Knowledge in bite sized pieces I am on Spanish level 5 and have learned the imperfect verb tense from this program. They give the conditions under which the imperfect is used in bite sized pieces with one condition per lesson. I am pleased with how my knowledge has grown. Due to the extensive reviews and interactivity I find that I am retaining what I learn better than I have with other methods of learning such as reading textbooks. I only wish there were more levels.

fluenz I have tried Rosetta Stone and French in Action. I feel I am learning quicker with Fluenz. My only criticism is the DVD doesn't give one enough time to think of the reply in French before the answer is given and sometimes I can't understand what is being said.

Good program, minor issues. As a beginner, I found the Spanish program difficult to use during the listening and typing sessions. Words often blend together, are rushed, and generally don't make a lot of sense. With the new program, I am not able to report feedback on individual lessons, which doesn't help. At least when I could report on issues I *hoped* they would get resolved. Additionally, I ran into issues with my Mac headset. System requirements are vague and not well thought out. Luckily, the online version of the program sufficed until the issue was resolved (Not resolved by Fluenz tech support.) Otherwise, I do really enjoy the teaching style of the program. The lessons, reviews, spoken reviews, etc have been terrific, and help me understand things mor comprehensively. As a past Rosetta Stone customer, this is by far a much better program.

Useful but tedious Fluenz French has been useful, however, I find the lessons to be tedious. It is the same format for every lesson. I understand why they designed it this way, but I appreciate a deviation every now and then. I purchased French 1-3 and to complete 90 lessons in the same format certainly does not make me look forward to the experience. In addition, some key conversational vocabulary is missing. For instance, I am almost finished with French 2, and I have yet to learn the vocab for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yet I do know how to conjugate the verbs for I want, I must, I need and I would like. It seems like their prioritization is off. I am having to rely on other resources to teach me basic conversational phrases. I think the greatest enhancement to this program would be more focus on useful vocab and less on similar verbs and complex sentence structures that may never be used in a simple trip to France.

Trouble with Spoken Portions of Sessions in French 3 I just started French 3 and I'm having a lot of trouble understanding the spoken portions of the sessions. I understand this may be what we will hear when listening to native speakers, but it's almost impossible to get through a session. I went through 1 and 2 with very little trouble and I can understand what I learned from them when listening to any source of material. I watch and listen to videos on the web for listening practice.