Features:  

Although Transparent Languages provides some great resources on their website, 101 Languages lacks some important features, like the ability to track personal progress and set goals. These features are necessary to assess improvement and encourage consistence when learning any language. 101 Languages also lacks a mobile version that makes other programs useful almost anywhere.

Fundamentals:  

This software covers the fundamentals well. The speech recognition system can be useful for analyzing your pronunciation, though it isn’t quite as accurate as some of our top-ranked products. One of the biggest problems with 101 Languages is the depth of material. There are great vocabulary and grammar resources, however there is not enough material available to allow Spanish students to thoroughly grasp the Spanish language.

Ease of Use:  

The navigation for the Languages of the World portion of the program is fairly simple; you use the tab function to move between sections. But once you select a section, the controls are not intuitive and the layout of the program is confusing. Also, because written Spanish requires accents to appear above certain letters this ought to be a simple function in any Spanish language program. Achieving accented letters in 101 Languages writing program requires a few extra keystrokes; writing Spanish using 101 Languages is not as convenient as it should have been.

Due to the fact that this program is an incorporation of two separate programs, you must learn to navigate both the Languages of the World and the Vocabulary of the World programs. And navigating Vocabulary of the World was not as intuitive as other flashcard programs.

Teaching Tools:  

This software package offers many convenient features. 101 Languages software has the ability to slow down the pronunciation of each word to allow you to hear each syllable. It also offers the check-word feature which allows you to build personal vocabulary lists.

The suite does come with speech recognition software, but this part of the program needs improvement. Speech recognition technology should allow your computer to recognize what you say, assess your pronunciation and correct your mistakes. I found that this program lacked accuracy when listening, offering both false praise and weak criticism of my Spanish pronunciation.

The software offers some information in the form of activities. The crossword puzzle activity allows you to increase your vocabulary and spelling skills in an amusing environment. As with most crossword puzzles, you are required to type one letter in each square, remembering to add all accents.

Word Tools:  

101 Language' word tools are much more limited than in other programs because they cover so many different languages. This makes it a poor resource for more than the most basic Spanish dictionaries or translations.

Help/Support:  

Transparent Language provides email and phone support for questions and problems. There is also a user manual to help with troubleshooting problems. FAQs and updates are available on the homepage.

This product is not an effective because it fails to cover many aspects necessary for Spanish fluency. If you desire Spanish fluency, there are much more complete products on the market.