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Holistic Guidance - Instant Immersion Spanish Deluxe v2.0 (old version)
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List Price: $39.99
Our Price: $49.99
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Topics Entertainment
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Batteries Included: 0
Binding: CD-ROM
Brand: TOPICS Entertainment
EAN: 0781735806920
Feature: 3 bonus Instant Immersion audio CDs focusing on vocabulary building
Format: CD-ROM
Is Autographed: 0
Is Memorabilia: 0
Label: Topics Entertainment
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
Manufacturer: Topics Entertainment
Model: 80692
Platform: Windows Me
Publisher: Topics Entertainment
Release Date: 2007-11-29
Studio: Topics Entertainment
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Features
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3 bonus Instant Immersion audio CDs focusing on vocabulary building
8-CD suite of Spanish language multimedia learning software
300 hours of beginner, intermediate, and advanced tutoring on 5 CD-ROMs
Monitor pronunciation and intonation with Spoken Error Tracking System
Instruction on 20 key lessons including vocabulary grammar and phonetics
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Editorial Reviews:
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Instant Immersion Deluxe is an 8 CD suite, combining beginner, intermediate and advanced Tell Me More content on 5-CD-ROMs. Each interactive lesson utilizes the Spoken Error Tracking System, which monitors your pronunciation and intonation. Main Features Manufacturer: Topics EntertainmentManufacturer Part Number: 80692Manufacturer Website Address: www.topics-ent.comSoftware Sub Type: Training/WBTSoftware Name: Instant Immersion Spanish v.2.0 DeluxeFeatures & Benefits: Each interactive lesson utilizes the Spoken Error Tracking System, which monitors your pronunciation and intonationSuite Contents: Instant Immersion Audio (3 - CDROMs) Tell Me More content (5 - CDROMs): Beginner Tell Me More Intermediate Tell Me More Advanced Tell Me More
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Unspeakably BAD.
Comment: I am reviewing version 2.0 of this package, but I am sure that many of the same problems are present in version 3.0. I certainly would not even think of buying version 3.0 to see if it has improved. In addition, I am specifically reviewing the "Talk To Me" series of discs and the included Spanish-English dictionary software. I am not reviewing the audio CDs, in part because I haven't really made use of them, and in part because, no matter how good they might be, they simply cannot save the 1-star rating I must give this package. The software is the star of the show anyway, right?
And boy is the software terrible. The only reason I could make any use of it at all is that I already know a good deal of basic Spanish. If you do not know any Spanish yet, this product will NOT help you in the least. There are NO vocabulary or grammar explanations. The only way you can learn is by watching/listening to the dialogue (and optionally asking for translations) and doing really, really lame activities like crossword puzzles and word searches that won't teach you anything at all. That might not sound so bad if the questions for these puzzles were questions phrased in Spanish, but unfortunately it's much more inane than that: the word is simply read aloud and you have to type it in or find it in the word search. Nothing to it. Yawn.
In addition, the translations can sometimes be misleading, although I don't think this actually happens very often. For example, "¿Qué te parece si nos tratamos de tú?" is translated as "How about if we call each other by our first names?" This would be a fine translation if you were translating a book, but it's not a very good translation for a lesson, because the sentence has nothing at all to do with first names. The sentence actually means, "How about we call each other 'tú'"? That is, "How about we address each other using the informal pronoun?" Of course, the program never discusses the distinction between formal and informal speech in the first place, and it would be impossible for a student to pick up on it merely through this "immersion" method.
And that's the fundamental flaw of the software. Immersion doesn't work... not like this. You can't learn Spanish solely by watching TV in Spanish, and neither can you learn it just by interacting with a program in Spanish. If you want to learn by immersion, you still need the fundamentals, fundamentals which are sorely lacking here.
A big part of the software is speech recognition. This is one of the better parts of the software, since every language learner needs to practice speech, and a computer is a good way to practice speech if there are no native speakers around. After all, you can't really practice speech well with a book, and with a CD you can't proceed at your own pace. And the computer can listen to you and tell you if you're pronouncing it right! Well... almost. It's terrible at it. It will very often accept very bad pronunciations -- even deliberate and obvious ones -- and sometimes reject good ones. There are occasional (thankfully rare) sentences where it's almost IMPOSSIBLE to get the computer to accept your sentence, no matter if you're saying it exactly the same as the original, to the point that I wonder if they adequately tested every sentence.
Getting a score of "100% complete, 100% correct" is tricky, too. There are these dialogue sections that take the form of multiple-choice questions where none of the answers are right or wrong, they just give the product some semblance of interactivity. That's OK, although, again, it's rather useless unless you can already understand what they're saying. The problem is that sometimes the conversation takes slightly different paths depending on your answers, so you have to go back and find the parts you might have missed. That's pointless and annoying. Nevertheless, I did make it to 100% complete and correct on the Beginner Spanish CD. I popped in the Intermediate CD and prayed that it's better. It's not. It's exactly the same, just with different lessons.
In short, there is nothing the program gets right. Nothing. I think I've only bothered with it as long as I have because, apparently, I am masochistic.
And, as everybody else has complained, yes, the box has a map of Mexico on the cover, while the Talk To Me program is entirely European Spanish. Of course, European Spanish isn't so different that it wouldn't be useful in Latin America, but it sucks that the dialect is misrepresented this way.
The dictionary itself is decent, but nothing remarkable. However, the dictionary's software is horrible and I can say without exaggeration that I could have written a better program myself. There are all sorts of problems such as occasional dead-end links, links that don't go quite where they should, and so on. There are quirks such as, if you type a word incompletely and then pause, it will try to look it up anyway, which I usually find disruptive. It seems that they didn't do their homework, either, since the software proudly displays it's a "Español-Inglès" dictionary on the toolbar. The problem is that it should be "inglés", not "inglès"; Spanish doesn't even use grave accents. Although that is a minor quibble and doesn't hinder the program's usefulness, I think it perfectly exemplifies the sort of incompetence that is displayed here. View the dictionary software as the small bonus that it is. There are free dictionaries online that are almost as good anyway.
I've written a lot, probably too much, in this review. But it can all be summarized in one word:
Avoid.
Customer Rating:
Summary: PC Language study
Comment: this is a good program for PC. no reason to waste time with Rosetta stone. truth be told, learning a new language requires ready, WRITING, listening, repeat drills, etc......any program you buy for PC will end up being a re-enforcement tool and refresher but I seriously doubt any computer program will be the "END ALL" of what you need. Barrons mastering Spanish would be the best study(its boring but effective)
Customer Rating:
Summary: Version 2.0: Buyer Beware
Comment: I purchased version 2.0 of this program and immediately had numerous problems. As a learning tool it was not very useful with the default settings. When I tried to change them, I could not. After hours of trying to get help (as there was no manual included), I was finally able to contact tech help. Here is the email I received the next day:
TOPICS Entertainment is a publisher of third-party software applications and distributes software on behalf of the software developer. We make every effort to select titles to distribute that provide an excellent choice for the consumer. The programs that the developers created are more complex and have more features than what we contracted to publish. That is why some advanced features are disabled. The full programs can be purchased directly from the developers, but most of the time they are more expensive. We try to maximize the value that you get, while keeping the price of the product as low as possible.
Those instructions to enable Free-To-Roam Mode and the other advanced options are valid only for the original Deluxe series, not the Deluxe 2.0. Unfortunately I do not have instructions on how to change those settings on Deluxe 2.0 (if possible).
Customer Rating:
Summary: Installation problems immediately
Comment: It appears to be a relatively standard foreign language program. Difficult to naviagate and requires many tries to become oriented. Spanish-English Dictionary requires a code number for installation, and no matter how many combinations of serial number, proof of purchase, etc., you may try none will work. Have to email maker for solution which interrupts any learning routine. It would seem resonable to offer an easy reference to whatever code is required for installation in an obvious place on the box.
Program appears to be very comprehensive. I would prefer more CD-ROM's and fewer Audio CD's. The combination of four of each type disk makes for a confused schedule for learning.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not easy to use
Comment: I am sure they intended a great program but the software is very very difficult to navigate. Once you figure out how to use it, you learn well enough but I would not buy another one in this format. I had used other Instant immersion programs that were much simpler.
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