Fluenz Mandarin 1+2 for Windows

User Reviews

• Good product but no native speaker

  Sara_MikeJune 18, 2008

  Pros

  The multimedia features are very good

  Cons

  The speaker is not native Chinese (but has very good pronunciation)

  Summary

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• thank u fluenz

  sai srinivasJuly 9, 2007

  Pros

  u gave free acess so that every one can develop there english

  Cons

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• Non-threatening and fun, great for all ages

  yujieterrallJuly 4, 2007

  Pros

  I've lived in China for 4 years and I've never seen anything that does such a good job of making learning Chinese fun and non-threatening. Everyone in my family from my little sister to my mom enjoyed it. They liked it so much that they were telling other people how great it was.

  Cons

  I would like to see a level 2 and even 3. I've mastered survival Chinese, but I would love a program that would help me progress farther. Also, the writing exercises were boring and slow, even for someone who is very familiar with pinyin.

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• Best language learning software/course EVER!!

  bonvillainMay 16, 2007

  Pros

  So I wanted to learn Mandarin and proceeded to get a little dictionary (useful now that i can speak some), the Pimsleur Method and Rosetta. Without going deeply into why I disliked the last two solutions on my list, as soon as I finished the demo lesson I downloaded of Fluenz I had an email into them that night and begged them to get a copy to me by Friday (before the weekend) so that I could dig into the course. I am on lesson 14 now and still love it and have learned more in a much shorter time than with either of the other methods...and more importantly retained it and find myself thinking of sentences using the verbs and such that I have been learning. The workouts are engaging (albeit frustrating at times ;-)) and the instructor led portions are crucial for understanding the dialog in a way that breaks it down to where you arent just understanding what was said, but how to use that information in other ways. I can't wait to finish this course and I am hoping they are working on an advanced course for people that have finished this one. <p>(am thinking that once I finish lesson 15 Ill go back and do the first 15 again, just to reinforce)...either way, this software rocks, I love it.

  Cons

  the version 1.0 has a few small bugs in it, but i just got 1.1 in the mail today, so maybe they have fixed those things. Small stuff really - like when you are typing in the phrase or whatever (in pinyin) and you are using the same accented character twice successively, you have to cursor over to the input field again, click on the end of the word you are working on and then insert the new character - otherwise for some reason if you are doing it the way it normally (and is supposed to work) the repeated character inserts right next to the previous instance of it (say a dropping/rising O for instance). <p> <p>Other than a couple small things like that (which are easy enough to fix with a couple of code tweaks), its outstanding.

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• Very helpful and engaging

  biewenMay 8, 2007

  Pros

  Fluenz Mandarin is an awesome piece of software. I always found language classes in school to be simply tortuous (whether middle school, high school, or even college), but Fluenz combines extremely effective techniques with a surprisingly engaging and immersive interface. The language instruction is highly personalized through the use of a full-motion video instructor who clearly lays out the foundations of each lesson. The various reading, writing, and speaking (you check your pronunciation--especially critical when it comes to Mandarin--by listening to recordings of your own voice!) exercises ensure that, by the end of each lesson, you have fully internalized the critical material that was presented. <p> <p>I highly recommend this product for anyone interested in achieving a meaningful grasp of Mandarin, not to mention those looking to establish a foundation from which to pursue more advanced study. The product's presentation of the material is simply unequaled in the field and makes consistent dedication to the lessons as easy as one could possibly hope for.

  Cons

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• Relevant and effective

  rhammersteinFebruary 10, 2007

  Pros

  I just got back from a trip to China, and I found Fluenz invaluable for my preparation - it focused on the language I needed, there was a wide variety of exercises, and the presentation was superb.

  Cons

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