Can You Say Language Program?

Ready to learn or brush up on a foreign language? Someday all you will have to do is pull up a chair, turn on your personal computer and get to work. But first, you’ll have to shop for some special software.

Various companies publish programs designed to help students, business people and vacationers master languages. Some programs feature “drill and practice,” which checks your accuracy as you type words and phrases. Others provide information on proper word usage and verb conjugation.

A new generation of programs takes things a step further. Some of the programs help you with pronunciation and others immerse you in the culture from which the language comes--something like taking an electronic trip abroad.

An interesting newcomer to the field is HyperGlot Software of Knoxville, Tenn., which publishes foreign-language training programs for the Apple Macintosh. All of the company’s programs are written with HyperCard, the Apple software development tool that is included with all Macintoshes. HyperGlot has programs for French, German, Russian and Spanish and it plans to come out with programs for Japanese and Chinese. The programs are written by the company’s president, Martin Rice, who is a Russian-language professor at the University of Tennessee.

I tested three of the company’s products, all programs designed to teach Spanish to English speakers. (Nearly identical programs are available for the other languages.) “La tortura con palabras,” (word torture) flashes English or Spanish words on the screen and gives you a set time (adjustable from 1 to 5 seconds) to come up with an answer. When the time is up, the program flashes the correct answer and goes on to the next word.

The program comes with nearly 1,600 words and allows you to add your own. That can be especially handy for an instructor or a language laboratory director who wants to teach a specialized vocabulary. Although the program is designed to teach a foreign language to English speakers, Rice reports that some non-English speakers are using it in reverse.

Provides Pronunciations

Another HyperGlot program, “Verb Tutor,” teaches the proper use of verbs, a major challenge when learning a language. The user selects the verb to learn and the program presents a set of sentences with an asterisk placed where the verb should be. The user types an answer. If it is correct, the program goes on to the next verb. If incorrect, the user is told which tense to use and given a chance to try again. The mouse can be used to click “buttons” on the screen for more information, including an English translation of the sentence or an explanation of how the verb is used in the particular context.

The first two programs are fine, as far as they go, but I was most impressed with HyperGlot’s series called “Pronunciation Tutor.” French and Spanish versions use HyperCard’s outstanding audio capability to provide actual pronunciations, using the voice of a native speaker. I tried the Spanish “Pronunciation Tutor” and was very impressed with the clarity of the recorded voice. The Macintosh has a built-in speaker as well as a jack that accommodates standard headphones.

Single vowels and consonants as well as words and complete phrases are displayed on the screen while the Mac “speaks” to you. The program also displays English translations as it pronounces the foreign-language words and phrases. The “Verb Tutor” and “Word Torture” programs cost $29.95 each and “Pronunciation Tutor” sells for $49.95. HyperGlot can be reached at (800) 726-5087.

Mac owners aren’t the only ones who can use their computers to learn foreign languages. New York-based Gessler Publishing produces a variety of foreign-language programs for the IBM PC, Apple II and Commodore 64 computers, as well as the Macintosh. The company’s software includes drill and practice programs, along with innovative learning games, including foreign-language versions of Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit.

“Bataille de Mots” (French for Battle of Words) is a two-disk program that teaches “the vocabulary of school, food, sports, travel, daily life and occupation,” according to a Gessler catalogue. To maintain a student’s interest, the program uses color graphics and optional sound effects. It also includes a simple text editor so that users can create and print out their own vocabulary drills.

The program, which costs $50, runs on the IBM PC, Apple II and Commodore 64, but not the Macintosh. A Spanish-language version is also available.

Gessler also publishes training disks to prepare students for the National Foreign Language Examination. Finally, would-be detectives with a Macintosh can learn French or German while solving a murder mystery by playing “Whodunit,” a $49.95 learning game. For a catalogue or additional information, call (212) 627-0099 or write Gessler Publishing, 55 West 13th St., New York, N.Y. 10011-7958.

Professors at Stanford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are working on an extremely sophisticated interactive “multimedia” learning program called “Philippe.” The program requires a Macintosh II equipped with a videodisk player and a high-resolution video monitor in addition to the Mac’s regular hard disk and computer monitor. The Macintosh is connected to the videodisk player so that students can control what they see and hear, making it “interactive” video.

The computer user meets Philippe at a Parisian sidewalk cafe just as his girlfriend is asking him to move out of the apartment they share. Philippe asks the user to help him find an apartment in Paris. The “movie” on the videodisk features native French actors who speak at a normal pace, as you might expect in a theatrical film rather than a training video.

There is also background noise, making them more difficult to understand. To provide help for students who need it, the program comes with an alternative sound track without the background noise and in which the actors speak more slowly.

Because users can select the level of difficulty, the program can be used “toward the end of the first year (of study) all the way to very advanced students,” according to Stanford French professor, John Barson. Barson said Philippe reflects the trend toward teaching languages by “presenting a real-world situation with native speakers.”

The program, still undergoing revisions, is not yet commercially available. The hardware required to run programs such as Philippe is too expensive for most consumers, but it often is available at universities, libraries and corporate training departments.

After reviewing all of this language software, I’m all set for an overseas vacation. Only question is, where should I go?

LANGUAGE SOFTWARE

HyperGlot Software

Foreign language training programs for the Apple Macintosh. All programs are written using HyperCard, the programming language provided with all Macintoshes. The company has programs for French, German, Russian and Spanish, and it plans to release programs for Japanese and Chinese. Some of its programs, including Pronunciation Tutor, include a voice to aid in pronunciation.

Price: $29.95 to $49.95.

Publisher: HyperGlot Software Co.; 505 Forest Hills Blvd.; Knoxville, Tenn. 37919. Phone: (615) 558-8270 or (800) 726-5087.

Gessler Publishing

A wide variety of software products to help students learn Spanish, French, German and Latin. Various titles run on IBM PC, Apple II, Apple Macintosh and Commodore 64.

Publisher: Gessler Publishing Co.; 55 West 13th St.; New York, N.Y. 10011-7958. Phone: (212) 627-0099. Fax: (212) 627-5948.