How to improve your brain with a Mac
- Article 80 of 89
- MacFormat, October 2009
Let your Mac help you to become even smarter
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If you don’t want to create your own flashcards, Byki’s Express and Deluxe software (http://www.byki.com/) covers over 70 languages, and includes MP3s and a pronunciation tutor that analyses what you say and corrects it. There are also iPhone apps of the flashcards for the most popular languages.
For those who want more complete language learning courses, Rosetta Stone (http://www.rosettastone.com) is one of the most popular tools available – although it’s also phenomenally expensive ($499 for a complete set of levels one to three). It throws away flashcards in favour of a more immersive approach, flooding you with words, images and the voices of native speakers, just as you learnt to speak English when you were a child. Many people will find EuroTalk’s TalkNow software (http://eurotalk.com/en/) a far cheaper and more friendly alternative, since includes quizzes, memory games, a printable dictionary and MP3s to listen to. But at the top of the list is Berlitz’s Premier language software (http://www.avanquest.com/UK/education/language-learning/index.html?page=2&sort=&sort=1), which includes all the features of other software, as well as role-playing, video of native speakers so you get to see their body language and gestures, and interactive transcripts of long scenes. There’s no proper grammar trainer and it’s only available for a few languages, but at £29.35, that’s just quibbling.
You have the potential inside you to become more than what you are. Your Mac can help you unlock that potential, if you know where to look.
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