Great introduction to a language I used Fluenz for their Spanish program. I bought all levels 1-5. The video instruction is very interested and engaging. Sonia is a good teacher and keeps your interest. The exercises can get repetitive though. Sometimes you are working with the same sentences over and over again, so some more variety would be nice. The program teaches "thrifty" vocabulary that be used in a variety of contexts. This program is a great introduction for someone to self study. For best results, pair this program with real-life practice with a native speaker. I also started watching a Spanish soap opera to increase my immersion into Spanish. Overall, great product and is worth the premium price tag!

Did not work well in China online I tried to use Learn Mandarin in China, specifically Qindao and had both performance problems and an inability to set it up to learn Chinese characters. Now that I'm back in the US, I'll try again, but it was sure a let down not to be able to use the learning while I was in China for 2 months.

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.

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!

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.