Tell Me More German Performance Version 9 (10 Levels) [OLD VERSION]

I enjoy learning new things not related to work. I decided to try to pick up a language after basically failing Latin and French back in Junior High and High School (back in the 70's). It was Rosetta Stone that got me interested but before I purchased it I decided to look for other suggestions.I found some references to Tell Me More! around the web and decided I'd try this instead of Rosetta. I couldn't compare one to the other but I have been very pleased with Tell Me More!At first it was a bit difficult to get started. I first took a look at the User Manual. I was a little confused about activation and found out it wasn't necessary as I had bought the full product.I then went to the Activity Guide and I took one of the statements there a little too seriously. In the AG it says "It is not necessary to read this guide in its entirety before beginning your training. You can refer to it at any time by simply referring to the relevant sections." So I dove in. Big mistake. I suggest reading the Activity Guide through at least once. Otherwise you'll have no clue what Tell Me More! is trying to teach you. Once I got through the AG things really started picking up.Another issue I have is the screen resolution requirements. I run a much higher resolution than required. Unfortunately, this cuts off the ends of some words. I either live with it or change my screen resolution when running the program (which is kind of a pain).Finally, I've never been able to reach Live Help. Not a big deal though I would like to ask them about the screen resolution issue.Other than those minor issues, I have learned tons - or at least a lot more about German than I ever knew before. I really enjoy going to the computer and spending an hour in the evenings going through the dialogs and activities. I particularly find the feature where it rates me on my pronunciation helpful. I've thrown in a few glitches in my pronunciation on purpose and noticed the program would rate me very low. It isn't easy to fool.I use an mp3 player at work. Tell Me More! allows me to save .wav files of dialogs to play back while at work. This has helped tremendously. To a certain extent I'm memorizing the dialogs but listening to native speakers has been a great help in really absorbing the language. A friend of mine at work throws some phrases at me and I can actually understand the words enough to spell them and work out what he's saying.I can't wait to get further along in the lessons. Right now I'm fairly comfortable at reading some very simple German Readers and I'm still working through Lesson 1. I have to use a dictionary to help with the translation but I'm surprised at how much I've already picked up.As I said, I'm doing this for fun and with nothing really to lose. The program is written well enough and challenges me enough to keep me very interested in progressing. I highly recommend Tell Me More! German and would guess the other languages are at least as good. Have fun!

This is the most comprehensive German language software I have used, and, for me, its definitely a '5'. I've used Rosetta Stone (ver 3, levels 1-3) and Rocket German (basic and More Rocket German packages, and they are excellent in their own right, but this package has it all. [Edit comment: After several months of use now, I still think this is a great product, my German skills have improved considerably, and I have to reject the negative comments more strongly than I did initially.]I suspect some of the negative reviews may stem from there being so much here that it takes some exploration to find and use everything. A new user should definitely watch the tutorial and at least browse through the manual. Then get going, and click on the buttons to see what a wealth of material is there. There are lots of customization options available.So, what's to like? A whole lot .... There is -- a test you can take to establish your level of learning so you can start at an appropriate level. There are 3learning modes -- free style, guided, and dynamic that you can choose (and switch between) that determines how the program presents lessons to you. You can set you goals (written, oral, combination)so the program tailors the presentation to your goal. Need to understand the grammar behind an exercise or see a translation of an unfamiliar phrase or word? Click a button to bring up that info. Want to study a vocabulary list before you try the exercises? It's there too. In fact, there are materials that cover culture, grammar, and geography outside the exercises, including printable vocabulary and grammar materials. You can download audio lessons to your iPod or other mp3 device to listen to on the go.There is a variety of exercises -- speaking and listening, writing and reading, grammar, vocabulary and culture using audio, video, crosswords, fill in the blanks, matching, unscramble the sentences and other exercises. You get feedback right away, and you can even "give up" and see the answer if necessary. When speaking, the program displays graphs that let you compare your timing and pitch versus the native speaker, and a bar graph that shows how close you are. I have not found it that difficult and like the extensive feedback it provides. You do have to click to tell the program you are done practicing a phrase -- otherwise it will keep repeating it so you can practice. This is not like Rosetta that just turns green and moves on to the next phrase automatically.I've run it on a few years old laptop (originally with Windows XP), and since Dec, a new 64 bit Windows 7 laptop and everything runs smoothly and quickly. The 10 levels are on a DVD i.e., while some components are installed on your hard drive, you still have to insert the disk to run the program).My bottom line is that this is an superb, comprehensive program that is well worth the price.

Pluses:1. With headphones and a mike you can play an active role in brief, well-acted dialogues.2. Takes you right up through advanced intermediate German.3. Hundreds of exercises.Minuses:1. Balky navigation between levels and back and forth within an exercise (especially the videos).2. Confusing maze of learning pathways.3. Impossible to go from one level to another without logging out and logging in again.4. No written scripts that can be printed out for study.5. Price.Verdict:If you are a passive learner who cannot profit from from the wealth of free exercises and free German podcasts on the Internet, AND you can afford it, this may be right for you. Otherwise, definitely not recommended.