If you're a beginner like me, the software recommends that you begin with the Essentials lessons. I did not complete the lessons in this section. However, the software keeps track of your progress, picking up from where you left off the last time you logged in. It also shows you how far along you are in each lesson so that you know how much more you have to go before completing that section, in case you have to do something else at a certain time.
The Essentials section covers, speaking, reading and spelling. While you do not have to learn to write Vietnamese with all the symbols, you do need to learn how to operate the onscreen keyboard. When I first started, I did not know there was an onscreen keyboard. I simply typed in the letters and symbols on my laptop keyboard. What I typed looked exactly the same as the given text, but I was marked "incorrect" every single time. This was a major frustration to me. It would not let me go and never gave me any help to tell me where I had gone wrong. To move on in the lesson, I simply clicked "Accept as Correct" for each one.
The speaking section was fun. First you hear the phrase spoken by a native speaker, then you click a button to record your own voice. The soundwave graph will show you how close or far off you are with the original. I can't interpret the soundwave, neither do I know how to make my pronunciation look like the original. But at least I could move onto the next phrase as I chose to.
Since time was running out on me for the trial period, I moved on quickly to the Byki Quick Start. This was fun and painless. The only downside was the slow download of each lesson. It began with speaking and reading, but there was no recording of my voice. Flashcards helped me recognise phrases and prompted me to mark myself correct or not. If I didn't know a word, I simply clicked "enter" to move on. The software will come back to the phrase after a few other phrases. The word would keep repeating several times even though I had gotten it correct a few times. Repetition is the mother of learning, I suppose.
The spelling section in Byki Quick Start was a lot of fun. The English word on a flashcard will be shown. Then you type the phrase in Vietnamese. A set of five letters will appear at the bottom of the screen. Click on the correct letter and the next set of letters will appear. If you choose the wrong letter, you have to start all over again from the beginning of that phrase. It is infinitely easier than the Essentials spelling section. I felt that I was learning quickly even if I did not know the alphabet at all. It was a matter of recognition, rather than understanding how the words are formed.
In all the lessons that I tried, there was never any explanation of the Vietnamese alphabet or the symbols. The first lesson began with phrases such as "How are you?", "Hello", "My name is ...", etc. I still don't know what the different symbols mean, where they should be placed, how they should be written, which letters have symbols and which do not. Based on the pronunciation of the phrases, I can guess that the symbols tell me what kind of sound I should make, but no explanation can be found anywhere.
What I found strange was the stock photos to accompany the flash cards. Since I was learning Vietnamese, I thought the people in the pictures should be locals. They are not. All the people shown are Caucasians, obviously stock photos. It may not change the quality of the lesson, but I think small touches do enhance the learning process.
While Transparent Language Online is an online package that allows you to learn at your own pace, it is intense. When you buy the package, you buy it by month, six months or a year. Given the time limit of your purchase, you may feel pressured to keep at it every day so as not to waste your money. In that sense, it is a good learning package. Besides, you do learn a lot. However, you may find this stressful, as I did.
Overall, it is a good package to learn a language. While it is not as expensive as Rosetta Stone, it does cater to the learner who can read and write, not a small child. The lessons are systematic and build on one another. It is fun and engaging at every step. I definitely recommend this package.
Have fun learning a new language!
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