REVIEW OF ECOURSES FOR ESL: Language
Courses (E-Courses and CD/DVD Courses)
Top E-Courses (in order of best reviews):
Livemocha http://www.livemocha.com
The top choice.
Online speaking forum.
High value for money.
Rocket Languages http://www.rocketlanguages.com/
Some courses are online, some are not
Not a stand-alone language course
TOTALe (Rosetta Stone) http://totale.rosettastone.com/sign_in)
Online
High-tech
State-of-the-art Has a live lesson area.
Not fully developed/exploited.
Expensive.
Busuu http://www.busuu.com/
Fun, social-networking aspect
Reviews say it is average.
Mango Languages http://www.mangolanguages.com/government/
Powerpoint learning.
No instructional components.
TOTALe (Rosetta Stone) https://totale.rosettastone.com/sign_in
24 languages
This is an expensive and not up-to-date tech product as of yet. There are two features- Rosetta Studio, which is a live lesson area,
and Rosetta World, which matches the language learner to a native speaker.
Reviews:
http://learn-english-review.toptenreviews.com/rosettastone-totale-review.html
http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/rosetta-stone
Rocket Languages http://www.rocketlanguages.com/home.php
11 languages
This company offers some courses online, others are not as of yet. It cannot be a stand-alone language course.
This is a link specifically for the German online Rocket program:
http://learn-german-review.toptenreviews.com/rocket-german-review.html
Livemocha- http://livemocha.com/
35 languages
Live Mocha is the best of the bunch. There is an online forum for speakers to practice, a lot of participation, and is a much
better value than TOTALe for essentially the same program. Website claims USG employees use this.
Review: http://learn-english-review.toptenreviews.com/livemocha-review.html
Busuu Languages http://www.busuu.com/enc/
English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian
Busuu Languages offer a great social climate and fun activities to learn vocabulary, interact with others and test your language skills.
It is somewhat weak in Grammar. According to reviews, it marks as average.
Mango Languages http://www.mangolanguages.com/government/
11 languages
From what I can gather, this is a program with a video-type powerpoint in different languages. It doesn’t seem to have much of an
instruction component.
Review: http://www.cnet.com/news/mango-offers-language-learning-online/
This one is not developed enough for it to be of use for the USG.
CD/DVD Rom Programs (Other than Rosetta Stone)
- Tell me More Premium and Talk Now! http://www.rosettastone.com/?redir=tellmemore.com
Tell Me More- 9 common languages, Talk Now 110 uncommon languages
Tell me More boasts 850 hours of instruction and 4,500 exercises. It uses a graphic intonation tool that users like. However, it is not the best for rank beginners and there are some navigation difficulties. It was rated #1 overall language learning software according to Consumer Search.
This is similar to Rosetta Stone but significantly cheaper.
Talk Now! Program is by the same people. Reports say that the software targets a learner’s weak areas, there is speech recognition and voice recording, it is fun to use. However, it is very basic and does not lead to fluency. There is a lack of activities and very little focus on grammar. It was rated #1 by Consumer Search for lesser-known languages.
Side-note- I have this for Serbian and for French and they have helped me a lot.
Reviews
http://www.consumersearch.com/computers-and-internet
- Fluenz http://fluenz.com/
4 languages
Fluenz is a course on 2 DVD-Roms and 2 Audio CDs, There are two levels with 30 lessons each. It boasts a classroom-style learning environment with a tutor. Some reviews say it is better than Rosetta Stone. Reviews: http://www.effectivelanguagelearning.com/language-course-reviews/fluenz-review http://fluenz.com/
http://learn-spanish-software-review.toptenreviews.com/fluenz-review.html
- Learn to Speak http://www.elanguage.com/
4 languages for DVD, others for audio
Learn to Speak comes on 1 DVD and 3 audio CDs. It offers a lot of material for cheap. The material isn’t
very effective, lessons are brief, and the program is aimed for tourists.
Reviews: http://www.effectivelanguagelearning.com/language-course-reviews/learn-to-speak-review
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,63579,00.asp
- Instant Immersion http://www.topics-ent.com/software/language/
7 languages
Instant Immersion has a DVD and 5 audio CDs
Instant Immersion is similar to Rosetta Stone but very cheap. Very little structure and is considered not effective. I have this program at home for Spanish and I’m finding it a useful way to brush up my skills from time to time. I wouldn’t use it to learn a new language, however.
Reviews: http://www.effectivelanguagelearning.com/language-course-reviews/instant-immersion- review
http://www.thereviewjury.com/Language-Learning-Software/instantimmersionreview.html
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,63597,00.asp
