Sep 09, 2013 - 05:18 PM
Fixing the problem!
It just does not make sense that material presented in Fluenz 1 would complicate and muddle the learning process. A beginner shouldn't be put in the position of wasting their time to listen to something over and over again, tediously trying to understand what is going on. Perhaps it makes sense to the gifted language experts at Fluenz to do this, but have mercy on those of us who are not so gifted and that struggle hard, using your materials, to learn just one additional language.
The whole purpose for buying these training programs is to expedite the learning process. Anytime you hinder that, especially at the beginning stage, all you accomplish is to generate frustration. Yes, we all need to be brought up to speed, but do it constructively, gradually and after some of the fundamentals have been digested. Anytime I hear something that I do not understand using Fluenz, in particular with the CD's and the Podcasts, I am forced to listen to it over and over again, often times fruitlessly. There are many occasions in your materials where my "ear" just doesn't get it, even after many iterations. If you insist on obfuscating the learning process, then at least provide written transcripts (in French) of what is being said on the CD's and in the Podcasts. This would go a long way to ameliorate the angst generated when using your materials. If you insist on making the material difficult to listen to, then at least provide an explanation of why you are doing so.
I would like to cite one example that I think is horribly egregious: in Session 12, Disk 2, there is a sentence "Mais il y en a en marron.” The audio output is totally incomprehensible. I presented this to a French speaker and evenhe went away shaking his head in disbelief. What possible value does this serve, except to demonstrate that the speaker possibly has a speech defect?