on to Italian 2.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great program ...., May 11, 2009

By 

C. Zittel (Steamboat Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fluenz Italian 1 - Macintosh (DVD-ROM)

This is a great program. At first it didn't seem to work on my Mac. Then I finally figured out that I needed to update my software with Apple Software update to have it work properly. If you get a black screen and nothing else when you start up the program on your Mac, go to your system preferences, software update and update all your software .... and you will have a program that works beautifully and seems to be a great way to learn Italian. I am only on lesson two, but I can now say .... Grazie, Fluenz for all your help. Grazie. Va tutto bene.