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Is TMM really intended for self study? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| georgehawkins Newbie Switzerland Joined 5137 days ago 1 posts - 3 votes | Message 1 of 6 31 October 2010 at 6:32pm | IP Logged |
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Is TellMeMore really intended for self study?
I've started using TellMeMore v10 and I'm a little surprised by the experience so far... TellMeMore feels more like a workbook you'd complete after the concepts and vocabulary had been properly explained to you elsewhere. At no point do I feel I'm being actively taught vocabulary - at no point am I introduced to a word, instead I have to actively right click on each new word as it appears. Very early on you get "what is another word for X?" style exercises. How on earth would you know unless someone had introduced this word earlier? Similarly at no time am I walked through a new grammar construct, instead you hit exercises about which you've no idea, so you click on a button and a full formal explanation comes up. There's no attempt to walk you through the concept, starting small and building up - you've just got the full explanation and you're supposed to make something of it yourself. E.g. one of the very first lines that comes up when you want an explanation of adjective use is: "The attributive adjective of a singular neuter noun, whether preceded by a or not, is invariable". Umm... is that leading me in gently? The grammar explanations look suspiciously like they might be from some old out of copyright work - they look reasonably comprehensive but they don't look like something out of a modern teaching institutions examination into how to best communicate grammatical concepts. In the first first lesson block I came across constructs like "ik ben je naam vergeten" (I've forgotten your name). The past tense before you've gone anywhere with the present tense? I would describe myself as a geek and this product looks like it was designed by geeks, i.e. poorly! Geeks usually fail to consider user interface issues very deeply. TellMeMore looks OK but I would say the usability is low, normal usage requires far to much clicking, opening and closing windows and so on. If I didn't already speak a good amount of German and already understand some Dutch I think I'd have been totally stumped by the very first exercise - this asks you to answer various Dutch questions. Are beginners really supposed to right click on every single Dutch word in the question and the multiple possible answers? Even this wont really work for a true beginner, if you don't know some word order rules and some other basics then knowing the meaning of each individual word isn't in itself enough to determine the meaning of the overall sentence. I short I feel I've paid a lot for a glorified work book when what I was expecting was something that actively *taught* :( This looks to be quite a popular product that many people seem to use happily. So I'm wondering if I'm missing something? Or is it really mainly being used as a study aide alongside classes taught by a real teacher? /George 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Hardheim Diglot Newbie United States Joined 5198 days ago 34 posts - 78 votes  Speaks: English*, German Studies: Spanish, French | Message 2 of 6 31 October 2010 at 7:00pm | IP Logged |
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If I'm not mistaken, the Tell me More series has 10 levels and can be started at any of these levels based on your assessment of knowledge in the language. Are you sure what you are describing is from Level 1? If not, that is pretty insane.
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| schoenewaelder Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 5559 days ago 759 posts - 1197 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: German, Spanish, Dutch | Message 3 of 6 02 November 2010 at 5:24pm | IP Logged |
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Isn't there a dialogue you're supposed to watch first, then the vocab and exercises are (roughly) based upon that?
With the original release, the first word I learnt was the German for "caterpillar". Not really a very well designed program. With the later releases, the interface became more impressive (or confusing, depending on your view), but not really any more useful than the simple old style. I think the vocab did improve a little as well. If you ignore the price, the games and voice recording have a little entertainment and learning value. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Elexi Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5564 days ago 938 posts - 1840 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 4 of 6 18 July 2012 at 2:50pm | IP Logged |
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One of the testimonial videos on the TellMeMore website says that the program is not to be used as a
standalone program but accompanied with formal teaching. The speaker says an extra 2 hours of TellMeMore a week on top of formal teaching is effective for revision and consolidation. I think this is probably right. I quite like the program - but after the opening dialogue and the video lesson, it becomes a relentless series of workbook style exercises (crosswords, connect the sentences, hangman). For the price one could buy most of the review books on the market (like the Practice Makes Perfect series) and still have change for some 1-1 Skype lessons. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Gala Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 4549 days ago 229 posts - 421 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Italian | Message 5 of 6 19 July 2012 at 11:00am | IP Logged |
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I can't imagine a beginner using TMM for self-study. My university went through a phase
of 2 semesters where all students enrolled in a foreign language class were required to purchase the online subscription to it (at a discount student rate) and it was a disaster. So many people had issues with it that the school dropped its use. I myself never had a real problem with it, as I already had 2 years of Spanish behind me (classes and much self-study) when I began using it. I placed at advanced on it and worked on that level, and later the "expert" one. I was, however, pretty unimpressed by it. It had some utility, and I had been forced to buy it, so I used it regularly until my subscription ran out. I felt the need to get my money's worth out of it, but I would never recommend it to anyone, especially not if they had to pay the full price. There are better resources out there that are free and many that are much cheaper. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| mikonai Diglot Senior Member United States weirdnamewriting.bloRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4928 days ago 178 posts - 281 votes Speaks: English*, Italian Studies: Swahili, German | Message 6 of 6 19 July 2012 at 4:11pm | IP Logged |
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I used TMM for a while, and I have to say I didn't really like it. It makes more sense
now that I find out it's not a standalone program, though. The exercises were relentless, and oddly enough, if I followed the path that the program supposedly designed for me, I didn't get to the grammar explanations or vocabulary lists until after I had done every other exercise for that set. I still have it lying around. I spent so much money on it that I somehow can't bear to get rid of it. I think I might come back to the dictation bits sometime (which were always the hardest for me, incidentally. My listening comprehension was never that great, but it always felt extremely fast, especially for an early level and with words the program hadn't prepared me for. I'll probably find it to be a better exercise now, with an expanded vocabulary and maybe some better listening skills. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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