Learn to Speak French 8.0

Rating:
Summary: Program Still Has Bugs
Review: I bought both the Learn To Speak French and Learn to Speak German. The German program works (version 8.0) however the FRENCH (version 8.01) DOES NOT WORK in Windows ME. After contacting the "help" desk at eLanguage.com, I was asked a series of questions.....all of which I had already answered. After answering them again and again they admitted that, yes indeed, the program version 8.01 has "problems" that they could not fix and that they've known about for some time. I was also told that the 8.0 version supposedly does work, however it was not available. Their advice was to return the product. Swell.

It appears that The Learning Company does not wish to admit that their product is faulty unless backed into a corner.... The program, does not work on Windows ME, and there is no fix for it.

I'm sure it is a wonderful program since the German version is good however, I'll never know. I am one UNSATISFIED CUSTOMER.

Rating:
Summary: Useless piece of software
Review: I did not manage to get Learn to Speak French 8.0 running on my computer. Contacting the technical support staff at The Learning Company was not helpful - the only advice they could give me was to return my software and ask for a refund... I took me about 6 hours of installation and re-installation, including a new, clean installation of Win98 - no way to get that stuff workig - annoying, useless piece of software

Rating:
Summary: If you can get it to work, it's a great product
Review: I guess I'm one of the lucky ones -- I have version 8.0 (not 8.0.1) and it worked fine on both my old computer running Windows 98 and my new one with Windows ME. Reading through the other reviews I feel like I dodged a bullet. Hopefully The Learning Company will straighten this whole mess out because if you can get the program to work, it's excellent. I especially like the interactive conversations (complete with video of the actors) and the short film clips. I'm looking forward to getting TLC's Learn to Speak Spanish...after a careful look at the reviews, that is...

Rating:
Summary: Excellent as a French refresher or beginner course.
Review: I have had this cd-rom for approximately 4 months now and I am coming close to being very fluent en francais. It offers 3 complete courses, boasting vocabulary builders, lessons in grammar and verb conjugation, games to reinforce what you have learned and you can also have conversations with virtual characters so that you can practice speaking. I am engaged to a Frenchman and I just keep surprising him with how much I have learned. I go to France frequently, and this has made a huge difference in my linguistic skills. Future Francophiles (persons who love french language and culture), Good luck.

Rating:
Summary: Learn to Speak French 8.0
Review: I have just started using the program but have found it very easy to use, the Learning Company did a great job with this program and offering very helpful tools.

Rating:
Summary: Save your receipt and packaging
Review: I have not been able to install this software. The software is advertised as being compatible with Windows ME, but I have serious doubts that it is. I consulted The Learning Company website and followed instructions that included downloading and installing a patch for Windows ME and changing the MSCONFIG file to disable all programs that load at start-up. The program still would not run. I submitted a request for assistance, gave them all the information about my operating system, memory, drivers etc. I received advice, followed the advice, and the program still will not run. I received a second set of instructions, but they also had no effect. Throughout the process I always received the same error message. I'm sorry I didn't pay more attention to the other negative reviews--returning the product is a hassle. I would note that I have never had difficulty with or returned software before.

Rating:
Summary: This is a good course
Review: I like the Spanish version of this course a lot. This one is good but there are a few annoying features. The interactive conversation was very slow to respond, just, really, slow. I also didn't care for the vocabulary section repeating every word in english. I guess if you want it, it is nice but it got on my nerves. As far as the success: it is too early to tell. Also, in the game section that stupid dog I just want to shoot him.

Rating:
Summary: French 8.01 does not always work.
Review: I ordered French 8.0 (I did not specify the version.); I was sent French 8.01. This version did not work at all on my PC - DELL or on my laptop - IBM. I called the Learning Company, told them what error message I was getting; they immediately told me that, "this version did not work on SOME PC's ... they did not know why." They offered to refund the money if I returned the product. I mailed the the product to them, last week. I am waiting for the refund.

Rating:
Summary: Version 8.01 has program errors
Review: I recently purchased Learn to Speak French 8.0. The latest version of this product version 8.01 (that was shipped to me) has known program errors. Version 8.01 DOES NOT work! I wasted a great many hours trying to install it. The Learning Company has received thousands of complaints about this product. Currently, They are trying to get version 8.01 off the shelf, and replace it with the previous version 8.0.

Rating:
Summary: Great for beginners or refresher course!
Review: I think the other reviewer who rated this item and gave it very few stars may have confused this with another french language program because this one does not come with an audio tape as you see above. Instead it's 4 dvd-roms that are just terrific. Real practise conversations using your microphone, lots of grammar information, pronunciation drills and quizzes. This software is terrific. I am looking forward to their new version which is coming out soon. I hope it includes onscreen flashcards and more extensive grammar drills, quizzes and help. That would be my only suggestion. For additionaly french grammar help I would highly suggest; "Essential French Grammar" by Seymour Resnick, "French Verb Drills" by R.de Roussy de Sales, and you will also find extremely helpful, "Pronounce it Perfectly in French" by Christopher Kendris, PH.D which was released by Barron's. Good Luck everyone!