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47 of 47 found the following review helpful:
 Fun practice but you can't really learnAug 12, 2000
I hesitated to buy this series because version 7 had such BAD reviews. They must have improved with version 8. This is great practice. Using the speaker, you get constant feedback at how well you are pronouncing the words. You can see it in various ways - your tone, accent, pitch, etc. But I must mention that this isn't for the absolute beginner. You don't actually learn proper sentence structure, etc. YOu MUST first take a class or learn through the various language tapes. I had taken a semester of Italian in college and prior to that briefly skimmed the Living Language Audio cassettes. The software is simply a tool to PRACTICE what you've learned.There are a variety of lessons: 1) a video dialogue; 2)Conversation phrases; 3) Fundamental Italian; & 4) Survival Phrases. But they really lack in organization. Don't bother going to their HELP menu. It's generic. It isn't unique to the language you choose. It's the standard throughout the entire series. I know there is a grammer help somewhere. But again, because it isn't at all organized, I can't find it again. Don't bother with the button "Getting Started." IT doesn't lead you to a nice step-by-step guide. But I still recommend it for those who've at least learned the language elsewhere. I tried the French one- which just proves my point. My knowledge of French is less then what I know of Italian. I was lost, because I really didn't know it. But at least I can HEAR if I can pronounce the words.
37 of 37 found the following review helpful:
 Italian Now! 8.0 by Transparent Language NOT!Oct 26, 2000
While this program appears to be a great program, it actually is not user friendly. It does not include any instructions, other than how to install the discs. It does not tell you how to set up the microphone or how to use it (the program or the microphone). When I ordered this I was very excited by the description on the box, but I was at a lost on how to operate it. As a professional opera singer, I bought this software to increase my fluency in Italian. I am very computer literate and also have taken Italian classes in the past, but felt I wasted money on this program.
10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
still non capisco l'italiano...Sep 16, 2001
....The software itself has not seen much action because everytime I try to use it, I get terribly bored. It is not too encompassing for a beginner. Perhaps with some knowledge of Italian the program would be of more use (?). The phrases that you begin with are not really relevant nor are they interesting and I find that I am still looking for that "right" software that will hold my hand through the basics.
15 of 17 found the following review helpful:
 PARA ITALIANO?May 11, 2001
....There were no instructions, and not a lot of guidance for a new speaker. It flew right into speaking sentences after the alphabet, you should have some decoding skills to use it. Ex. La settimana ha siette giorno. Abbiamo due settimana de vacanza a Natalia. (There are seven days in a week) (We have two weeks of vacation at christmas) Decode from there. The games were hard to play and the difficulty level increases sharply. It does it's job, but only recommended for beginners with a bit of background. Not much to teach grammar wise unless you can sit and read a sixty page document for beginners.....
18 of 22 found the following review helpful:
 Eccellente!Jun 19, 2000
By Kevin G. Glazebrook
What a great way to learn a new language! I've had the product only 3 days and I am already speaking Italian! not great Italian, but nonetheless Italian! Transparent takes a different approach to teaching a foreign language. By immersing you in Italian dialog, survival phrases and games, you pick up the language very quickly. Perhaps the only downfall was the inability to lookup English words in Italian. However, this does NOT detract from the outstanding presentation! Buono lavoro Trasparente!
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based on 12 reviews
