Customer Reviews

Tell Me More Spanish Premium Version 7 [Old Version]

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

 

 

I primarily use what Auralog refers to as the "Dynamic mode." This is an adaptive method that actually does a pretty good job of gauging what you've grasped and on what you need to work with more.

This is highly configurable language learning software in that you can choose to isolate your program to Comprehension, Expression, Vocabulary, and Grammar or choose Complete, which gives you a mixed bag. You can also choose to have the instructions in English or go totally immersive and get the instructions in Spanish. You also may choose European Spanish or Latin American Spanish though the primary focus is European Spanish.

There is a built in dictionary, translator, grammar explainer and links to numerous on line sites although the Club Auralog site is sporadic.

Tell Me More is Flash based so you must have Flash installed on you system. But they used it well and I really do have fun using the program.

My experience with customer support located in Arizona has been excellent which is a relief since Auralog is a French company.

One note, if you are a rank beginner - don't know one word of Spanish - scared of foreign language type, you might be better served if you start out with all the pictures in Rosetta Stone. But if you have a bit of knowledge and are serious, Tell Me More is definitely the fun and interesting way to go. And ultimately well worth the investment.

I really wanted to learn Spanish for more than just vacations, but more to communicate and better myself. Indeed, knowing Spanish is getting more and more important right now.

I wanted to learn on my own and did a lot of research to find the best Spanish learning tool available, tried several demos of different products, asked to various teachers...I even had Spanish speaking people try out the demos with me so I can have a feedback of what would be most effective!

At first, I was interested in audio CDs (Pimsleur,...) so I could learn in my car, or at home, fast and on the go, but I realized after trying that it will help me with my vocabulary maybe but I will never be able to get an intermediate level with audio CDs. Then, I looked for software, as it probably has the most potential for self-learning. I visited several websites with reviews like about.com, toptenreviews.com. I tried and was mailed different demos and really fell that TeLL me More was the best product for me, it has so many activities, and the speech recognition was really what I was looking as being able to speak was important. I could not see myself reach a high level with Rosetta Stone, as it was very basic and repetitive and seems to only consist of pictures over and over again. Other software seemed really inferior.
This new Premium version is great as it has all the levels in the same package so I did not need to worry about buying several packages, or even a headset and microphone as it includes one. It also has an audio CD, which was a nice bonus. I already went through the Complete Beginner and was really amazed by the number of activities available: picture word association, crossword puzzles, videos, pronunciation,...Also, the speech activities really helped me with my pronunication, which was terrible at first! I really enjoyed the Grammar too as I could not find another software with grammar. I plan on buying another TeLL me More software to try to learn French next time.

I'm a homeschooling mother of 6, and I have been trying to teach my 15 year old daughter Spanish since she was born. She has been resisting, and resentful about it. When I gave her the Tell Me More software, she was interested and engaged immediately. It's not perfect, but it is fun and educational. Here are some pros and cons of the software.

Pros:
* three different modes
* four distinct levels
* voice recognition feature
* easy to navigate
* fun
* dictionary feature

Cons:
* assumes knowledge of verb conjugation
* pronunciation exercises have no clear-cut end
* complete beginner level feels more intermediate than beginner
* word search sections assume you know the written form of words you've only just heard; assumes a large vocabulary

I ordered this product to get a head start on Spanish classes I'll be taking at school, and use during the class. I plan on traveling to Central America on an extended trip next year.

PROBLEM---TeLL me More's product is the WRONG dialect. It is European Spanish (Castillian), not Latin American Spanish. It came with 4 discs for beginner, intermediate, and advanced, and then they threw in 1 beginner disc of Latin American Spanish. So now I am learning "vosotros" verb conjugation which does not exist in Latin American Spanish, and the speech recognition software wants me to use a Castillian accent (making some "S" sounds more like a "TH" in English).

Great software. Great features. The speech recognition is great. It is very picky about pronunciation, which means I'm learning to speak more like a native speaker and less like a gringo. Would have been 5 stars if it was the dialect I needed.

I just moved to Texas and needed to learn Spanish for my new job. I searched around on the Internet for a good Spanish learning tool and found the [...] review on tell me more Spanish that highly recommended this product. I particulary enjoy the grammar and cultural aspects, which allows me to really learn the language and explore the culture along the way, as opposed to only learning basic words and sentences like other language software. It was very effective and I was able to communicate in Spanish faster than I though.

First, a little background. I studied Spanish in high school as well as college. While my formal education left me with a thorough understanding of Spanish grammar, I found that my vocabulary was sorely lacking and so I began exploring the various options for improving my skills on my own.

I read rave reviews of the Auralog software, so I decided to give it a try. Boy... at least I was lucky enough to have purchased a second-hand copy for $50. This software is really, really weird, and certainly not worth $250.

There is absolutely no introduction, no explanation of the exercises, how they're organized, or anything else. The program just throws out a bunch of vocabulary, most of which is completely without translation. You can override the guided activities if you want to look at the section's vocab list first, but even then it doesn't include all the words.

There is also no explanation of grammar. And while this wasn't a problem for me, it would be for those who are just beginning to learn the language. Again, you can override the guided mode to review the grammar, but it is sparsely explained. You'd do much better with a basic grammar book.

This stuff is really strange, and frankly, I have no idea why anyone would give it 5 stars (although frankly, I don't understand it with Rosetta Stone either). If you're looking for something user-friendly, try Transparent Language's software, or the discontinued (but excellent, and now very cheap) programs made by the Learning Company.

Bottom line: Just because something costs $250 doesn't mean it isn't total junk. There are far better programs out there for a fraction of the price.

The comments posted here are all over the map; there is obviously something going on here. If you want the real scoop on this product, check out the excellent in depth review here: http://llt.msu.edu/vol8num3/review1/default.html. Its all you need (and then some) to draw your own conclusion.

I have just completed Rosetta Stone Spanish Latin American-level 1. I thought it was okay but I was looking for more conversational Spanish and I found Rosetta Stone to be lacking in the area of conversational Spanish, providing vocabulary words to review, and the content in level 1 was slightly too sophomoric for my opinion. As a result I did research on the web read reviews and discovered that "tell me more" was the best rated on Amazon and other review websites. I was very disappointed in the product, I found the software was not user friendly and I'm very computer literate. I was not interested in doing crossword puzzles and grammar exercises yet I could not complete the guided course work without it. when I went to free roam mode I found that there was not enough opportunity for the program to allow me to listen and repeat dialogue it was amazingly cumbersome just to make progress in anything compared to Rosetta stone. Additionally I'm not that interested in learning grammatical structure I want to hear people speaking, read the words and learn via picture, association and repetition. Also it did not have the dynamic learning mode this was also disappointing. I also discovered that the software was last produced in 2004, outdated. In speech recognition mode it kept going and going and I get no feedback as to whether I was finished, it kept going no matter how many times I tried; it said my pronunciation was moderate while other speech recognition software showed my pronunciation to be good after practicing. In summary I hated my experience and return the product immediately. I wish Rosetta Stone had more conversational Spanish and reviewed topics of conversation that were slightly more adult oriented for level 1, I'm hoping level two is better as I'm going to purchase Rosetta Stone immediately. Please note everyone learns differently and has different expectations I was just surprisingly shocked at how difficult it was to make progress and really jump right in learning listening and repeating, it's just not for me maybe it could be something you like?

I learned beginner Spanish in a month with 3-4 hours a day with this program, it saved me a semester of school.

I love this language software. It has everything to learn Spanish, a lot of different acitivities, videos...My favorite part is the speaking part. The software comes with a headset and microphone, and you can actually have a dialogue with the computer. I was also really excited about the audio CD and the possibility to play the audio content on my ipod. This is the best Spanish software I ever tried.