Tell Me More French Reviewer's Comments

Learning French is as easy as finding the Eiffel Tower with our “TopTenREVIEWS Gold Award” winner, Tell Me More. Tell Me More brings together a wide variety of features and teaching tools to offer a comprehensive French course that can take you from beginner to advanced levels. The Tell Me More curriculum is highly customizable, so you can learn how you want to or you can follow the prescribed course lessons.

Among other things, Tell Me More excels in teaching pronunciation because of its extensive speech recognition system. Besides evaluating the way to say a word, Tell Me More has 3D representations of how basic sounds are formed and many sound files of native speakers to guide you.

Tell Me More also has one of the best systems for evaluating your progress in the language and practicing what you have learned. Tell Me More offers this through online testing services and an online chat service that allows you to chat with French experts. Add MP3 player compatibility and useful customer support to this broad range of features and tools and Tell Me More easily takes the lead in our review.

Tell Me More French Screenshots. Click for more
       


Features:  

Tell Me More has a useful summary page that helps you track your progress and identify areas where you are weak. Tell Me More is also has one of the most customizable curriculums we have seen. You can choose to follow a set series of lessons, you can choose to have the computer recommend lessons based on your performance, or you can throw structure to the wind and roam freely among the various lessons.

One of the most useful features is the ability to take Tell Me More lessons with you on a mobile device, like your MP3 player, meaning you can continue learning French even when you are away from your computer.

Fundamentals:  

There are specific lessons and activities in Tell Me More that focus on reading, writing, vocabulary and grammar, though there are also exercises that incorporate all aspects of learning a language. There are sound files of thousands of words to help with listening comprehension as well. Several activities allow you to practice your French in a conversational setting.

Tell Me More strives hard to teach correct pronunciation. There is a speech recognition system dedicated to teaching you how to say basic sounds and then evaluate your pronunciation of them.

Ease of Use:  

Tell Me More falters a little when it comes to ease of use. Some of the icons are almost transparent when the mouse isn’t hovering over them, meaning that you might not even know they are there. Sometimes it is hard to understand what some menu options mean, too.

The biggest problem is that the lesson difficulty is pretty steep at the beginner’s level. The program asks you to do crossword puzzles and word finds without ever teaching you any words first. These word puzzles might be useful for reviewing and reinforcing vocabulary but not for teaching it. 

Teaching Tools:  

Tell Me More uses picture-word association along with many different word recognition activities to help you master vocabulary. Grammar and culture lessons are taught in a more traditional textbook fashion. One of Tell Me More’s strongest tools is the speech recognition system. While it can be a little finicky at times, occasionally giving false feedback or missing sounds, the speech recognition system is a great way to practice and evaluate your pronunciation.

Tell Me More also offers online help for learners. You can take tests online to gauge your fluency and chat with language experts to help you practice conversation skills and answer questions.

Word Tools:  

Tell Me More has the ability to translate words in exercises if you get stuck, but there is also a glossary that contains French words used during the lessons.

Tech Support/Help:  

Auralog, the manufacturer of Tell Me More, has several avenues for finding information or solving problems. You can contact the company through phone or email, and the user guide can answer problems with setup. The Tell Me More website also has a useful tutorial. However, we weren’t able to find a FAQ even though the user manual claimed there was one on the website.

Summary:  

Tell Me More has so many great features and teaching methods that it can’t be beat. Tell Me More is a complete French course that can accommodate any learning style.