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Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Review–Tell Me More Chinese (& Giveaway)

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TELL ME MORE Chinese  Language Software
I am always on the look out for Chinese Language Programs for my kids and I stumbled upon this company.  I asked around about Tell Me More and heard good things…so I decided to try for myself.
The Tell Me More programs are geared towards older children (about age 11) through adults.  The programs deal with grammar/verb conjugation and writing, which could prove above the learning level of younger kids.
The disc based program must be operated on a Windows OS, it comes with the program discs, an instruction manual and a microphone headset. 
The headset may need an adapter for newer computers (my newer laptop only has one plug in for the microphone/headphones and you need one with two plugs, but adapters are available for a decent price).  You NEED the headset/microphone to use this program.  I tried it without it, but because it has speech recognition, it would pick up every little back ground noise.  So the headset is a MUST.
After I got the headset situation working (I just used my older laptop).  I still had some difficulty with the voice recognition….so I decided to look around the software a bit more and discovered you can adjust the sensitivity of the software which helped out GREATLY!  At first it only recognized a few words I repeated which was VERY FRUSTRATING.  After adjusting it, I was on a roll!
My husband (who is a linguist by profession) was impressed that the software used sound graphics (not sure what the technical term is) that showed you your voice tones when you speak in comparison to how they should be (what they are when the computer speaks).  This is very important, in Chinese especially because it is a language of tones, having the wrong tone can change the meaning of the word.
When it comes to a program like this, you must remember, you get out of it what you put into it!  I have not been very disciplined about using it on a normal basis, obviously if I want to really learn the language I need to be more disciplined. 
As far as language learning programs go, I really like how this program has the voice recognition.  Your typical DVD’s or CD programs are nice, but you don’t ever really know if you are pronouncing back correctly what you have heard.  That is a major selling point for me.
This program is also reasonably priced, with other similar programs going for over $400, this one is a bargain at a fraction of the cost!
I previously studied Arabic, and really feel that I could have benefited from a program such as this while learning the language. 
I recommend this program to anyone that is willing to put in the time and effort it takes to learn a language!
Tell Me More has graciously offered another program to one lucky reader!  Winner gets to pick the language of their choice (from the many languages TELL ME MORE has to offer).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

25 comments:

  1. I'd love to get this for a friend. She's been looking for a good Dutch program and not many language learning software companies offers Dutch. Looks like a great option!!!

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  2. I get Spanish. We live in FL and Spanish is an important second lang. to have here.

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  3. I would choose chinese. It would make an awesome gift for my husband. And we homeschool so it would be nice for my girls in the future

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  4. I would choose chinese. It would make and awesome gift for my husband now, and we homeschool so it would be nice for my girls in the future

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  5. I can't decide if I would do French or Spanish. I wish they had Portuguese.

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  6. If I won, I would choose the Chinese version. Everyone in my house is interested in learning, so it would be a wonderful christmas gift to the entire family. And something we can all do together.

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  7. I don't know where to put that I advertised this giveaway, but here's the link to the group I posted it in
    http://www.facebook.com/groups/HomeschoolingResourcesSupportGroup/

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  8. Japanese or Spanish! I'm learning Spanish while my husband is learning Japanese, but everyone wants to learn both. There's a lot of Spanish speakers in our area so that's what I'd lean towards. :)

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  9. Japanese or Spanish. :) Whole fmaily needs to know spanish but we're fascinated by Japanese too.

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  10. I would choose Chinese and I would also love to do a review and give-a-way on my blog! We are currently living in China and are learning Chinese. My husband and my oldest attend Nanjing University and the rest of us are doing what we can at home. (Our tutor just quit because she is headed to the US for school and we can't find another one that we like... yet.)

    Anne
    www.islandschoolhouse.com

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  11. My son has been asking to learn Chinese. He can speak German and has a good understanding of Spanish. I'm excited that he wants to learn another language.

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  12. I'd refresh my Italian and have the kids learn it too

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  13. If I win I would get the Spanish . That just seems to be the in language these days. I have a blog dadofsix44.blogspot.com stop by

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  14. I would get Spanish that seems to be the language to know.

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  15. Hi Jen!

    I'd love to get the Chinese program for my daughter! It's great that Tell Me More is offering this giveaway!

    Jade
    damajade(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  16. BTW...

    Posted on my Facebook newsfeed ~ though I can't seem to get a URL for my proof. However, you could just check my FB page...lol.

    Thanks again!
    Jade

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  17. We would probably pick Spanish...

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  18. We are trying to learn spanish this year. I've experienced some set backs with my son not really saying what he is hearing even though I feel like the program we are using is very easy to pick up. This program might just be exactly what we need to help him understand his own tone and inflection. oooh...I hope I win!!!

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  19. I shared on facebook here https://www.facebook.com/aimee.jongejan#!/aimee.jongejan/posts/286686751450712

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  20. Would love to try the Spanish version

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  21. i would love the spanish for homeschoolers....wish they had latin!

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  22. Hmmm - would be a hard choice between Japanese and Chinese - maybe even Dutch

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  23. on FB: https://www.facebook.com/gidget.hsingunscripted/activity/293051260798714?og_perm_src=OPEN_GRAPH_SINGLE_STORY

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  24. Thank you very much! I hope you received my email - our Internet has been giving us problems lately and I'm sometimes not sure what did/didn't get sent. But thanks! Real blessing for this family. :D

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for leaving a comment, I love to hear from my readers!

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