Foreign Lang. SW Improves Its Speech

Learn To Speak German 6.0 and Learn To Speak Spanish 6.0 include new speech-recognition technology to provide the user with enhanced self-study language learning.

Students learn to speak and understand the language by studying vocabulary, grammar, reading and writing. Cultural notes, audio recordings and more than one hour of QuickTime movies deepen students' knowledge and understanding of the history, geography and customs of countries where the languages are spoken.

The speech recognition technology (Windows only) in the programs enables users to improve their pronunciation by recording their own voice and automatically comparing their pronunciation of words, phrases and complete sentences to that of native speakers. The software shows users how their pronunciation is improving by evaluating it on a sliding scale from "tourist" to "native."

The QuickTime movies in each program's 30 situation-based lessons contain more than 20 native speakers enacting the story and dialogue. Exercises and games, both onscreen and in the 350-page textbook, offer engaging ways to reinforce comprehension, grammar and writing skills. The Learning Co., Fremont, CA, (800) 852-2255.

Featured

  • blue AI cloud connected to circuit lines, a server stack, and a shield with a padlock icon

    Report: AI Security Controls Lag Behind Adoption of AI Cloud Services

    According to a recent report from cybersecurity firm Wiz, nearly nine out of 10 organizations are already using AI services in the cloud — but fewer than one in seven have implemented AI-specific security controls.

  • stacks of glowing digital documents with circuit patterns and data streams

    Mistral AI Intros Advanced AI-Powered OCR

    French AI startup Mistral AI has announced Mistral OCR, an advanced optical character recognition (OCR) API designed to convert printed and scanned documents into digital files with "unprecedented accuracy."

  • robot waving

    Copilot Updates Aim to Personalize AI

    Microsoft has introduced a range of updates to its Copilot platform, marking a new phase in its effort to deliver what it calls a "true AI companion" that adapts to individual users' needs, preferences and routines.

  • teenager interacts with a chatbot on a computer screen

    Character.AI Rolls Out New Parental Insights Feature Amid Safety Concerns

    Chatbot platform Character.AI has introduced a new Parental Insights feature aimed at giving parents a window into their children's activity on the platform. The feature allows users under 18 to share a weekly report of their chatbot interactions directly with a parent's e-mail address.