Fluenz Spanish 1+2 Learning Suite Mac, Including DVDs, Audio CDs, Podcasts, and Fluenz Navigator. Next-Generation Spanish Language Learning Software
Fluenz is a software company founded by a group of passionate language learners who felt there had to be a better way. We believe in the power of one-on-one tutoring, so our technology is geared towards bringing real life instruction to the computer. In our Spanish application, language tutor Sonia Gil guides you throughout the program, blending full motion video explanations in English with a series of highly engaging workouts, helping you to understand and speak relevant Spanish. The Fluenz system follows three clear principles: 1) We learn best when we have a teacher. It’s often difficult to motivate yourself to learn on your own. By bringing a tutor to the computer, we explain all concepts in a sensible way and you don’t have to tackle Spanish all by yourself. 2) It’s easier to learn Spanish by starting out in English. Contrary to what you might think, Spanish is a tough langauge to learn and we are able to progress much faster by leveraging our knowledge of English to help us learn Spanish. In fact, modern linguistics tells us that as adults, we need to use the tools of the language we already know and apply them to learning a new language. With Fluenz, you learn first in English and relate basic Spanish grammar and syntax to that of English, rather than trying to understand Spanish grammar with Spanish logic. 3) It’s best to learn the most relevant words in Spanish right away. You need to start learning the words and structures that will allow you to communicate the most in the least amount of time, taking into consideration which words are easier to remember for English speakers, which expressions make the most logical sense to us, and which are most useful–”cell phone” instead of “red apple.” Being able to communicate right away in simple ways requires relevant learning. And, with 13 types of workouts covering verbal expression and comprehension, as well as reading and writing, you practice and internalize what you learn in the video lessons.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Excellent prep for a trip to Mexico!
My husband and I just returned from a 10-day trip to Mexico, and we barely even opened our phrasebook thanks to this wonderful software!
In the three months prior to the trip I did 45 lessons total from Fluenz Spanish 1 & 2 (I completed all of DVD 1 and half of DVD 2) on my Macbook laptop, and my husband did about 6 lessons from DVD 1. Once there, we were easily and confidently able to take taxis, order food and drinks at restaurants, make hotel reservations and check into hotels, go shopping, buy bus tickets and take intercity busses, and more–all practical topics which are thoroughly covered in the Fluenz lessons.
What’s more, I even had some actual conversations with locals, talking about who I am, what I do for work, a previous trip to Mexico (past tense lessons came in handy, there!) and so forth. Plus I read local newspapers, wrote postcards to Spanish-speaking friends and understood a good portion of the movies that were playing with Spanish dubbing on the intercity bus rides.
Fluenz is a very sneaky piece of software–sometimes the lessons feel slow and basic, and you worry you’re not learning fast enough. Then you realize that you have actually internalized the vocabulary and structures so thoroughly that the words and phrases come naturally!
The format is excellent–instead of being stuck just doing writing or reading (as with books) or just with listening with no idea how words are spelled (as in Pimsleur-type programs) or just with uncontextualized vocab (as in Rosetta Stone), you get it all–practice listening, understanding, pronouncing, reading, writing, plus indepth video explanations from the program’s language tutor. Plus, it’s just plain fun to use (and the nice graphic design and modern look doesn’t hurt, either).
Nothing can substitute for a real-life class, but the tutor-driven format of Fluenz is as close to a real-life class as it gets, and it has two big advantages over a class: first, price (since it’s a DVD, both my husband and I could share it) and second, pacing/flexibility. On busy weeks I did only one or two lessons, but when I had more spare time (like when I was stuck home with a broken foot) I did a lesson each day. And I didn’t have to worry about being at a class at a certain time each week.
I should note that we didn’t use the Fluenz DVDs completely alone–I supplemented the lessons by watching favorite DVDs with the Spanish-language tracks turned on, by reading local New York City Spanish-language newspapers and Spanish-language children’s books, and by doing some of the written exercises from the excellent book Colloquial Spanish of Latin America: The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series (Book Only)). But I think that’s a good idea with any language-learning program. And I definitely got my main base of understanding–and especially of pronouncing and speaking!–from the excellent lessons and practice I got with Fluenz.
Fluenz also has really excellent and fast customer service–one of my DVDs didn’t work right in my computer and they immediately sent a replacement.
My only suggestions to improvements in the software would be: 1. Changing it so it’s not tethered to the DVD itself (I just get nervous because DVDs are so easily scratched and damaged), 2. Adding a way to track progress or record progress and 3. Adding more levels (like level 3).
But those are small things! In sum, I highly recommend this software–and I’m planning on buying the Fluenz French 1+2 Learning Suite Mac, Including DVDs, Audio CDs, Podcasts, and Fluenz Navigator. Next-Generation French Language Learning Software set to prepare for a upcoming trip to France.
5 Stars Your favorite class
Refreshing!
Some young smart people have got together and spent a lot of time and effort solving a problem in a unique and creative way. The result - an enjoyable, engaging, relevant, learning experience. We all do best when we liked the teacher. A teacher that explained things clearly, talks to you like an adult, enjoys teaching, and gives homework that once you have completed you feel you had learnt something, rather than just being able to say “I’ve done my homework”. These guys have done it with this product; bought the teacher back into the classroom with all kinds of interesting “workouts”. You will look forward to these classes.
I left college nearly thirty years ago and recently started searching for a way to learn Spanish that acknowledges this. I appreciate we all have different learning stlyes and preferences. To me this product represents my cornerstone for learning Spanish and will enable me to speak to my wonderful wife in her first language (she know 4 so I can at least get to 2!). I’m looking forward to Fluenz-3.
To the authors - “Well done”, and keep it going.
4 Stars Pretty good, but…
I’ve made it through lesson 24 of Spanish I so far. I have comments on three areas.
1) The learning method. It’s really terrific. The way Fluenz combines listening, speaking, writing and reading really reinforces the learning process. I’ve done quite a bit of computer based training and this may be the best I’ve ever used. It’s visually pleasing to watch, the format helps you learn quickly, and what you learn is reinforced and expanded on as you go. It’s sentence/vocabulary based, similar to Pimsueler, but with Pimsueler you only hear the sentences. Here you listen to them. You see them written. You practice writing them. You practice speaking them and playing back what you speak.
2) Customer Support. Terrific again. In addition to the 800 number, there is an on-line chat system to get get help. Customer Support will answer both language and technical questions. Have a problem with the media. A new one is on the way immediately. Have a question about how the Spanish is used. An answer is available now.
3) The application itself. Not so good here. While the look and feel of the application is pretty stunning, it’s not very stable (at least in my case). The application usually crashes once or twice per session. It’s not horrible, but it is a pain. It requires restarting the app and manually navigating back to where it died at. I purchased the Mac version. Customer Service attempted to resolve the crashing problem, but couldn’t. I asked if I could try the Windows version. Fluenz sent it out immediately, but it wasn’t any more stable, so I went back to the mac. It appears to be an issue with the Adobe Director software that Fluenz is built on. This isn’t a show stopper for me since I can restart the app, go back to where it crashed and continue, but it is irritating.
Would I purchase it again? Yes. I just wish it was more stable. Even with the instability, I give it 4 stars. If the application was stable, I would have given it 5+ stars.
5 Stars Best Product for learning Spanish!
I’ve tried all sort of books, audio disks, etc. and this product is the one I have stuck with. The lessons really help you memorize words inside sentences, and help you understand spoken Spanish. There is a lot of repetition in the exercises and plenty of exercises so you learn a little with each lesson, but over the lessons you really get good. This makes the process very exciting. I listen to a Spanish radio station (to try to get better) and after each lesson I actually hear and understand new words on the radio. I even know the spelling and accent marks for the new words.
If these people create a level 3 or beyond, I am buying it instantly! I am nearly done with lesson 2 and will be needing another high quality product so I can continue learning.
The software is also very simple, runs off the disk so no need to worry about license keys, etc. It is very interactive, and has great 10 minute instructor talks before each workout. I really wish they produced more of these!
4 Stars I wish it wasn’t so expensive
I bought this for my 7th grade daughter, who was struggling with the speaking portion of her Spanish I class. She enjoys using Fluenz, and it has given her the confidence she needs to speak up in class and feel comfortable with Spanish. She’s even dreaming in Spanish now! 7th grade is too late for most kids to start learning a new language, so if language classes were offered in elementary school I wouldn’t have to be paying for this software.
Filed under: Learn Spanish Software Reviews