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.

Great, real world language learning tool I had thought about purchasing other language "learn at your own pace" software for Italian for a few years. I finally decided to go ahead and buy one and stumbled upon Fluenz. I had never heard of it prior to this and was about to buy Rosetta Stone since I had their free demo. Fluenz, had a different approach, however, which was to teach conversational Italian - words, phrases, etc. which would be used in the real world. All the lessons are presented in an interesting way with explanations of why words and phrases are used. I decided I'd buy it and I'm extremely pleased with the teaching approach. It teaches you the language in a way you can use almost immediately with phrases which you will use on a trip to Italy - what you learn is everyday speaking. Definitely would recommend!

My Story I have been working through the program for about 3 months. I have found it very user friendly and appropriate for my level (beginner). I enjoy the interactive approach. I plan to visit Mexico again in the relatively near future and hope by then to be able to make myself understood in most everyday activities.

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.