Learn Russian Now! 9.0

by Transparent Language

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005Y3VE
• Item model number: 744573056087
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 4, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,345 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #36 in Software > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Slavic
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

With the modern PC having a variety of possibilities of which traditional language-learning methods could only dream--voice recognition, video dialogues, and so on--the past few years have seen an extraordinary boom in language-learning software packages. However, as picking through this surfeit can be tricky, it is important to find a reliable brand, and the Learn Now! series is definitely among the best software packages.

The program comes equipped with 2 CDs, one of which has various key sections--useful "survival phrases", fun activities, conversations, and practicing speech against the voice of a native speaker--while the other has a thorough grammar tutorial. This combination is certainly a valuable one for people who are serious about learning a language, and the product is clear and easy to use: in role-plays, phrases are highlighted in a box and their English translations placed underneath, while the voice recognition software allows you to measure your own voice against that of a native speaker, and the games hone the things that have been learnt. Sections are tailored to various activities, such as getting around, going out, and business situations, while at any point you can call up a grammar tutorial which explains a particular point on which you are unsure.

In addition to these sections, the part on survival phrases will be of much use to those who have already reached a basic level. There are several practice dialogues based around commonplace situations--in the hotel, the bar, the airport, etc. Although some of the advice borders on the infantile ("When you decide to travel outside the USA, you will probably need a passport"), much of it is useful, and rounds out what is a well composed package for someone starting out on the road to using the language overseas. --Toby Green, Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com Product Description

Learn Russian Now! 9.0 Deluxe takes you from beginner to confident speaker in no time. Listening and speaking activities, grammar tools, and vocabulary games build a solid foundation, while real-life video content lets you interact with native speakers. Learn Russian Now! also adds online features that create an interesting and authentic atmosphere, making learning Italian fast, fun, and highly effective.

Learn Russian Now!'s four stimulating titles include: Fundamental Russian, Survival Phrases for Russian, Getting Around Russia, and St. Petersburg: A Window on Europe. GrammarPro!, the software's comprehensive grammar tool, adds more than 10,000 words, extensive tutorials, and grammar quizzes to your desktop. Installed, GrammarPro! integrates seamlessly with all four Learn Russian Now! titles to provide detailed grammar analyses with just a click of your mouse.

Online features, fun interactive games, and conversations and phrases round out this deluxe suite. Practice your pronunciation using the integrated speech features, then record your voice and replay your conversation. Learn at your own pace by deciding when you need translation. The software even includes GlobalWriter98 for Microsoft Windows users and a handy screen saver. GlobalWriter98 is a word-processing tool that helps you write in more than 100 languages.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Listen russian until your jaw drops., July 14, 2002

By 

Catpeople "catpeople" (Aguascalientes, Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learn Russian Now! 9.0 (CD-ROM)

I approached the russian language under two very different methods: this ultra modern CD-ROM and the old fashioned printed course, a.k.a. book. I am sorry to say that the Learn Russian Now! CD ROM, although impressive and nice, is not definitely the ideal tool for beginners. Someone will probably enjoy this CDROM if he is nearly an expert in russian language and wants to practice conversation and hearing skills. For the beginner, it can be frightening. Open the course and the first suggested section will take you to an intimidating 4 minute dialogue in russian which is supposed to be your first lesson using basic russian structures... basic for whom? Then, you are supposed to review what you just saw. Nice. Lessons are organized thematically (restaurants, how to catch a cab, around Saint Petesburg, etc.) and not by level of difficulty or expertise, so each one of them combines every imaginable verb tense (present, past, future, etc.) and language structure. This means lenghty monologues with incomprehensible russian chatter until your jaw drops or you turn off the computer. I simply could not learn russian using this method, only memorize some useful phrases, but that does NOT mean you are learning the languague.

Then I swtiched to the printed, step-by-step, old fashoned book (New Penguin Russian course VERY recommended!) and I'm glad I did. After dedicating one hour every other day to study my book, I am speaking russian after two months... and practicing online with russian friends :)

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very nice program, May 16, 2002

By 

Alex Brandenburg (Memphis, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learn Russian Now! 9.0 (CD-ROM)

A good thing about this program is that it introduces you to the alphabet, pronouncing the letter sounds and the letter names themselves. Too bad they don't have that feature for numbers or counting. For that, you'd have to look them up or happen upon each number during dialog lessons.
I wouldn't completely rely on the 'Advanced Speech Analysis' feature in helping with one's accent, which basically has an arrow which points to one of three areas depending on one's accent ability: Keep Practicing, Good, and WOW. Though, it still is nice that I can play my voice back to back to back with the native speaker, determining how I need to improve myself. One doesn't need a meter for that.
The program will also allow one to type Russian characters and letters on a standard English keyboard. Nothing has to be reprogramed for it to type Russian.
The program also exercises listening comprehension along with the reading and writing. They have a dictation game, in which one will hear a Russian native speaker dictating sentences and the player will, in turn, type it in Russian.
The grammar tutorial is also very nice, giving you lessons in conjugation, etc., as well as a short but interesting history of the Russian language itself.
They have these dialogs for several situations that gives you examples of how words are used. They give you over ten-thousand words, all right. They're not made up into vocabulary lists, however. Instead it's made up of every single word for every single sentence in every single piece of dialog in the dialog sections.
Also included is a multilingual word processor, so one can type in their new language outside of the "Russian Now" program.
The only thing I don't like (and is the reason I knocked off a star) is the fact that it is a bit difficult to navigate through. One could get lost without a way to get back to where they started.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Language Now!, July 21, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Learn Russian Now! 9.0 (CD-ROM)

The LanguageNOW! series happen to be very good. It greatly improves your listening and reading skills. Russian happens to be one of the hardest languages in the world. Even many Russians have a hard time with their language.

As for as Grammar goes, this software puts you on the right track. The only way to actually learn grammar is to buy a grammar book. I suggest Shaum's Outlines: Russian Grammar - it is probably the best!