German Now! 8.0

In highfalutin' teacher lingo, the software uses "authentic language" and has you practice using "communication gap" exercises--and you'll be happy to know this is a widely used university approach. In lay speak, this means you will:

• Watch videos of native German speakers interacting naturally with each other (the acting's not half bad, either)
• Read printed versions of their dialogues
• Listen to the dialogues word by word or segment by segment
• Practice pronouncing dialogues word by word or segment by segment using the enclosed microphone
• Apply vocabulary by filling in new words from the dialogues, or in other game-style activities like crossword puzzles

Note that to achieve true success with this program you should know at least a bit of German first and be somewhat comfortable with terms like "accusative case" or "second person." Also, the software gives pronunciation feedback with gimmicky graphs that will make sense to you only if you've studied acoustic phonetics--nonetheless, the interactive pronunciation and the videos are the most useful features.

Overall, the use of multimedia and the practice modules are well designed, making this an excellent intermediate-level program for people who want to maintain or expand their German skills. Caveats: The software works with both Mac OS and Windows, but some extra stuff on the bonus CD works only with Windows. (This should not at all dissuade Mac users, however.) Also remember that it's rather antisocial to practice conversation only on the computer, so take what you learn out and interact with real-life German speakers! --Erik Macki

Amazon.com Product Description
With Learn German Now!, you'll immerse yourself in German. You'll participate in real conversations, read interesting articles, and watch intriguing videos from Germany. Study from four language-learning titles: Fundamental German; Survival Phrases for German; A Reunion in Tubungen, Germany; and Conversations in German--all with dialogue practice and/or video.

Product Description
Participate in real dialogs with native German speakers at your own speed. As you interact with the program, you'll hear how words are pronounced, see the spelling, discover word meanings and actually hear yourself speaking.