Transparent Language Online

Learning a language takes a lot of work, dedication, time, and resources. One company that has been developing a variety of resources for language learners across a variety of uses, such as business and travel,?for many years is Transparent Language Inc., and its newest offering is perhaps its best. Transparent Language Online?has such an enormous amount of content that, three days into testing the software, I kept finding more and more features that I hadn't seen?before. Activities range from listening exercises to writing practice to mini-games. Not every activity is a shining star of pedagogical prowess (50-second videos of "typical scenes from Germany" accompanied by birds chirping seemed fairly un-educational to me), but the content really is exhaustive and gives self-directed learners in particular great resources.?

More importantly, the online system fixes numerous problems I found in Transparent Language Complete Edition, which I put through the paces more than a year ago. The old software lacked structure and progress markers, whereas the new online edition guides you through activities, lessons, and units, and shows you clearly what you have and have not yet completed. It's quite similar to the structure found in?Rosetta Stone TOTALe (from $249 for Level 1, 4 stars), with a row of boxes along the bottom of the screen showing all the activities in the lesson, which are checked off when you complete them.

Language learning doesn't happen the same for everyone. It's extremely important to consider your basic needs and preferences in learning styles. Rosetta Stone TOTALe earned an Editors' Choice from PCMag in part because it blends different kinds of learning very well in a way that can suit almost anyone, although it's most effective as a word and phrase builder. Rocket Languages Premium, another Editors' Choice, offers travelers a wonderful opportunity to master the right sets of phrases before a trip while also becoming familiar with a foreign culture. Transparent Language Online is the right choice for self-directed learners, as well as those returning to a language they've studied before because it offers so much content and includes a proficiency test, in case you don't want to start with Unit 1.

Another application with a pretest that is more rigorous than Transparent's is?TELL ME MORE ($199 for three-month Web pass, 3 stars). Its adaptive language assessment test is a great starting point for people whose previous skills with a language have atrophied. TELL ME MORE isn't ideal for beginners, in my opinion, though. (For more recommendations, see "The Best Language-Learning Software.")

Online Only
One of the most important things to consider about Transparent Language Online is the fact that it's Web-based. If you buy traditional shrink-wrapped software and slack off learning for a month or two, you can always go back to your course. With an online course, your time is limited, which for some people can be highly motivating: You've paid for access to this program, and you're determined to get your money's worth?before?it?expires!

Although that's not always the case. Editors' Choice Rocket Languages Premium costs $99.95 for lifetime membership. But Rocket Languages Premium only has 11 languages including English, so it might not have the tongue you need. Plus, while Rocket Languages is an ideal program for first-time learners just getting started with a language and travelers who want to pick up key words and phrases before a journey, it doesn't feel quite as rigorous as Transparent Language Online.

Languages Offered and Price
Transparent Language Online has 34 languages available and costs?$149.95 for a six-month access pass, or $199.95 for a year. There is an option to have it all and try to learn every one of the 34 languages offered in the "All Language Pack," which costs $750 for six months or $1,000 for a year.?I reckon that's a bit excessive for most people's retention cabilities, of course.

For several of these languages offered, the program contains both a native and transliterated version, so you can take your time learning a new writing system and switching between the two versions as best suits you.

In six months, you could reasonably work your way through several units of content, and certainly all of them in a year, but it will take dedication and daily practice.

The languages offered are: Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dari, Dutch, Farsi, French, Greek, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian,?Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Pashto, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese (European), Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog, Thai, Turkish, Urdu, and Vietnamese.

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