Tell Me More Homeschool foreign language courses (Auralog) [computer programs]

Auralog, Inc.

Tell Me More language learning programs focus upon conversational mastery through their use of multimedia learning methods. Programs are designed by European authors to meet the needs of education, business, and consumer markets.so they include dialogue and vocabulary from a broad range of situations. Programs are available for Spanish, French, Italian, German, and English. Programs in a slightly different format are also available for Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, and Japanese. I reviewed the Homeschool Spanish course for this review.

Homeschool Versions of the Complete Courses for each of the five languages I listed first are configured similarly with five CDs: four to run as computer programs/lessons, and a fifth that’s strictly for audio practice. The first CD, called Complete Beginner, contains installation files plus “beginner level lessons.” The three other program CDs are labeled for beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Arabic is arranged differently but also covers four levels.

These packages do not correspond to typical high school level courses, although they do arrange content by topic as do many textbooks, i.e., greetings, numbers and the alphabet, animals, adjectives, food, entertainment, etc. While the publisher says that each level corresponds to one year or more of learning the language, I would consider the entire Complete Beginner program closer to the equivalency of three years of language study.

I place “beginner” level lessons in quotes above for an important reason. The Complete Beginner level assumes the student’s familiarity with rudiments of pronunciation, grammatical structure, and some vocabulary, so it fits well as a supplement beginning with the second semester of a typical first-year Spanish course. You will need another resource for introductory level material since Tell Me More will be too difficult for a first semester student unfamiliar with the language. (If a student has already been exposed to Spanish and is comfortable with the immersion method, he could use TeLL me More without previous formal study.)

From that point, you might be able to use Tell Me More as your primary or only resource for second and third year courses. There are over 950 hours of learning, in the complete program for Spanish!

The level of difficulty increases from level to level, but a student might skip around some, using lessons that correspond with vocabulary and topics covered in a textbook or another course. Grammatical concepts are also covered but not as intensively as in traditional courses.

What I really like about this program is the fantastic variety and flexibility of multi-media activities. The program tracks individual student progress. It can be set to “guided” mode (by pushing a single button) so the student is directed to follow a certain progression. Even then, the student can still choose to work with a lesson (or any part of a lesson) out of sequence.

The program can also be set for “free roaming” which is just like it sounds—the student can go anywhere he or she chooses. However, I think, initially, most students would be overwhelmed with the choices. Note that there is an activity guide included that explains all these choices, as well as a quick-start guide.

Just a few of the activity choices—there are up to 37 for each lesson--are picture/word association, vocabulary matching, pronunciation practice (with feedback), crossword puzzles (great for vocabulary drill), dialogues where the student actually participates with a microphone and headphones, grammar explanations, writing from dictation (feedback provided), and video clips with comprehension questions. The variety should motivate students to work on language study far more than most programs that use only a few types of activities. A grid shows student progress at a glance.

In addition to the “guided” and “free-to-roam” modes, there is a third option, “dynamic mode.” Dynamic mode is best for someone who already has significant knowledge of the language. It allows the student to set learning objectives, then selects activities according to those objectives as well as according to the student’s performance on activities as he or she progresses. The dynamic Mode evaluates your progress as you work and adjusts your activities based on the results of previous exercises just as a teacher would. Students can switch between modes at just about any time they wish so this isn’t an irrevocable decision. When they do this no prior information is lost, so switching won’t inhibit tracking

Another option that might interest some learners is the total immersion approach. The language in which instruction and directions are presented can be set to Spanish rather than English. I don’t recommend this for any but advanced students.

All activities have helps of some sort—e.g., definitions of words show when the mouse is placed on the Spanish words, and a check feature “circles” incorrect letters in crossword puzzles but allows the student to make changes and continue working. Correct and incorrect answers are shown so students can easily figure out what they missed.

Grammar instruction and vocabulary lists are included so this is not strictly a conversational program like so many other computer-based language programs. Students also are required to type in answers on the computer for some exercises so they get actual writing practice that includes writing complete sentences. Foreign letters are included in a box on the screen so students can simply select them rather than having to figure out how to create those letters on their own keyboard.

The fifth CD is intended for drill and practice, and it will play on any CD player. Audio files of TeLL me More can also be exported onto your hard drive, and then burned to another disk, or exported to a MP3 player. Students listen, repeat, and sometimes write in response to the CD. Some of the vocabulary practice is very elementary on this CD, but the instruction is entirely in Spanish, and it is spoken at both a speed and level too advanced for the intended students. Also, an occasional Castilian Spanish accent/pronunciation is sometimes confusing. (Note: The TeLL me More software includes both Latin American Spanish and Castilian Spanish.) The audio CD is not a critical part of the course so you can skip it if it doesn’t seem useful.

A special feature for homeschoolers is a link to a website where the entire content of the lessons is provided in PDF files. There are versions of these files both with and without answers that you can print out. Some of the lesson content is for spoken exercises, vocabulary practice and other exercises that don’t require written answers. In those cases, the material is useful only for your reference. Other exercises can actually be handed to students for review and practice work. The amount of writing required is likely still less than that of a traditional textbook course, but it is significant compared to other computer-based courses. Keep in mind that it is duplicating what is already presented on the computer.

There are a few negative points as far as the overall program. The vocabulary and instruction for all the language courses seem to lean more toward adults than high school students, even though the publisher says courses are designed for ages 11 and up. Some of the navigation is a little tricky. In my opinion, icons are not easy to interpret, and while there are onscreen instructions for each activity, they are sometimes a little confusing or incomplete. Still, it only takes a little trial and error to figure out how to proceed through an activity. The quick start guide and detailed user manual might be helpful if you have any trouble.

In addition, some dialogue lines in the Spanish program are spoken so rapidly that they are almost impossible for a student who has not heard much Spanish to decipher—just as real-life spoken Spanish is very difficult for beginners to decipher. This problem doesn’t occur very often, but it’s frustrating when it does.

On the plus side, the voice recognition feature works quite well (much improved from earlier versions of this program I had reviewed). Some pronunciation activities have graphs indicating how close to the accurate pronunciation is achieved each time. Also, separate phonetic exercises show 3D animations of how sounds are articulated by the mouth so students can work on proper enunciation. This should be especially helpful for students who struggle getting pronunciations correct.

Overall, I expect these programs will make valuable supplements for language study, especially for students working independently. They provide opportunity for conversational practice with feedback and evaluation, a key to developing the ability to actually speak the language.

These programs run on Windows 95 and higher systems with at least 64 MB RAM and a sound card. Microphone and head set come with the complete program, but you can use speakers and a separate microphone instead of the headset if you prefer.