Fluenz Review

Fluenz Review

Fluenz is a major player in the language learning industry, although not as well knows as Rosetta Stone or Pimsleur. The setup of the interface is similar to Rosetta Stone, but the major difference is that Fluenz offers explanations, while RS does not

Fluenz is a comprehensive and more advanced program that helps you learn a new language. The program deals profoundly with how the language is being used by a native speaker. Sometimes, this different from how the English language is structured. Growing your vocabulary through memorizing is half the journey. Fluenz takes you a step further by teaching you how to structure a correct sentence according to how it is actually used by a native speaker.

What’s included in this course?

A typical full Fluenz course consists of 5 levels. At the time of writing, the latest version is Fluenz v3. This is what's included:

  • 5 DVDs
  • 5 Audio CDs
  • Phrase Book Navigator
  • Brochure
  • User Guide
  • Podcasts
  • Apps
  • Online support/ tutorials features.

The Fluenz language courses rely heavily on modern tools. It fully utilizes all available media to create a comprehensive learning program. Lessons are presented through videos, audio and written materials.

The amount of material provided to you is impressive. It also incorporates a handy voice recognition tool that helps you keep track of your progress. The classroom-mode has a tutor who motivates you to continue on your language learning journey. Fluenz tries to immerse you using sight and sound. It offers a good variety of different exercises. Enough to keep you interested, and to keep you steadily advancing.

Learning is divided into 5 levels

  • Software
  • CD/ DVD
  • Podcasts
  • Phrase book navigator
  • Tutorials


How does Fluenz work?

The Fluenz video tutorials guide you through the language step by step, specifically addressing issues which are not intuitive for English-speakers. The Fluenz video tutor will show you how your target language works in a way clear and concise matter.

Instead of just memorizing phrases, without understanding how they really work, the video tutor breaks down your foreign language into the different building blocks in order to build your fluency.

The course spends more time explaining how sentences are structured and gives an overview of different aspects of the language, such as grammar and pronunciation. This process goes gradually, at a good pace.

Although the lower level courses deal with helping you memorize common words and phrases, advanced levels build on this vocabulary and help you formulate proper sentences into near-native levels.

By mastering vocabulary, difficult grammar, sentence structure, and similar issues, you’ll quickly be able to form your own sentences naturally and to communicate with people in real-life situations.

If you're a quick learner and show great improvements or are above the learning curve, Fluenz gives you the ability skip to a higher level.
Fluenz allows you, the student, to dictate the pace of learning, instead of going through a fixed learning path which could be too slow and frustrating for some.

Not all languages are the same. Each language is given a slightly different approach to learning, so the course you get is optimized per language. Some other language learning programs literally translate one course into a different language and call it a day.


Fluenz engages all your senses. Points the method covers are speaking (by having you record your own voice in the software), reading, listening, and writing, in order to improve your comprehension to internalize the content into your long-term memory.

The comprehensive approach will immerse you in your target's language associated culture, while you increase your abilities and fluency as you advance from exercise to exercise.

It comes with handy tools to keep track of your progress. Fluenz' emphasis on practice is joined with continual evaluation of your progress across all devices. The review tools allow you to know how you’re doing at all times, and what areas might still need improvement.

You can follow the full program with your software (Mac or PC), iPad, iPhone, Android Phone, or online.

All your progress gets tracked automatically between the different apps. You can change in the middle of your learning sessions from your phone to your computer or your iPad, without missing a beat.


Costs

Fluenz is a premium language learning product and priced accordingly. But after checking the products and the support it offers, it is not difficult to understand why it is almost similarly priced to Rosetta Stone or Pimsleur. The customer reviews are almost all positive, so the value for money must be objectively good.

(At the time of writing this article, it has an average rating of 4.6 out of 5, based on 151 customer reviews.. more than Rosetta Stone!'

Fluenz takes a slightly different approach to learning which could be seen in their teaching methods.

Which Courses Are Available?

Currently, Fluenz offers six different languages.

  • Spanish (both Spain and Latin America)
  • French
  • Italian
  • Mandarin Chinese
  • German
  • Portuguese


Summary

Fluenz is a great starting point for beginning language learners. Intermediate students can find it very helpful as well. It successfully combines different aspects, speaking, listening, reading, writing of language learning into a single program.

The Fluenz program is similar to Rosetta Stone, but the difference is that Fluenz offers clear explanations and specifics, while Rosetta does not.

Fluenz gives language students a mature approach to language learning. Unlike some of the language methods available today, that repeat the same basic steps over and over again, this program immerses you into a deep, comprehensive approach encompassing all aspects of the language you're learning.

This type of learning is more suited towards adults or those brushing up on their skills. It does not give you the feeling of being “tutored” like a child.

With Fluenz, you are not only taught how to speak a language. The method tries to explain in detail the nuts and bolts of the grammar, and how exactly words come to be.

If you want a good and thorough approach (speaking, writing, reading and listening) to language learning, or are dissatisfied with the lack of explanation in Rosetta, then Fluenz is the right program for you.


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