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Learn German Now! 9 (PC/Mac)

Transparent Language
Personal Translator 2008 Advanced English - German

Linguatec Language Technologies
EuroTalk Complete German (PC/Mac DVD)

EuroTalk Limited

5 Disc Deluxe Set German 5968
Before You Know It 4 in 1 (French, Italian, Spanish & German)

Transparent Language
Linguaphone In Action German 2.0

Linguaphone

Learning the language before you go travelling is a sensible option--even if you do find that many people at your destination speak impeccable English.
Studying Linguaphone German in Action 2 CD-ROM is based around life in Germany--there is an excellent travel guide to some of Germany's most famous tourist attractions, linked together with video footage, that gives a real flavour of German life and is quite thorough.
Although the CD-ROM is packed with enhanced video content, the first port of call for most students will probably be the basics of the language that are imparted through the grammar guides and example dialogues. This is not a package for advanced students--the vocabulary of 5000 words, while enough for most purposes, is not tailored to unusual situations; the best place to begin is with the basic phrases in German showing the contexts of various words and parts of speech through sentence examples and then role-plays. The phrases are emphasised with colour-highlighting of key parts and with boxes below explaining their meanings in English and to which part of grammar they belong. There is also a separate grammar section in the package which will break down the points arising from these set-piece dialogues.
As with every good language-learning software package, the Linguaphone German in Action 2 comes with the facility to compare your pronunciation with that of a native speaker, and so will help with speaking and listening as well as with grammar and sentence-construction; on the downside, however, the test of pronunciation is inevitably somewhat standardised, and does not cater for the large variation of accents in Germany. That aside, this is a good package for anyone who wants to learn or improve upon their German before embarking on their next trip abroad. --Toby Green
German Pronunciation Tutor 3.5

Softkey
Talk More: German (PC/Mac)

EuroTalk Limited
World Talk German

EuroTalk Limited
Smart Start German & Dictionary

Syracuse Language
Advance Your German

Focus Multimedia Ltd
Linguaphone In Action German

Linguaphone
Talk to me German Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced

Auralog

Talk to Me German is a well-composed CD-ROM programme with some quite flashy graphics, good video learning aids and an online resource centre. The language learner is provided with a map on which they can chart their progress from beginner to advanced in a variety of subject areas, including the supermarket, the post office and the aftermath of an accident.
Like Transparent Language, Linguaphone, and other programmes in the field, Talk to Me German comes with voice-recognition software that will monitor your pronunciation. At the lower level, you participate in an interactive dialogue and select your response from three options. As things progress, you move to rearranging words in sentence order when they are thrown at you all jumbled up. The vocabulary becomes progressively more complex, but simply pointing the cursor at a German word provides the English translation.
This is a highly competent software package. One of the best things about it is its sense of humour. In one dialogue you have the option of replying in German "I'm a machine, I have no name." This sort of wit is quite unusual in language packages and it really sets Talk to Me apart from its competitors. --Toby Green
Smart Start Deluxe German

Syracuse Language

The Smart Start German Deluxe CD-ROM has, as its name suggests, been designed for newcomers to the language, and is intended to give you enough of a grounding to get by on your first visit to Germany and then some. Other titles in the range are Smart Start French Deluxe, Smart Start Italian Deluxe and Smart Start Spanish Deluxe.
The software is organised so you can you can dip in and out rather than following a structured path. Your first task is to decide whether you want to concentrate on listening, reading or speaking. Then you select a subject area from food, people, numbers, activities, home & office, and places & transport--depending on what you choose a number of activities will be available. These are grouped according to difficulty, the easiest simply being structured around learning vocabulary, the middle concentrating on phrases, and the most difficult centred on conversations.
Because the learning is activity-based things should be a bit more fun than simply repeating the words for different items till you know them by heart, though in fact there is no escape from the reality of learning words and phrases either at, or away from, the computer. Some of the activities allow you to record your own speech, and compare it with that of a native speaker. This can be very useful if you want to work on pronunciation, but you'll have to provide your own microphone, as there isn't one in the software box.
Smart Start German Deluxeis accompanied by a rather nice lesson booklet that provides some vocabulary basics, has handy beginner's language like counting and 'survival phrases' ("good morning", "my name is", "the bill please" and so on), and has some lessons whose topics mirror those on the software. Work through Smart Start German Deluxeand you should pick up enough German to get by on a visit.--Sandra Vogel
German A+

Transparent Language

German A+ is an ambitious CD-ROM-based language course, taking the learner from the very basics to intermediate level grammar and vocabulary in 15 well-structured and varied lessons. Although centred around a comprehensive grammar programme, there are also plenty of activities to practise listening, reading and even speaking, with the inclusion of an interactive conversation feature.
Each lesson begins with an outline of the language to be covered, followed by practice sentences to introduce new grammar and vocabulary. Once happy that you can understand and use the structures, you move on to see how the new language items are used in wider contexts in dialogues and reading texts. Contexts and topics are wide-ranging, including Travel, Buying and Ordering Food and Business. Although it is hard to imagine teenagers finding the contexts very motivating, both tourist and business traveller alike will appreciate the range of authentic and useful language for everyday situations presented by native speakers of German.
The user has access at each stage of the lesson to some impressive cross-referencing features. Meaning, translation and pronunciation of a new word or phrase are immediately to hand. Games, personal pronunciation analysis and vocabulary flashcards add variety to the lessons and there is also the option of testing your progress online. However, the user needs some grounding in the basics of grammar and connected terminology in order to find their way around the material at first, although a word tools feature is useful in explaining away some of the terms. German A+ packs a lot of material into 15 lessons and should prove an excellent resource to anyone in need of confidence in speaking and understanding German in business or travel situations. --Jo Pearson