Product Reviews

Education/Reference

Before You Know It [Computer Shopper]
COMPANY: Transparent	PRICE: Ł20 inc VAT
RATING:	ISSUE: 197 DATE: Jul 04

Before You Know It is a language tutorial program based on the tried and tested method of using flashcards to memorise vocabulary. It includes vocabulary lists for learning Spanish, French, Italian and German, each of which is broken down into smaller categories of words. There are more than 60 categories for French alone, ranging from the everyday (getting a taxi) to the slightly obscure (a list of grains and cereals).

You learn this vocabulary in four stages. At first, a foreign word is spoken to you and shown onscreen -



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you try to say the English translation to yourself and then tell the computer if you got it right. The next step is the same, but this time you type the English translation into the computer. The next two stages are similar but you translate from English to a foreign language. There's no speech recognition, but all four stages involve repetition of words or phrases you find difficult, and the steady introduction of new vocabulary helps to build up your ability.

Unfortunately, there are a few flaws. For one, the text input can be overly pedantic: translating "continuez tout droit" as "go straight ahead" or "keep going" won't work, as the software is waiting for the words, "keep going straight". Worse still, we found that the software had problems with punctuation: on several occasions we entered French phrases correctly, only to be failed because we had entered a curved apostrophe - ' - rather than a straight one - ' -. Nevertheless, this is a useful tool for reinforcing vocabulary learning at a reasonable price. Its lack of speech recognition and multimedia flair is compensated for by the range of languages.

By Tom Royal