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TeLL me More French Premium - Complete Beginner, Beginner, Intermediate Advanced | 
| From: Auralog
Category: Software
List Price: $295.00
Buy New: $209.99
You Save: $85.01 (29%)
New (4) from $209.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 2111
Format: Cd-rom
Platform: Windows
Media: CD-ROM
Operating System: Windows
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 9.5 x 1.8
MPN: 7-002-1234
Model: 7-002-1234
ISBN: 2749012147
UPC: 893416001729
EAN: 9782749012148
ASIN: 2749011000
Release Date: June 2, 2006
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Features:
| • | Improved user interface; audio CD, plus free headset and microphone included | | • | Complete and extensive French software with up to 850 hours of learning | | • | 4 levels including complete beginner, beginner, intermediate, and advanced | | • | 4,500 exercises and 37 types of activities broken down into 6 workshops | | • | Covers reading, writing, listening, speaking, vocabulary, grammar, and culture |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
TeLL me More is the world's leading software for language learning, valued by users and teachers alike. For its speech recognition technology and personalized language courses, TeLL me More now has more than 5 million satisfied users worldwide. It covers all the skills to learn reading writing, listening speaking, grammar, vocabulary, and culture. This package includes 4 levels, Complete Beginner, Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. An Audio CD, as well as a free headset and microphone, is also included. It is the most complete Spanish software available with up to 950 hours of learning. Exclusive Technological Developments 4 levels in one package - Complete Beginner, Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced, to reach fluency Over 5 million satisfied users worldwide Used everyday in more than 10,000 Academic Institutions Global leaders and government agencies have placed their trust in TeLL me More - U.S. State Department, U.S. Government, FBI, Canadian Federal Government, EDS, BMW, ExxonMobil Top Ten Reviews Gold Award for best language learning software System Requirements - PC or Compatible Pentium III 650 MHz, Celeron 333 MHz or equivalent, Windows 95, 98, NT4, Millennium, 2000, XP or Vista 32/64 bits, 64 MB RAM, 70 MB free space, 8x CD-ROM drive or better, 16-bit Windows-compatible sound card, 16-bit graphics card (800 x 600 with 65,536 colors or higher), headset or speakers and microphone, Windows 95 and NT require Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 or more
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Not worth the investment September 2, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've been struggling with this software off and on for the last couple of years and finally realized it's not worth either the time or money I've spent on it. It has a variety of flaws, but here are the major ones:br /br /1) The User Interface is Terrible: The software is Flash-based and the user inteface is totally non-intuitive, violating all of the basic user interface standards used by most Windows-based programs. Double-clicking on commands is not supported, and neither is the Enter key. Every selection requires at least two mouse clicks, making navigating the program a frustrating process.br /br /2) Speech Recogition is Unrecognizable: This feature, which is one of the major selling points of the program, is a complete joke. The software simply cannot reliably distinguish between a correctly-spoken word or phrase and a mangled one. It routinely assigns a low score to samples of my recorded speech - but will then assign a high score to the next sample even though the two samples are sonically identical (both to my ear and according to the displayed waveform). To prove how inaccurate the speech recognition feature is, I deliberately mispoke a variety of words or phrases (by subtituting incorrect consonants, for example) while maintaining the general rhythm of the phrase. The sofware almost always assigned a high score to the mispoken sample.br /br /3) Customer Service is Non-Existent: Since purchasing the software, I have emailed Auralog several times with questions. I received an answer only once - two months after sending the email!br /br /My recommendation is that, if you want to learn some French, don't waste your money on this gimmicky product. Instead, invest in a few good French language books (grammar, vocabulary, and the Barron's verb book), learn the basics, and then find a French language class at your local college or university where you will have the opportunity to practice pronouncation and oral comprehension.
 Excellent product when you get it figured out.... July 25, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I almost did not get this product after reading some of the reviews, but Rosetta Stone was boring and did nothing for me. So, I gave this a try. I agree with the reviewers who say the documentation is weak. It does jump right in and can be discouraging at first. But, once I figured out how to use it, it is great. I love the way it leads you to the grammer, pronouncation and translations. I am going to have fits with verbs, but that's me.br /br /I have finished about half of "Complete Beginner" and actually feel I have it down. The various learning modules really help in and out of context. Hearing a word or phrase and having to type it out is the toughest, and most helpful, drill I have come across. The ablility to practice pronouncing words and phrases with feedback have me speaking well enough to be understood by a lovely french lady I happen to know.br /br /I recommend this product, as it is working for me. Just take your time when starting out, press "translation" to see the english portion, and click on "words" to get any word to practice it alone. It slowly builds understanding and usage at a comfortable pace. One more note. Do not get overwhelmed when looking at grammer/verbs. It gives a complete explanation and can be too much at once. Just get the part you need and move on. I promise you, you will be visiting this section a lot, over and over (at least I do). I still hate irregular verbs in any language.br /br /UPDATE Sept. 27, 2008. I have now finished "Complete Beginner" and "Beginner". I am 3/4 the way through "Intermediate". I still recommend this product. In fact, I have contacted the manufacturer to upgrade to the 10 CD version (no update available, but they gave me a discount to purchase it outright).br /br /My french is progressing at a nice pace. I have enough of it in my head to feel comfortable in getting by in France. Talking with people is so much easier then talking to the computer. I thought it would be the other way around, as the computer will use the same words over and over, but the face-to-face allows gestures, pointing, slowing down, etc. So much easier to be understood. br /br /One of the things I suggested for future releases is the ablility to slow down the computer to really hear the words. Auralog did respond to my suggestions. They commented that the reason they did not include this feature is to allow the student to hear french at a normal speaking pace. Slowing it down would be counter-productive. Well, OK. I did not think of that. It is true that I am becoming comfortable "at speed" and sometimes slow talkers (happens when they figure out you are new at it) are actually harder to understand. br /br /I am happy with my progress so far. The program does work. I have been told I have a "slight American accent" and the effort I have put into the language is noticable. I do not know if people are being nice to a beginner, but I am happy, and can be understood.br /br /
Best Language Software Out There - By Far! March 14, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
I've always wanted to learn French, and I did a lot of research before I bought a software program - I'm not made out of money, and I wanted to make sure I found the very best program available. I looked at Rosetta Stone and a couple others, and none of them could compare with this Tell Me More product. It is by far the best. They have cultural components and grammar that Rosetta Stone just doesn't have, and the speech recognition part of it is the best yet. (I tried Rosetta Stone's speech recognition at a kiosk - Tell Me More is light-years better.) It's definitely the best package ever, at least for French. Definitely recommended!
Great French program February 26, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I had purchased the TELL ME MORE Spanish product and really liked it. The diversity of the activities really kept me interested and motivated. I found it more useful than any other resources I used: audio CDs, books...I am going to France for a business trip this year and wanted to learn it before going there, to be able to have conversations there. The dialogues are great as I can practice that.
Has potential but lacks many things February 19, 2008
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
This product has potential such as the ability to practice pronounciation on any word in the program's vocabulary. There are also some fun exercises to play with. However, that is the extent of what is good. The negative items include:br /br /1 - The product manual is very lacking and non-helpful.br /br /2 - The so-called tech support does not answer their phone, and I am still waiting for e-mail replies.br /br /3 - Some of the product features are not on any of the menus. I am an advanced software professional, and I could not even find some of the features it lists on the box - even after two full hours of searching.br /br /4 - The included CD's are not labeled to know which practice and vocab topics are on each CD. I had to insert each one in and write down the menu choices for the topics. It only displays the ones that are on the CD currently in the drive.br /br /5 - Their web site has incomplete pages and lacks any support forum or knowledge base. It does have a FAQ page, but it is less informative than the useless product manual.br /br /6 - The program requires the CD's to be available for it to run properly, which is unrealistic for travelling abroad. Their web site actually addressed this and claims that it is impossible to make it fully install on the hard drive (more like they don't know how to do it).br /br /Overall, save your money. If this was less than $100, then maybe it might be worth the pronounciation features. But for it's current price tag, it is a major disappointment.
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