This is hands down the greatest computer program ever written… and it’s free.  It’s called Phun and that is exactly what it is.

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Do you want to do more with a foreign language than just memorize words and phases? 
I’ve been playing around with Rosetta Stone for a couple weeks now, and it really is the best tool I’ve ever seen for learning a new language.  With 31 languages, the programs focus on immersion with no translation.  Basically, it’s a more organized and highly accelerated scenario of being dropped off in a foreign country; your brain connects words with images to learn naturally without memorization. 
Rosetta Stone uses native speakers together with proprietary speech recognition analysis to make sure you don’t sound like a stereotypic heavy accented foreigner.  You can set the speech precision level on easy, normal, medium, difficult, or even custom depending on whether your interests lie with merely understanding the language or perfecting its pronunciation.  The special contextual formation and adaptive recall methods will make sure you have the confidence and cues you need to not only retain the language, but to get the words out on the spot for fluent communication.  Check out the demo.

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