Customer Reviews

Instant Immersion French 2 CD-ROM Set (Jewel Case)

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

 

 

In the first couple of hours (the first CD) this was a great program for getting started in studying French. Unfortunately the first CD stopped well short of the second. The second CD takes a very large leap forward leaving you wondering if you missed some second level on CD 1. You will however be able to recognize enough words to be able to guess correctly on most of the questions on CD 2, but being able to pick the correct picture by picking the work for "boat" out of a spoken sentence is not in my opinion learning French. The first CD on this was good enough that I'll plunk down the money and try the 7 CD Pro version. Give me a month (End of March 2002) and I'll try to let you know how that program does as well as French for Dummies. Until then don't bother with this version.

C'est faux! This box says it's the "quickest way to learn a language, guaranteed!" I bought this CD while taking my first year of high school French, hoping it would give me a broader vocabulary and a good pronounciation guide. It didn't.
First, there is no pronounciation guide. You just listen to the native speakers, which, don't get me wrong, is very good, but some sort of guide would come in handy. French words, as any one who has studied the language should know, are not phonetic; there are many letters that are not pronounced, and in order to recognize such you must study the grammar.
Which brings me to a second pitfall: no grammar guide. It seems to me that if you're going to learn a language you've got to learn some grammar, too! How is a non-French speaker supposed to know adjective agreement or verb conjugation without some sort of guide?
And the vocabulary is nothing you wouldn't learn in a first or second year French class in high school. So if you're like me, a high school student looking for extra reference and exact pronounciation, fine. But if you are an adult and looking for a travel/business phrase reference, pass this one over.
And the games are no fun. In the first CD, there are memory games. And you must accumulate so many points before they will let you move to the next level of learning. Okay, so just because I score 49 points out of 50 I'm not good enough to go on to the next level?
As my French teacher says, "A chacun son gout." (To each his own taste.) If you learn languages by playing memory games and can master a language without grammar guides, Instant Immersion French is for you. But take it from me, a French II student: this program is at best a reference guide for those with a little background of French

I ordered this software under the assumption it would be compatible with my operating system. It does, after all, say that it works with all Mac OS' from OS 7.5.3 or later.

Well I have OS 10.3.8 and I can't get the software to work. It's looking for OS 9, and my computer didn't come dual boot.

I'm pretty disappointed by that, as I was looking foward to testing this software out.

simply stated, this program is not very good for the beginner in that CD 2 is too difficult; and it's not very good for the intermediate french speaker in that CD 1 is too easy.

as a beginner myself, the first CD i enjoyed very much in that it taught basic vocabulary. it was pretty much the first nouns one ought learn and even the games were ok, except for the memory ones. after all, i didn't buy this program to test my memory (even though you can't help but become better familiarized with the vocabulary because of it). after CD 1 alone, this is a 4 star program.

now to CD 2. CD 2 is like going from T-ball to Roger Clemens; from tadpole fishing, to swimming with the sharks; from that inflatable pool you had as a kid in your backyard, to swimming in the Pacific. after mastering CD 1, i expected CD 2 to further elaborate on vocabulary, present the alphabet pronunciation, and teach basic grammar--it did none. instead what you get is dialogues--with no english translation, and no way for the beginner to understand them. from these dialogues, you are supposed to answer certain questions correctly.

now, i could do this--not because i understood more than 3 words of the dialogues--but because i heard and isolated certain words learned on CD 1. for example, let's say the dialogue is about a zebra. there will be an entire paragraph, of which i will only undersand, say, the words "blanc et noir" (white and black) and so i'll deduce the answer is zebra. but as much as i didn't buy this CD for a memory program, so i didn't buy it to sharpen my detective skills, although i must admit i like a good sherlock holmes tale as much as the next guy.

maybe he could solve the case of the french learning CD that never was.

The reason why I purchased this software is because I needed it to be compatible with Windows XP. It was compatible, however this program is quite child like. It is great for adolescents...to keep them stimulated and busy. The second CD World talk takes a leap into French converstion for an intermedate level. It is good .......but keep your eyes open for better French software.

This product is very helpful for refining the understanding of French than learning speaking fluent French. The TV contest attracted my 5-year-old daughter very much with my company. Also good for learning something mechanic and needing lots of memory and response like difficult French figures, but too few practical conditions you will encounter daily. If the content could be more would be greater. After all this is the best of 3-4 French software packages I bought at the same time.

I was very disappointed with this program. It is not easy to use and there are very little instructions. It also was very boring. I ended up taking it back for a refund.