Customer Reviews

Tell Me More German Premium Version 7

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is by far the best German language software on the market today. I had been attending German classes through Berlitz but due to time and monetary constraints, I had to pursue other alternatives. I reviewed both the Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur software but found them lacking for my needs. I wanted the ability to go beyond the basics. I searched the internet for independent reviews of German language software and encountered http://learn-german-software-review.toptenreviews.com/ which was extremely helpful in evaluating various language programs.

I was amazed at how interactive this software was. Unlike earlier programs that relied on my ability to mimic the native speaker (with hopes that I accurately repeated what was being said), this software allows me to record and play back my responses; in addition the program evaluates how closely I emulate the speaker.

Vocabulary, grammar, writing, reading, crossword puzzles, and online testing are just a few of the many features this program has to offer. I can chose among three separate modes: I can select the activities; the software selects the activities based on my learning objectives, or the software selects and modifies the activities based on my progress.

Impressed? I was!

This is a great system for learning a new language! I really enjoy the voice recognition software. I think it forces you to slightly overstress the new words you're learning, but this has helped me overall considering how different the sounds in German can be from English. A big A+ is for the customer service, they are fabulous and quick to make sure you have the answers you need. After looking over many brands of language software, I would definitely choose Tell Me More again! In fact, I've already ordered the French. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to learn a new language.

I bought this product for my son because he will be traveling to Europe in six months. He loves using it and the software encourages the person to learn. The software is priced better then some other software packages (read Rosetta Stone) and does more. This is the product to buy if you want to learn german on your computer.

I ordered this product because there wasn't much to choose from in learning the German Language. I am amazed how other reviews can give it 5 stars. But then again after reading their reviews I understand why. I had this product for over a year and I listened to all four CDs. The first CD was impressive and if anyone rushed to review it, they will give it 5 stars. The other CDs 2, 3, and 4 were terrible. The main thing in learing any language is not fun exercises, it's pronunciation. This is the main reason for me purchasing this product - to hear the correct pronunciation spoken clearly and loudly without causing distortions as in CDs 2, 3, and 4.

Some of the speakers sounded as if they where shouting into the mic others where just to close to the mic. Then the girls sounded as if it was bedtime for them. The audio level was never level, mostly all distorted. This makes you wonder if anyone checked the audio before releasing it to the market.

Pronunciation is the main thing, the avant-garde, to hear the language spoken and to see it in written form is worth paying top dollars. The grammar part I can do on my own once I've learned how to speak and read German. Just pick up any German grammar book and start reading. The exercise part is fine, but structuring any exercise program however you want will still get others to learn. So I really can't rate exercises or rate it's ability to evaluate your own voice. These are not important to me. I just need to exercise the muscles in the back of my tongue and throat to imitate the pronunciation (words) correctly. Practice makes perfect. We all have the ability to mimic any language, we just need to concentrate and practice.

For a beginner like myself I recommend Pimsleur Level 1, 2, and 3. You can purchase Tell Me More as an addition to enhance your learning, just don't expect Tell Me More to be a professional product. Try Pimsleur first.

I noticed some of the one-star reviews here and had to comment. First, the bad news: the videos and music, etc, are a little dated. Second, it definitely expects a lot out of you. Sometimes it seems a little daunting. The good news: it's in depth. This is no flash cards, memorize some phrases nonsense.

I set my program up to do 5 hours a week and by the time I finished my first CD, I felt like I'd just gotten out of a semester class. I guess this is my way of saying it's not for the faint of heart.

If you're hoping to casually learn some words and phrases before your Oktoberfest trip, don't bother with this program. Truly, this is something you could spend a year or more on. I've had it for over a year and I've only finished the first two CDs. Why? Because there was so much information I did the first two CDs twice.

Now with all this effort behind me, I can tell you that I know a lot more German now than I did when I started (which was basically nothing). All in all, I'm glad I bought this program.

This is quite probably the worst language-learning software on the market today. And I don't say that lightly. As an aspiring polyglot, I've explored a lot of books and software in an attempt to accelerate my language learning.

First off, this is not for beginners, or even for intermediate language speakers... nor, frankly, is it for anyone who has any aspirations of seriously learning a language.

Here's my laundry list of complaints:
1.) There are absolutely no instructions. The software just throws you into a series of guided exercises without any explanation.

2.) Most of the exercises are worthless, unless you already have a significant vocabulary and a good grasp on the language. Vocabulary is presented in a haphazard fashion without any English translation. If you're tenacious enough you CAN find translations for the words presented, but frankly, it's a pain, and it leaves you fighting your way through the learning process. Example 2: A series of question-answer dialogs in which ANY answer is acceptable, but nothing is translated or explained. To take anything out of these activities, you have to already know what all of the answers say (I was able to function better with the Spanish version of this software, since I'm already more or less fluent).

3.) People rave about the fact that this software utilizes voice recognition. Big deal - it's also used by Rosetta Stone, Transparent Language, ad even in the Learning Company's software, which is now outdated and discontinued (but a heck of a lot better than this junk!).

4.) For the cost of the software, the activities are not well-done at all. The videos are extremely brief (and certainly cheap to make), and don't have much relevance to the questions asked - in other words, they're basically superfluous and in most cases, utterly unnecessary.

The Tell Me More software looks glitzy and is obviously well-advertised, but it's one of the worst language program series ever created. If you look around Amazon, you'll see a lot of other 1-star reviews for the Auralog productions (inluding a couple other reviews from me). I normally wouldn't spend this much time bad-mouthing a product, but this stuff is SO bad that I really felt compelled to say something so others don't waste their money on this garbage.

The software seems quite good. The various activities keep things interesting. I like the program tracking feature for a visual indication of progress. The voice recognition feature seems to be top notch -- I've been improving on the cadence and amplitude of my speech. The sound quality captured by the microphone (included with the software) is quite good. I'm eager to see a Mac OS X version.

I've been using Tell Me More now for a few months, and I've finished the Complete Beginner and most of the Beginner courses. I've also been able to recently try out Rosetta Stone's French course (next year's goal). I took a ten week summer German class about five years ago, taken about two years of ancient Greek, a year of Hebrew, a semester of Latin, and two years of high school French. Which gives me a strong familiarity with language teaching, even if my discipline has not given me entire familiarity with all these various languages.

My German was so fleeting and not kept up that I felt I needed to go back to the basics. Only I couldn't justify spending the money for Rosetta Stone, especially as I saw a lot of really great reviews for Tell Me More. Some of the one star reviews here almost dissuaded me, but I went ahead and bought it. I couldn't be more happy.

First off, in response to some of the reviews, there's a lot more function to this software than apparently they have found. While the great, great majority of the text is in German, and vocabulary is introduced often without context or preparation, there is a handy little button that opens a German/English dictionary. Click a word, and that word is immediately defined. Meaning every lesson type becomes source for, and reinforcement of, vocabulary. It seems that most of the attacks on this software have come out of an unfamiliarity with it.

Get to know it. Hit buttons. See what they do. Admittedly, the documentation provided is fairly poor, but do what you'd do in a different country. Explore! Do that and you'll find a very great learning tool.

And that's what this is, a tool. It will not magically impart an understanding of German. Learning a language takes work. It takes a lot of work, a lot of repetition, and a lot of discipline. Most of the time tests and grades force that discipline, but this software demands a lot more self-discipline than most people possess. It leads you along a learning path, it does not insist you do what it takes to follow that path.

To me it feels very much like an interactive class, offering a steady variety of learning approaches that never bog down. Indeed, sometimes it feels a little too random but I think that's a good thing. It doesn't get boring, even if it does keep at a steady level of difficulty.

There is a strong emphasis on reading and voice recognition. The software has as good voice recognition as Rosetta Stone, though the provided headset is not as good. I'm using my USB Logitech headset and it works perfect.

Rosetta Stone, in contrast, tends to move along by using a lot more images and expanding conversation--certainly an effective approach. But, the price difference doesn't seem to be justified. For what you get the more layered and varied approach of Tell Me More is quite effective in every way.

There are some occasional bugs in the software, but not enough for me to knock any stars off it.

Overall, I'd say Rosetta Stone is a great choice if money is no object. But, if you are on a budget I'd heartily recommend Tell Me More as a very good alternative.

Is it worth paying the extra money for "absolute beginner"? I'd say yes. I'm glad I did. Even though I had a class before the shorter, basic level was a great way to get my mind started on German, introducing vocabulary and concepts--and the software--in a very approachable way. Indeed, I thought Absolute Beginner was a little harder in some ways, not that it introduced more, but that it pushed a little more in advancing. So, unless you have a strong beginning knowledge of German already, I think it's a good choice.

I just got this program three days ago and their speech recognition is awesome. I also like the complete beginner level and the fact that I can transfer the audio files with the click of a button to my desktop.

I picked this product to purchase because I thought it was the best. I didn't go off any bogus reviews, (like the one's on Amazon). I thought it had the most features and seemed all inclusive. I got the Performance version which includes 10 levels.

Let me start out by describing how the software starts you out:

The first thing you do is listen to two people meet each other for the first time. Seems simple enough. Next, you begin doing exercises, crossword puzzles, fill in the blank, identify the object in a picture, type in conjugates (her, she, is, it, ect). Again, sounds good right?

Not quite! At no point did the software teach anything about grammar, what the meaning of the words are in the crossword puzzles, ect. For example, the crossword asks you to fill in the crossword puzzle for CAT, never at any point, were you exposed to the word CAT! So you have no possible way of doing the crossword puzzle since you don't know the German word for CAT! I seriously don't understand how one is expected to figure it out! Dictionary?

This is how the entire software is! It is almost like it was meant to be a bunch of exercises, without any teaching. If you had a private tutor with you, I can understand how this software would be pretty good. Your tutor teaches you, when he/she leaves you do your exercises.

To top it all off, Auralog, Inc tried to prevent me from returning their software! It took about a week of phone calls and emails to get them to honor their return policy.

Remember, when you are comparing language software, Tell Me More does not have "teaching" anywhere in it's product!