Customer Reviews

Tell Me More Italian Version 6

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

 

 

I wanted to learn Italian, as I still have family there and wanted to be able to speak a little when I visit them.

Then, I searched for the best software as I know I wanted to use my computer to learn, as it seemed to me the most promising tool. After reviews on some websites, and asking a free demo CD of TeLL me More Italian to their toll free number, comparing it to others, I decided to buy TeLL me More. I found that this software is really helping me, even beyond my expectations...

I am really enjoying learning Italian, which is surprising as it has been so long I am done with school...There are a lot of different activities and basically everything you need to learn Italian. I like the immersion method as it reminded me my visit to Italy about 10 years ago: at first, you listen to words, sentences, look at the translations, to memorize them, and then you can actually speak.

I was amazed by the quality of that software. I had doubts about learning a language with a software after taking a look at Rosetta Stone, which has no grammar, and is very repetitive with these 4 pictures, as well as other programs I bought at my local store...I saw a review and decided to give TeLL me More a chance. I was amazed by the technology aspect and how well designed it is. It comes with a free headset and microphone and it really helped with my pronunciation. I have family in Italy and they were also amazed at my progress.

I also liked the cultural workshop as I was able to learn a lot of things about the Italian culture. I am at the Intermediate CD now and am confident I could have everyday conversations in Italian once I get to finish the Advanced level, rather than only know some sentences just useful for travel. My 2 teenagers are also using the software and it really helps them at school.

In struggling to learn Italian in anticipation of our trip there, I purchased four teaching products this year, plus several books, and took a continuing ed course. I am looking for a magic, easy way to learn, I guess. New languages are hard! (Age 62). My opinions:

I liked Tell me More Italian better than the similar Rosetta Stone Italian I. These are computer programs. Tell Me was more adaptable to my level, had more variety of exercises, and was in general more fun. Both of these programs gave me a confidence in my pronunciation that I never had in four college French courses many years ago.

I liked Pimsleur Conversational Italian (16 lesson version) better than the less expensive Penton Overseas Learn in Your Car Italian. These are CDs you play while driving. Pimsleur was more personal, more patient, and had more repetitive practice of conversation.

Finally, the continuing ed course, Italian I at Ohio State (eight two-hour classes), was invaluable for the best teaching of the basics of Italian (structure of the language such as conjugation) coaching from the personable teacher (Paola Nanni-Tate), the interaction with live students, and the pressure to study each week to avoid embarassing mistakes in class, which of course I made anyway.

This program may not be for everyone. It is a total immersion approach which asks the student to jump right in start speaking immediately. I studied on my own going up to level three. It took me about a year. At first I was perplexed but persisted with my studies. Being on CD, you can repeat words even a single syllable over and over until you've mastered them. When I enrolled in a university class, I was so far ahead of the others that my first year of Italian was a snap. Go with the flow on this program, there's nothing quite like it any where short of a home tutor sitting next to you and they don't repeat thing a million times until you get it. No human has that much patience.

I have been using this TeLL me More Italian for a few weeks now and am really enjoying the product. I have found it easy to navigate around the program (read the instructions they're short and worth it) and Help screens are offered with each new activity if you have any trouble. Also, the voice recognition pronunciation practice really breaks it down syllable by syllable and tells you where you are making mistakes. My only complaint so far is the dictionary doesn't have all the words used in the activities in it so sometimes you can't really figure out what something says. I have a few years experience with speaking Spanish and since the languages are very similar it has been fairly easy to pick up Italian. I would not advise anyone to buy this program who has never tried to learn another language before. The format would be very confusing and overwhelming. I have done great with this program but it's not for everyone. I used Pimsler to learn some Polish a while back and it worked well for learning a few phrases quickly but TeLL me More gives a more in-depth view of the structure of the language which was what I was looking for this time.

The 1-star review mentioned is misleading. Here is the writer's problem.

I have an older "Tell Me More" product. When you first load the program, it offers you options for the language you normally speak. This lets different nationalities learn the new language. So if you speak English and want to learn Italian, you choose English when loading the course for Italian. Obviously, this person mistakenly chose Italian as the native language for learning Italian. Thus he could not understand it. The problem described is NOT the fault of the program but in how it was installed. The fix is simple.

Comments on the program.
A feature I liked, not included in other language programs, is the pronunciation feedback (microphone required). This lets you know if your speech actually sounds like a native speaker. But to be complete, it should also tell you how to shape your mouth and tongue when uttering the sounds.

ADDED NOTE: I just discovered that Tell Me More has added a pronouncing aid they call "3D phonetic animations." It is in their latest version but do not know whether it is in Version 7. I strongly recommend you get a version with this feature.

An example of pronouncing difficulties is the totally different ways the letter "R" is sounded. In English, the tongue is forced to the floor of the mouth with the mouth cavity expanded and lips relaxed.

For simplicity here, there is no explanation on shaping the mouth or lips. In Spanish and Italian, the tongue is "trilled" or fluttered with the front of the tongue (against the roof of the mouth). In German and French, the rear of the tongue is used (fluttered against the back of the throat - more difficult for English speakers). It may sound the same to Americans (but it sounds very different to native speakers.

If you do not know how to make a sound, you will have major problems trying to duplicate sounds that are foreign to you. There are websites on how to duplicate different sounds made in various languages. Type "phonetic - or phonics- italian." We are capable of making several hundred different sounds, choosing the correct sound can be a challenge, even when you know how to shape your mouth.

There is a program that teaches very young children (beginning at 3-8 months), which uses a three part system (vocal, pictures and written word) - with much repetition - to successfully teach a child to speak and read before the age of 2. The basic method works with adult brains too. I mention this as I like any language program that couples this 3-leg system. Programs than use one leg, audio, will not be as strong as programs that use two or three. Note that even "Tell Me More" does not follow exactly the 3-leg system.

Finally, expect to invest many months of repetition to gain some fluency in a language.

Hope this helps you chose a product.
Remember this. As a teacher I discovered that people learn differently and what works for one does not necessarily work for others. So positive or negative reviews are meaningful when they give insight on what was good and bad to the writer.

This product is simply awful for beginners. Don't buy this unless you already have a good basic knowledge of the language.

After all reviews showed this product to be the best there is, I am thoroughly disappointed. I am a beginner, and this product is entirely awful for beginners. There is no sense of any progress, and this program is for people who already have an active understanding of the language. Do not waste your money if you don't know the language. Terrible product.

A couple of years ago, I was going to France, so I bought "Learn to Speak French Deluxe" By the Learning Company. After 8-9 hours, I felt like I could perform basic tasks in French, like ordering, asking direction, checking into a hotel, buying a train ticket...

Now, I'm headed to Italy, so I looked for a comparable product, but unfortunately, there is no "Learn to Speak Italian". I found Tell Me More Italian and it seemed to be the best option.

First of all, it cost about 5x what my very effective French software had cost. Then, when I installed it and tried it out, I found it to be very complicated, much more so than necessary, and WAY over my head in terms of helping me to learn anything. I started with the "Beginning" level, only to find dialog, drills, videos entirely in Italian with no explanation. Here's an example... the VERY FIRST lesson asks you to respond appropriately to phrases spoken in a dialog. So, the reader says something in Italian and there are a handful of choices all in Italian and I'm supposed to pick an appropriate one. I don't even know what the reader just said, let alone what the responses mean. There is no translation, no explanation.

When I was considering buying this product, I did a lot of research. I found many, many reviews that complained that it threw you too quickly into the Italian with no explanation. I thought to myself that those people were just wimps that didn't understand that you don't learn a language by memorizing vocabulary. I already speak Spanish fluently, so I figured, "Oh, yeah, I can hanle it"... boy was I wrong. I should have headed the warnings.

What a waste of money (and, unfortunately, time).

I am an intermediate level Italian speaker. I purchased this product to help me improve my Italian. Unfortunately this product is a complete waste and because there is no money back guarantee, I am stuck with $200 of junk. It is completely unsuitable for beginners. The Pimsler course is one of the few Italian products out there that is any good, but it only gets you to a low intermediate level. A good Italian course is desperately needed, but Tell Me More is not it.