| In
July of 1975 I became an American Field Service foreign exchange student
to Germany. I had only three weeks of language instruction before I was
immersed into German language and culture. I learned German because I was
highly motivated, and because nobody would speak English with me.
Several years later I earned my B.A. and teacher certification in German and History. As a child I had heard my mother's native language and learned basic Spanish from a neighbor. All of these experiences have given me quite a bit of experience and fueled my curiosity in language learning. The multimedia computer has opened up a new avenue for the learner. I approach this software from the perspective of a foreign language teacher of young people and adults. I can speak "survival Spanish." I tried to remember what helped me learn a language. At the same time, I tried to imagine how a student would respond to this software and this method of language learning. My eight year old son and a fifteen year old neighbor gave me input concerning this software. INSTALLATION: In a word: easy. You have the option of normal installation, requiring 13MB of real estate, or minimal installation, requiring 1.3 MB of space. The program ran better on regular installation. You can still use all of the features on minimum installation. You have the option of also installing Language Connect, which is an internet provider software package. Since I already have unlimited service through my internet provider, I didn't bother with it. You can access their web site (www.syrlang.com) with your internet provider, without using Language Connect. FIRST IMPRESSIONS/USE: The male and female voices on this CD speak "proper Spanish" that is clearly enunciated. The student can hear a dialogue at normal speed or slow speed. There are six categories of dialogues that the listener can choose. They are:
This program is more than an abbreviated TPR (total physical response) class. The description on the box below the title indicates that this software is for the beginner to intermediate level student. (The company has no news on a more advanced or specialized follow-up to this software.) There is a section that is devoted to grammar, and it dove-tails with the dialogues. Verb conjugations, prefixes, word order, and other grammar topics are presented. Vocabulary that is related to the dialogues is presented. The user can turn off the translations of the dialogues, or permit them to be easily accessed. The software includes a microphone that you can plug into your sound card, and a decent manual explaining how to use the software. There is a manual on the CD. It is amazing how many software companies make you pay extra for a decent manual. It is written for the novice computer user. It is an adequate manual for the software. This program allows the user to listen to a dialogue, then "parrot" the dialogue into the computer using the microphone, and listen to his/her voice compared with that of the native speaker. You do not get to see the wave pattern of your pronunciation compared to the native speaker. That feature is nice, especially when learning an exotic language such as Japanese. The graphics are not very fancy. In my opinion, they don't have to be, unless you are working with teenage students. There is no video on the CD. I believe that this is only a minor fault. SUMMARY: I like this software. I can see a student using this software to stimulate interest and enhance their Spanish class. My "review assistants" also found the software "cool." I can also see a business person using this software to build basic language skills in this target language. This software will not take the place of a complete language learning program such as Berlitz in a language lab, or a good language class. The dictionary on disk allows you to search for a word, hear it, and to compare your pronunciation to the native speaker. The dictionary on disk can not substitute for a good lexicon and/or thesaurus. The grammar tutorial was well thought out. The voice playback feature allows the user to compare his pronunciation to that of the native speaker. This is helpful. The price is right! I found this software on sale at CompUSA for $29. Syracuse Language Systems also has the same kind of software for learning French, German, Japanese, Hebrew, Italian, and English. I have not tried out any of these related programs, but I have examined other language software. There is a lot of competition out there for Spanish, but very little for Japanese or Russian. On a scale of one to five jalapenos (appropriate!) I give Spanish Your Way 4.75 jalapenos. Buen provecho! (Enjoy!) Syracuse Language Systems
Greg Lundblade has been a certified social studies and German teacher since 1985, and an Alamo-PC member since the early nineties. He earned his B.A. in German in 1980 from Texas Tech, and the Mittelstufepruefung from the Goethe Institute in Germany in 1987. He has ten years experience in free lance translation work for businesses and individuals. Russian or Japanese will be his next "target language." |