Learn Portuguese Now! 10, from Transparent Language, is state-of-the-art language software that uses the translation method to teach Brazilian Portuguese. For people on the go, it includes interactive elements like MP3 file downloads for iPods as well as some Pocket PC and Palm devices.
Introduction
Transparent Language's Learn Portuguese Now! 10 is serious language software that delivers Brazilian Portuguese while teaching a bit of Brazilian culture at the same time.
Based on the translation method of language learning, this eye candy has subtle bells and whistles that a true language lover will appreciate, with interactive play all the way from A to Z.
For a translation method language course, Learn Portuguese Now! 10 breaks the mold and requires active student participation in everything. Learn Portuguese covers every area of language acquisition and throws in language games to make you think and use the language, often the same way Brazilians do.
Are you a grammar geek? You should be in your element in Reference Tools with Grammar Pro. It breaks the language down into its simplest parts and even lets you hear what those parts sound like.
If you think that learning the alphabet is old fashioned, then wait till you see how this software presents the Portuguese alphabet, with words and sounds to make sure you got the message. If there’s a letter with a different sound depending where that letter is placed in a word, Learn Portuguese Now! 10 has the example and the sound. Nothing is taken for granted.
Brazilian speakers get you to repeat, listen, understand, and write what you hear. Learn Portuguese Now! 10 also teaches you to understand what you read, build your vocabulary with the correct pronunciation, and prompts you to repeat whole sentences and compare your pronunciation to a Brazilian's manner of speaking. Of course, there is always going to be room for improvement. How close you can get to sounding Brazilian is the challenge here.
No language course is complete without a language lab and Before You Know It 3.6 fills that niche. With flash cards that flip back and forth as fast as you can think or click your mouse, your pronunciation, comprehension, and spelling really get a good workout.
For those with active lifestyles who have to make every minute count, Learn Portuguese Now! 10 has MP3 files to download onto your iPod, and to some Pocket PCs and Palms. Be sure to check the site at www.transparent.com to see if your Pocket PC or Palm device is one of them. Now you can get your language study in during a workout at the gym, or jogging in the urban or suburban jungle. Then again, a nice slow stroll through a city park with your iPod could be the answer.
The answer for me, however, was the modest price for this super language software. So much for so little. It doesn't get any better than this.
| Price to Value | Rating  |
What's Hot:
Learn Portuguese Now! 10 is about as good as it gets for price and value. This state-of-the-art language software, with its intuitive follow-up exercises in the places where your skills may be weak makes you feel like a teacher is monitoring your lesson.
| Installation & Setup | Rating |
What's Hot:
The installation software is easy to follow. In fact, it has been made so simple you may think you have done something wrong. Tip: Learn Portuguese Now! 10 doesn't like double clicks so remember to just click once when needed. There is a separate CD for the audio for the MP3 player and iPod.
| User Interface | Rating |
What's Hot:
The user interface is very smooth on Windows XP. Maneuverability says it all. On the menu page there is a Guide button, a Before You Know It (LAB) button, and the Learn Portuguese Now! button.
You will not even notice tasks you have completed in your rush to advance to the next language challenge. The user interface is that good. Click on the quote balloon icon and you have Brazilian speech every time. Listen to your own pronunciation against that of the Brazilian speaker. Try the exercise with text and translation or without. Toggle the Portuguese Language Keyboard to make it appear and disappear. One little click of the button and the Brazilian speaker slows their speech down a bit. Click DONE in the lower right-hand corner and choose a new tab with a different activity. It's that simple.
Learn Portuguese Now! 10 is so well structured from a pedagogical and software stance that calling it a state-of-the-art and revolutionary language software isn't an exaggeration when describing what this delivers for beginning and intermediate users.
What's Not:
Small screen photos are OK but clicking to enlarge them makes them blurry.
In the Immersion Environment, the organization is a little off. The last two topics, Survival Phrases for Brazilian Portuguese (with dialogs) and The Most Common Words in Portuguese, should be at the beginning of the list, not the end. Conversely, the intermediate topics Brazil and the Samba and Rio de Janeiro begin the list.
| Product Features | Rating  |
What's Hot:
The flash cards in Before You Know It really keep you moving; they flip back and forth so you can check your answers. [Screenshot: Transparent Flash cards] If you make mistakes, the software takes note of it and follows up to be sure you learned the lesson. The different learning modes keep you in check. This language lab will put you through your paces if you let it.
When you are ready, I recommend that in the Immersion Environment you do the previews in Conversations. If you can understand and repeat the answer in Listen and Speak in Sentence Pronunciation, then it is time for you to book your ticket to Brazil and really immerse yourself in the language. [Screenshot: Transparent Sentence Pronunciation] Immersion does not get any more real than that.
What's Not: The scale for measuring your pronunciation against the Brazilian speaker's doesn't work consistently, especially on longer sentences.
| Performance | Rating |
What's Hot:
Learn Portuguese Now! 10 is so hot it sizzles. I get a strong feeling of serious intent about teaching Brazilian Portuguese here, and this software can give as much as you ask of it and more. This language software challenges you and will help you meet your language-learning goals.
What's Not:
In terms of Brazilian culture and geography, you get a lot of information on the Samba and about Rio de Janeiro but other cultural topics and the rest of Brazil's geography are greatly neglected, or given a passing mention here and there. In particular, more topics in the Immersion Environment, spread out over all of Brazil, would give a more accurate picture of the culture, country, and language.
| Help & Support | Rating  |
What's Hot:
There are several ways to contact the company for tech support. Help is an email away at support@transparent.com, and the support team tries to get back to you within 24 hours. You can also call them M-F 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern U.S. time zone) at 603-262-8300, or fax them at 603-262-6476.
Be sure to check out the help section online, at www.transparent.com. The technical support icon is in the upper right-hand corner of the page. And let's not forget Customer Service. It is on the same page and lists its email address as info@transparent.com.
What's Not:
An 800 number would be nice 24/7.
| Learn Portuguese Now Includes Impressive Toolbox | Rating |
What's Hot:
In Learn Portuguese Now! 10, the tools abound. The Activities section makes learning fun as it challenges your recall. Practicing words, sentences, and sounds challenge you to match the Brazilian speaker, if you dare to try—and you should!
Conversations lets you practice dialogs for different occasions, as if a foreigner traveling in Brazil.
In Reference Tools Portuguese GrammarPro will explain all the grammar rules if you need them. See the Transparent Language images for Brazilian Portuguese in this review.
Images
Suggested Features
More topics specifically about Brazil such as the current economic and social status give relevance. Learn Portuguese Now! 10 creators must show where Brazil is heading, from north to south and east to west, in terms of industry, culture, business, as well as in-country and in-city living. The topics should be objective and used as a means to a pedagogical end.
Conclusion
Transparent Language Learn Portuguese Now! 10, with its language lab, Before You Know It 3.6, is leading-edge language software that covers all its bases for a translation method language course. With its user-friendly user interface and sound pedagogical organization (nothing is left to chance in Learn Portuguese Now! 10), the interaction between you and the lesson will teach you the language in all its facets. And you will have fun doing it.
Related Products
Complete Portuguese Language Suite (Brazil), European Portuguese Before You Know It, RosettaStone's Level 1 Portuguese (Braziil)