FluenzReviews of fluenz.com

As a beginner, I found the Spanish program difficult to use during the listening and typing sessions. Words often blend together, are rushed, and generally don't make a lot of sense. With the new program, I am not able to report feedback on individual lessons, which doesn't help. At least when I could report on issues I *hoped* they would get resolved. Additionally, I ran into issues with my Mac headset. System requirements are vague and not well thought out. Luckily, the online version of the program sufficed until the issue was resolved (Not resolved by Fluenz tech support.) Otherwise, I do really enjoy the teaching style of the program. The lessons, reviews, spoken reviews, etc have been terrific, and help me understand things mor comprehensively. As a past Rosetta Stone customer, this is by far a much better program.

The Fluenz method is a great way for me to learn a language. I did a reasonable amount of research before choosing Fluenz, and I was not disappointed. The method of putting words with pictures that I've heard some other companies use does not seem like the ideal way for an adult to learn a new language. The whole Fluenz program seems very well thought out. Each lesson has a very brief intro and a short dialogue (with both Italian and English subtitles - each of which can be enabled or disabled) followed by a 5-10 minute in depth explanation from Sonia Gil. She often covers more ground than was in the dialogue. For verbs, she usually provides the full conjugation. These three sections are followed by a few different exercises, which help reinforce what was in the dialogue. I worked on Fluenz Italian for about two or three months most mornings for about 30 minutes on my subway commute to work. I did find that I learned enough in that relatively short period of time to get around OK in Rome. Granted, many of the people we came in contact with spoke at least some English. But some did not. So, this was definitely helpful. Oh, and the lessons were enjoyable too - not tedious at all. I have a couple of suggestions for ways to improve the product. I think that it would be ideal for review to be able to stream all of the dialogues, one after the other without having to click anything in between. Maybe this feature could be only for the dialogues for lessons one had already completed. There are MP3s that come with the DVDs, and they are somewhat like what I'm suggesting. But it would be nice to hear the actual dialogues too. The dialogues are kind of short. There are maybe only five or six sentences from each of the two people. In addition, some of those "sentences" are repeated in many of the dialogues and/or they are really sort of unnecessary. For example, do we really need to hear Ciao from each actor in every dialogue? That's not so bad, but we certainly don't need the pause that follows. Everybody knows Ciao - even people who have not taken any language courses. My other comment is that sometimes the explanations seemed a little slow. There are certain things that are covered in early lessons that get explained again in one or more later lessons (I can't remember exactly what those things are; so I might actually be misremembering). But I can understand that each person learns at his or her own pace. And the pace is by no means a big problem. I highly recommend Fluenz Italian

I am of French descent and could not speak French. I have wanted to learn to speak French since I can remember. I have tried so many programs and books with no luck. I finally purchased Rosetta stone and had to return it since I wasn't learning French. So I saw and ad for Fluenz and decided to try it. I am so pleased. With the CD's for pronunciation and sentences and phrases, my "ears" are starting to understand. There is pronunciation, spelling, writing, punctuation, phrases and sentences also with drills. There are flashcards on line with words and phrases and sentences. Much more too!!

I am on Spanish level 5 and have learned the imperfect verb tense from this program. They give the conditions under which the imperfect is used in bite sized pieces with one condition per lesson. I am pleased with how my knowledge has grown. Due to the extensive reviews and interactivity I find that I am retaining what I learn better than I have with other methods of learning such as reading textbooks. I only wish there were more levels.

I was instantly attracted to Fluenz, first by an instructor that is very easy to look at, but then by the ease at which I could understand and learn as she taught. I have not yet found the time to schedule regular sessions in my routine, but I am looking forward to it.

First, I speak Italian, semi fluent. And I write in Italian again not fluent but adequate. I picked up Fluenz to help keep up with my Italian. I like the spelling exercises, for me so far not a problem but helpful. About the spelling, I do not like the separation of the article from the word. That is not how it’s spelled and not how it’s taught. Ok, for a demo of a new word, one lesson and after that the way it should be spelled the way you would see it spelled. Also the accent mark is a real pain, è and e` should be seen as the same. There are times I have to hit the accent mark 5 times before it takes. I also have “Rosetta Stone”. For beginners I don’t recommend it. I like the way Fluenz handles the verbs, cannot say the same for RS. However what RS does give a learner is work with pronouncing the words. The feedback is excellent. Fluenz really needs this for it to become a first class tool for learning. After all “Rocket Italian” has it and it’s on the web. You can record and listen to your self as in RS. OK, I like Fluenz but as it stands now, if you are only using Fluenz you need to add either RS or Rocket Italian.

More than 40 years ago I studied German in college. I only wish Fluenz had been around then! Recently, I spent several weeks going through Fluenz German 1 before our recent trip to Germany to relearn the language. It was a very pleasant experience and I felt I really learned a lot in a short period of time. I wanted to be able to speak the language to some degree because we were doing a driving vacation and going to small towns where English might not be spoken...or at least not spoken well. It paid off! I was very conversational. Fluenz is a great product! I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to learn a new language.

Overall an excellent program. I have attempted many language programs and books and this is by far the best. My only reservation is that one obviously has to commit to the time and effort to get results.