Tell Me More Premium English is top-of-the-line language software that uses the translation method to teach American English. With three different learning modes, you set your pace, whether you are an absolute beginner or at the program's fourth level or beyond.
Introduction
Auralog’s Tell Me More Premium English is so sophisticated, on so many levels in high tech and foreign language pedagogy, that it initially takes your breath away with stunning graphics and unobtrusive New Age background music that calms and soothes you. To date, this is the most sophisticated language software I have ever seen, and quite frankly, I was initially overwhelmed. But don’t you be. The software is a true marvel, and a little study of the program before starting lessons will go a long way. In other words, get to know what it offers and what it can do for you before braving this new world of American English.
Once you register and set up your account with a name and password, you need to decide what mode of learning suits you best: the Free-to-Roam mode, the Guided mode, or the Dynamic mode. The material is the same in all three modes; the mode you select will decide how the lessons are presented to you. In the Free-to-Roam mode you call the shots; in the Guided mode you follow the program; in the Dynamic mode, you take on American English with a program that can dish it out. Try it. You’ll like it.
Tell Me More Premium English truly is a complete language package that comes with four language learning CDs and one audio CD. No part of foreign language pedagogy has been forgotten. It is all there from word and vocabulary pronunciation to reading comprehension, from speaking and conversational dialogs to listening comprehension and dictation, from the alphabet to complex grammar, and from geography and maps to all facets of American culture. And it is done well, incredibly well. The feeling I had when I first explored this software was that of reverence and awe. It was the same sensation I felt at the release of Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey, a work of awesome genius. And genius comes at a hefty price--but a work of genius is something you will always remember, too. Think about it.
| Help & Support | Rating  |
What's Hot: Support information can be found on the back cover of the user manual. For the United States, the toll free number is (888) 388-3535. For technical support, send an email message to
supportretail@auralog.com. | Price to Value | Rating  |
What's Hot:
Premium English comes at a premium price. This stellar software is priced at approximately $265 for a language software program that starts at the complete beginner level and goes to the fourth level and beyond.
What's Not:
Some dialogs could be read in a more professional manner so that they do not appear to be read but instead acted out. Sometimes, a speaker will read parts in monotone, and that is a definite foreign language pedagogical heresy.
| Installation & Setup | Rating |
What's Hot:
Installation and setup were easy. In the user manual, the instructions can be found on page 8 under heading "2.3 Installing Tell Me More." When I put in the first CD, the computer started up, and a dialog box opened with the selections from the CD. I clicked on the setup.exe globe icon, and in seconds the program began to install. This was on Windows XP.
| User Interface | Rating |
What's Hot: The user interface is so slick it glistens. For every screen, there is a help screen that shows how to navigate it. Study these help screens and know what they offer, and then get rid of them with a click. You won’t need them once you become familiar with how you navigate this software.
In this software there is an element (of surprise) that is a little different from a normal Windows environment. In Windows we can drag objects, etc. by clicking them and dragging them from one place to another. In this software, with Picture/Word Associations, you must click on the dot, let up on the mouse button, place the pointer where you want it, and click again. This will connect the line from one side to the other. In Fill-in-the-Blanks, you click the word you have selected. When it changes color, you let go of the mouse button, and move the cursor to where the word should be. Click again to fix your chosen word.
Once you have chosen your learning mode, the next screen appears, where your lessons begin. In the lower left-hand corner of the screen are hidden icons. They are the icons for the different learning workshops. Roll your cursor over them, and they will light up. This is where your lessons begin.
What's Not: In the beginning, the help pop-up can be annoying. Learn to navigate the screens, and click it off. If you need assistance, just click the arrow pointing down at the top of the upper right-hand screen for a drop-down menu. Help for screen navigation is there, too.
| Product Features | Rating |
What's Hot: Initially, I thought there was some kind of defect with this software when it came to doing dialogs. Then it finally dawned on me (duh!) just what this software program was doing--and I sat back marveled. The speaker in the software would read a line, and I, as learner, had two options that I could use as answers. Either way I answered, the software program came back with an appropriate answer. The software program was interacting with me. The entire dialog continued in this fashion.
Another nice addition to the dialogs is the added part of the software letting you know if you are understood or not in your pronunciation. If practice is needed, to the left of the troublesome phrase, there is an icon to click to hear what should be said. To the left of that icon is the icon of a sound wave. Clicking on the sound wave icon starts the line to repeat. You are able to see if your speech comes close to that of the native speaker. Then, hit the back button at the lower left-hand side of the screen (roll over it with the cursor to see it), and you are back in the dialog to continue.
After you have chosen your learning mode, the Home screen appears. At the lower left-hand side of the screen are the hidden icons of the Workshops. Roll the cursor over this horizontal line of unlit, different-colored icons for them to light up. The sequence is the Lesson Workshop, the Culture Workshop, the Vocabulary Workshop, the Grammar Workshop, the Oral Workshop, the Written Workshop, and the Performance Evaluation. In the six workshops, there are 37 language activities. See the screenshots for examples.
The Culture Workshop caught my attention to a great degree because language and culture go hand in hand. American culture has been presented in a concise, honest, entertaining, and informative way.
| Performance | Rating |
What's Hot:
This software never locked up, snagged, or had to think about what it was going to do. You click, and it responds in kind. There is so much language content, so much high tech input in this software, that unison in performance is the ultimate outcome. Bravo! Perfecto!
Images
Suggested Features
There are so many features to this software that it could almost be accused of overkill. No suggested features here.
Conclusion
Auralog’s Tell Me More Premium English is top-of-the-line, highly sophisticated language software for four levels and beyond in American English. With its user-friendly UI and rock-solid pedagogical organization, this software will teach you the English language as Americans speak it and use it, while emphasizing facets of the land, peoples, and culture that shaped this brand of English.
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