Fluenz Version F2: French 1+2 with supplemental Audio CDs and Podcasts

by Fluenz

Product Features

• Box Contents - A 4GB SDHC Eye-Fi Connect X2 memory card with built-in Wi-Fi, Eye-Fi Center software, Free USB card reader for easy setup, Setup Guide

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• ASIN: B0016ZOUUO
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 4, 2008
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,846 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #16 in Software > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > French

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 French

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

Love French, Actually Learn It

As believers in the uniqueness of French, the program designers wanted to move beyond the cookie-cutter approach typical of computer language education: methods that boast a suspiciously simple way to learn French and treat adults like children by emphasizing the association of words and pictures.

Fluenz brings the magic of an amazing teacher to lead, challenge, and inspire adults and teens with a real love for French. 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

There is no more effective way to understand French liaisons, verb conjugations, and masculine/feminine endings than from a tutor explaining these important subtleties in English. And there is no way to learn French well without mastering these fundamental elements of the language. Because French and English share roots dating back to the 11th century, they have many similarities that can help English-speakers reach fluency.

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

The Fluenz French Audio CDs are the ideal complement to the interactive program. The CDs were produced at the Fluenz Lab to provide engaging audio workouts that mirror t

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

226 of 232 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A customer's view of Rosetta Stone and Fluenz, September 8, 2008

By 

C. Schastok - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fluenz Version F2: French 1+2 with supplemental Audio CDs and Podcasts (DVD-ROM)

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.

92 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best language system available - practical AND fun!!, February 26, 2009

By 

Heather "Here To Help" (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fluenz Version F2: French 1+2 with supplemental Audio CDs and Podcasts (DVD-ROM)

I have tried a variety of methods to learn foreign languages, including Rosetta Stone, Berlitz tapes, and classroom instruction, and I have to say this is the most effective, powerful, and FUN learning tool I have ever used. I have a very short attention span, and this fact has made it hard for me to learn languages. I get bored easily, and if I'm bored with something, I'll drop it. I'm learning French as a casual learner, for personal enrichment, not because I need it for work or travel right now - so the only thing that can compel me to keep going is a system that is fun. A demanding request - and one that Fluenz delivers on. Rather than the boring, dry memorization of some systems and the repetitive activities of others, each lesson in Fluenz French includes several different activities that are not only extremely effective in helping you learn and remember (the writing exercises particularly help you remember), but also fun and entertaining. Some activities involve watching slideshows of real people having a conversation. Some involve matching phrases with their translation. Some involve translating. Some involve writing what you hear. Some involve speaking, recording your voice, and comparing your accent with the natives. Some involve matching pictures with words. You don't do any one activity long enough to possibly get bored with it, and learning in so many different ways really helps you grasp the material in a way no other system, most of which are one dimensional, can match. I can "study" for hours on end without getting bored! I would add that the slideshows and pictures are beautiful to look at and appropriate to the language you are studying. In French, you will see people and places in France and Quebec. (Unlike other systems where you view the exact same dry photos of people and things whether you are learning French, Mandarin, or Swahili...) Culture is important and helps "immerse" you as you learn the language. It is an inspiration, and a vital component that is missing in other systems.

Another thing unique to this system is the one-on-one tutor. Rosetta Stone advertises on TV that their system "feels like learning from your own private tutor" but it does not feel like that at all. In Fluenz, a real person speaks to you at the beginning, middle, and end of each session, helping you make sense of what you are learning so that you can use the knowledge to frame your own sentences, making comparison with English, and helping you retain the information.

I suppose the biggest competitor for Fluenz right now is Rosetta Stone, and I implore you to please try the demo for Fluenz (the link to their website is at the top of this Amazon page). You try the demo online, free, without submitting an email address or registering. It completely sold me. You will be amazed at how fast you can learn, and have fun doing it to boot. Rosetta Stone's interface is ugly, has nothing to do with the culture of the language you are learning, and does not teach you how to form sentences or help you use your knowledge of English grammer to make sense of things. Instead, it just throws words and boring pictures at you with no translation. Fine, if you just want to spit random words at people and be bored learning how to do it. But that is not practical for most people, who will want to learn how to ask and answer questions, and who will want to quit if the process is not fun and interesting.

The program runs from the DVD, much like a console game, so you won't need to worry about taking up hard drive space with the program. Great news for me, because I love the program so much I intend to take all of the other Fluenz courses (one at a time!) when I complete the French.

I cannot possibly recommend this program enough, even for people with very short attention spans like myself who have been bored trying to learn languages in the past. I never want to waste my time trying to learn a language any other way again.

96 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars French Attempts, August 21, 2008

By 

claudio taddei - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fluenz Version F2: French 1+2 with supplemental Audio CDs and Podcasts (DVD-ROM)

This is my first review in Amazon, and I'm taking the time to write it because finally, I can say that I'm learning. I've wanted to learn French pretty much all my life. I tried briefly in High School, more seriously in College, and then off and on ever since, both with computer self-teaching, tutors and classes. This is to say that I never learned much, but that I've become an expert in ways to learn French. At least I feel like I've seen them all.

Fluenz intrigued me from the beginning because the product description hit all the right notes: clear explanations, a gradual approach that doesn't throw a bunch of grammar but rather builds it slowly, along with useful, relevant vocab you can use on day one. The whole pitch got me thinking.

I had always assumed I was a big loser for not being able to learn (well, a bit of an exaggeration, but you know what I mean). I just thought I hadn't tried hard enough, but reading about Fluenz made question a lot of my experiences. Certainly the whole argument about common sense explanations in English, just enough grammar well learned, and only useful words. Those three elements, put in that way, I had never seen.

Classes at the Alliance Francais in my area were way too fast, included too many exceptions, complicated grammar, and other material that would frequently overwhelm. Whenever I studied I was on top of it, but the reality is that I still didn't couldn't have a conversation.

Then I had a tutor, not for too long, because she never wanted to talk to me in English and I didn't feel like I was progressing in any way. It was all French from the beginning til the end. Yes, sometimes I felt I was making progress, I could understand a thing here or there, but not enough to continue paying for it.

I've tried a couple of software programs, along with two websites that offered free lessons. In every single case I was never motivated after a few hours. Again I thought I was lazy, but now I realize that these programs are never designed to get you to speak the language. At any rate, all these programs seem like they use they same script for every language they teach. To them, Pashtun is no different than French, just another language to sell.

I was skeptical about Fluenz, or rather, about my ability to complete it. But because the product description made me think about these other programs in a very different light I decided to give it a try. And I've been pleasantly surprised.

Fluenz is effective, simple as that. For the first time I feel hooked on my French classes, and no matter where I stop I know that I can already say many things. That is the most important part for me, in reality what keeps me going since I can count on getting a usable nugget every time I turn it on.

The tutor, Sonia, is a really fantastic teacher. She explains, I can rewind if I don't understand and hear it again, she is pleasant to look at, and seems really smart. Her classes evolve in a logical way, step by step, and then the exercises work. And the exercises are both beautiful and effective, something rare in this world. After you are into it the stuff gets in your head, and again, you can use it right away.

I haven't finished the whole program but I can say two things. I know more today than I've ever been able to retain. And, I'm pretty sure that I'll finish, which is amazing given how many times I've tried to start.