Customer Reviews

Fluenz Italian 1+2 with supplemental Audio CDs and Podcasts

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Some back ground information to my experience learning Italian.

I bought Rosetta Stone in October 2006, Italian level one and used it for 6 weeks. I was very dissatisfied with what I was learning and returned for a full refund without any problems. I left a review on Amazon if anyone care to read it. Just click on my name and scroll down in my reviews - it is not the newest Rosetta Stone.

I then purchased Pimseluer Italian, level 1. I was and am very happy with their program and way of learning. I spent one year, about 7 hours a week learning it before a trip to Italy. I was not fluent, but I learned a lot of Italian. I could understand more than speak it.

This brings me to Fluenz. I have been looking for another program to help supplement my Pimsleur learning. I really did consider Rosetta until I stumbled upon Fluenz on Amazon. I purchased after reading some good reviews. I was not disappointed.

I have done 5 lessons (usually an hour each). I also skipped ahead and looked at some of the other lessons. Because I already have some good Italian learning experience, I am finding the Fluenz program is really helping me. I also believe, even for a true beginner, I think the Fluenz learning is laid out extremely well and will benefit anyone who wants to learn Italian. However, it won't come automatically. Just like anything new, you will have to put the time and effort in if you want to really learn.

Some things I really like about Fluenz are you get to listen to different speakers saying the same words. This is very helpful to hear how different voices sound saying the same words.

I also like having to write the Italian answers to English. You write what you see, then later you hear the Italian word, which you have to write also. This really helps reinforce what I am learning.

Using a microphone, you record yourself speaking dialogue then listen to see if you sound like the speakers. This is very helpful, though it is just for a short part of the lesson.

Having worked with Pimsleur, where you only hear the words, Fluenz is great because you hear and see the words. It really helps ingrain the words.

The best thing about Fluenz is the lessons are real world conversations. Not picking dogs and children from pictures. As an example, lesson two and three you learn how to order coffee, water and something to eat in a café, be it for yourself or for your friend and ask for the bill. While they may not sound like a big deal, it is. That is real world conversation.


Bottom line is this is an excellent program. I am very pleased and satisfied with my purchase. In my humble opinion, it is far superior to Rosetta Stone (which I did for six weeks every night, then returned). This obvious, but no matter what program you use, you have to put in the hours. The only better way to learn is immersion or at least have a friend to learn with.

I did the Fluenz Mandarin course last year, was impressed with the program, and then spent two succesful weeks in Harbin for work (btw, Harbin prides itself with speaking the best Mandarin in China). Because Italian has been my life-long unfulfilled passion, I didn't hesitate to buy Italian 1 when I first saw it. Seeing that Italian 2 just came out, I decided to put in an order, but also to write this review as there are no others yet. This small company is doing an admirable job and everyone should know about it.

These have been my impressions of Fluenz Italian so far:
1. The teacher in the box concept, and the charismatic Sonia, continue to be the hallmark of Fluenz. She is there at every step anticipating the typical questions an English speaker is bound to have when faced with the many rules and issues in Italian. I've been listening to the language for decades during my many visits there, and I actually know many words, but from words to phrases there is a path--and she shows the way in a gentle, reassuring way.
2. The approach is slow and deliberate, and Italian has enough complexity in the way sentences are formed that this pays off. Every single word taught is immediately useful in the building of bigger sentences so that nothing is wasted.
3. In between the tutorial and a final video, there are many workouts that seem simple at first, but reveal themselves as quite ingenious as you go through the process. All the workouts in a given session cover the material offered in that session, as well as everything learned up to then, and as you practice writing, reading, listening and recording your own voice, the connections really come alive. Just as if you were building a jigsaw puzzle, things get easier as the pieces fall into place
4. The actual presentation is very appealing and helps your learning. The video has excellent quality, and the photographic tour of Italy makes the process inpiring.
5. The last point would be the evident passion for, and knowledge of Italy displayed throughout the video tutorials, and in the choice of material learned. Every video explanation comes with cultural and personal context showing much love and dedication for the subject matter. Having completed the Mandarin course, it is evident that the choice of vocab is very specific both to Italian culture, and the realities of English speaking learning Italian.
All in all a welcome addition, and one I believe clearly stands out so I put in my strong recommendation.

This is a very different, and much superior, language training system. Like other programs Fluenz uses a variety of exercises to get you to learn - both oral and written. What is really different is the pedagogy. Fluenz leverages your knowledge of English to understand and learn Italian. I checked out the main competitor, Rosetta Stone and it seems to be based on having you learn as kids learn a language i.e. by association of colors and objects with words, and by acquiring the feel of the language through hearing. I am in my fifties and I don't learn like a child. I have a grammar ingrained in me, a language with which I am familiar, and enough inhibition to stop me from spouting forth in a foreign language if I am not a bit sure that I will not make a fool out of myself.
Fluenz is easy to use right out of its Ferrari red box. The interface is elegant and Italian in style, so you feel immediately in the context of Italy. You are greeted by a teacher in English (and Italian). She guides you through the lessons, emphasizing certain points, encouraging you to stick with difficulties, and generally acting like a real person. I first thought it would be stilted and artificial. It isn't. I am now attached to her and she keeps me coming back to my session - which is half the battle in learning a language. You don't have to worry about whether you should do vocabulary, grammar, or voice exercises, they are all bundled together in a seamless way. Just follow the teacher and her instructions. Help is very easy to access and is a combination of instructions and video. This is the best product o the market.
What's fun is that by the second session, about 3 hours of work in all, you can order and respond with confidence with an Italian waiter in a café. It is a good illustration of the power of this program: you learn right away how to use verbs and put together a simple phrase with useful vocabulary (as opposed to knowing the word for leaf and grass, which you will not use so often). My son did well to give me this program,and I, in turn, would recommend Fluenz to the serious student for the simplicity of the interface, the quality of the product, and above all the insightfulness of the pedagogy. You won't need anything else.

As someone with a very short attention span who bores easily, I've had a hard time learning languages in the past. I've tried classroom lessons, Rosetta Stone, Berlitz tapes, and other methods - none of which were motivational or effective in my case. I was always bored, and learning was a chore. I decided to try again, and I am learning because I want to, not because I have to for imminent work or travel reasons - so if I wasn't motivated I would have no incentive to stick with the program. Luckily Fluenz delivers just what I needed, a fun assortment of different activities that give a multi-dimensional approach that never bores me. I started with Fluenz French 1 + 2 and loved the program so much I also purchased Italian 1 + 2. Not only am I learning these languages with confidence, I am enjoying myself in the process. Something no other language learning program has delivered in the past.

Some people are comparing Rosetta Stone with Fluenz and as someone who has used both products I will as well. Rosetta Stone does not provide a variety of different activites, and I quickly became bored with the repetitive matching picture with word or phrase. Another reason I became bored was the graphics on the screen did not inspire me at all because they use the same generic pictures no matter what language you are learning, whether it's Italian, Mandarin, or Swahili. Rosetta Stone's ads say "it's like having your own personal tutor" but it is nothing like that. It's all about static, generic photographs on a screen. On the contrary, Fluenz has a great tutor that is an integral part of the software. There are also conversations, word/phrase matching from Italian to English, activities where you repeat words, build your own sentences in writing, write what you hear, participate in a conversation with your mic and play it back to compare your accent with native speakers, pictures to match with phrases, and more. I'm never on any one activity long enough to get bored of it. And all of the graphics are specific to Italy. The conversations take place with Italian locations in the background (for example, the Tower of Pisa), and the activities are presented with stunning backdrop photos of Italian places and culture. This immersion is inspiring.

This is THE language software to get, especially if you have a short attention span like I do. The activites are not only effective, they are FUN, and frankly nothing motivates you to do something more than having fun doing it. Not only will I not bother with other language learning methods again, I look forward to continuing with Fluenz's other languages when I am done with Italian and French.

I first tried to learn Italian using a book and tape and, later, a podcast. Some of it took, but it was random and I didn't retain a whole lot once I got back from Italy. Fluenz is much more systematic. The notion of departing from the English language is a good one - gender is clearly explained, for instance - and it doesn't overpromise. Work your way through the sessions and the workouts, Sonia promises, and you'll get there. Indeed, the workouts are really thorough. The same structure for each one - words, sentences, matching phrases, writing, hearing, speaking - gets you into each unit in depth, and with real native speakers to listen to and learn to understand.

Similarly, it artfully dodges the minefields of Italian conjugation, including the nightmare of the formal second person, until the time is right. I like the warnings about what to avoid - who would have guessed that the word for `have' could sound like a major insult if you don't pronounce it right? - and the way she tells you a hard part is coming. The narration is an integral part of the approach. Tech support is impressive, too, I had an emailed response to my question in 10 minutes.

I do think it would be nice if you could negotiate more smoothly within the program, going backward through a menu to each workout rather than clicking so much. I'd also create a way to bookmark where you are when you close the program each time. And I'd include a written index to each disk so you would know where to return for the introduction of a particular concept, and to help non-beginners find the right starting place for them. I hope the mobile version is available soon, too, though the audio CDs can be put on the computer and iPod.

All in all, though, I'd recommend this program to anyone who wants to learn Italian. By the end, you should come out with a strong base in the world's most beautiful language.

I like the Fluenz approach at language learning, but unfortunately, the usability of this software is extremely limited for me.

Fluenz Italian 1.1 uses Safedisk 4.85 protection. With this great software protection it is completely impossible to use the software on my drive-less netbook on the go (as to copying to an image file, no current software can do it).

In my desktop PC, there is constant noise from the DVD-ROM drive, which I HATE while trying to learn something - and Fluenz runs completey from DVD-ROM, so the drive is accessed all the time.

Finally, on my office PC, even the original disk will give me an "Insert correct DVD-ROM" message. I understand that this is a common problem with Safedisk 4.85 and certain motherboards.

Also, being forced to use the original DVD on every session means an increased risk of loss or damage - OK on a $50 game. For a $350 dollar piece of software, this is quite unacceptable.

So: 5 stars for the software, minus 3 for the moronic copy protection scheme and limited usability.

I own several language learning programs (Rocket, Rosetta, Berlitz, Instant Immersion), and this beats all of them hands down. It is the first time that I have ever been able to make sense of verb conjugation via the use of a language software program. Some other reviewers have complained that they are annoyed by having the same language tutor throughout, but that is precisely the reason I like the program. It really is like having in-person classroom explanations of the language concepts.

I have always thought that the shortcoming of other software programs is that they attempt to teach a language via rote memorization, which may work fine with children, but is a poor way of learning language for an adult. Fluenz instructs in the basics and then teaches you how to build sentences using the tools you now have acquired through the program up until that point. That has been immensely helpful to me.

In summary, Fluenz has been what I have been looking for in a language program. I suppose there are some who prefer to learn by rote memorization, and if they do, then Rosetta or one of the other less expensive programs may do. If all you want to do is to be able to use a few handy Italian phrases when you are traveling, then there is really no need to spend the hundreds of dollars it will take to purchase this program. But if you actually want to learn to speak (not parrot) the language, you will probably appreciate the learning process used with Fluenz.

Because I knew I would be spending considerable time in Italy, I decided my self-taught phrasebook Italian would no longer suffice. I tried Rosetta Stone's demo but it did not work for me. I need to understand how language works, rather than just matching pictures to phrases.

I was delighted in online searches to find Fluenz, and tried their demo. As the tutor, Sonia, explained early on, the Fluenz learning program is geared to adult acquisition of language skills. Fluenz 1 & 2 each contain 30 tutorials, plus you also get audio CDs for use in the car -- which complement rather than replicate the work you do on your computer. After a dialogue, each lesson (except reviews) starts with a tutorial of about 4-7 minutes where Sonia goes over the dialogue, its structures, unusual aspects of language use, and cultural information about Italy. The course is geared to what you will actually need to say on a regular basis when you first arrive in Italy.

The latter was nowhere more apparent to me than when I arrived in Italy today. When I engaged the cab driver in conversation, it was almost as if he were the same taxi driver in one of the conversations. I knew exactly what to say and when to ask for a receipt (one of the useful little details Sonia tells you). The only problem I had was that I had apparently learned so well that he assumed I could understand anything he said. Still, no problem, since I'd learned phrases such as Non capisco, ripeta, per favore, etc.

One of the most valuable aspects of the software is the thoughtful design of each tutorial -- each one bases its learning skills on material and vocabulary learned in earlier sessions -- so that the material becomes ever more familiar. Although carefully structured in the tutorial you can go over speaking, reading, and writing skills as much as you want. When a word simply doesn't seem to fit the American mouth, I found I just repeated it over and over again (while listening) until it flowed smoothly. But I must reiterate that seeing the words and constructions (and not just pictures of things) made all the difference for me.

I only hope Fluenz 3 & 4 appear in the not-too-distant future because having finished the 60 lessons, I am very eager to learn more.

I can say with all honesty that this is the best computer-based language learning program I've ever seen. It is also available for French, Spanish and Mandarin.

I think you have to differentiate between the unique styles of Rosetta Stone and Fluenz. Rosetta Stone is all about visual learning. it is not meant to treat you like a kid anymore than Fluenz has a visual teacher who knows it all hold your hand through the experience. Rosetta Stone can become monotonous because it's the same visual formula over and over again. And obviously when you learn a language in a childlike way it's not a totally conscious thing and is more of a passive thing without any urgency. So Rosetta Stone can get mundane after a while especially when you're trying to learn a language as quickly as possible. And just as when you learn as a child the information stored is to be used at a later date when it is all compiled. But the key with Rosetta Stone is you're storing all the language information in a more accessible way because you're learning through firsthand experience and struggle and not through the help of a tutor. Anyone who has learned anything completely on their own will know the benefits and obstacles of this process. So eventually for instance you learn what a glass is visually through the elimination of the other spoken Italian words that you realize reference other things or actions in the picture. Long term this way of learning has superior benefits in many ways including confidence wise. And this type of memorization doesn't lose its strength just because you don't go to Italy for a few years. Visual memories are far more easier to recall than auditory memories. That is why a person could take five years of a language that was all spoken in context and not with visual associations and retain very little memory of how to speak it years later. Fluenz is definitely a "spicier" layout and a "spicier" approach. I think its approach is definitely more interactive. If you like to have a co-pilot in the process and you are more of a social person who is comfortable with a "personality" to guide you through then this is definitely a bonus. If you are still in college the transition to this style of learning should be very fluid. The Fluenz way of learning is definitely a great launching pad if you are going to be in Italy soon and can bridge what you've learned to the real Italian experience. Because this style of learning is built directly or indirectly on the near term preparation of being in Italy, you should only buy this type of product if you are definitely going to Italy in the near future and are going mostly on tourist terms or temporary relocation rather than permanent or intermittent relocation. And remember learning conversational skills is only of benefit if you plan to use those skills in real life in the near future. Any skill loses its potency after a while if it's not exercised whereas visual information is stored permanently in our brains for the most part. If you are moving to Italy in 3 years or will be going back and forth to Italy for the long term for reasons other than two week vacations then I would suggest Rosetta Stone because you are storing the learned information in a permanent way so it's much easier to recall the language even if you're away from the language for a long time. And with Rosetta Stone you'll recall the information the same way Italians recall their language information. If you want to be able to speak socially very quickly in Italian and are looking at the tourist angle or exchange student angle then Fluenz is probably the way to go because you know you're going to be using those phrases in short order and you need to know some instant lingo. If you're not a social person you may be comfortable with not needing to recall info quickly in the short term (a la Rosetta Stone) but if you're going to Italy soon and just for a playful stint then I would definitely recommend Fluenz.

This was by far the easiest and most comprehensive way to learn to speak Italian. It starts off with lessons that cover some of the basics almost as if it is going to teach you simple phrases and sentences but with each lesson the complexity increases. Importantly each lesson builds upon the previous ones and the software is able to detect common errors and will refer you back to the earlier lesson to remind you what might be wrong. I found that by going through a lesson slowly and carefully one evening and then as a quick review and lead-in to the next lesson the following evening that much of what was learned in the first lesson would be solidified.

I think that anyone who completes Italian 1 + 2 would be able to communicate effectively > 95% of the time in Italia, because the software teaches you not only to speak but also to listen.

I knew this was working when my wife and I were watching an Italian film (with sub-titles) and I found myself no longer needing to read them. At one point I left the room and was simply listening and I got every word of it.

My overall feeling is that for me this worked more effectively than Rosetta Stone, but that likely has more to do with learning methods than one product being better than another.