Ease of Use:  

Russian Complete Edition is easy to use once you have mastered the two programs needed to access all the features. Each program has its own uses and spending a little time figuring them out is necessary or the program can get a little annoying. If worse comes to worst there are helpful hints throughout the program that will keep you learning. The program is not congested; tabs are labeled clearly and are very helpful and easy to follow.

Feature Set:  

Russian Complete Edition offers a large variety of features that will keep your mind on Russian. One feature that stood out was the Video section, where you can watch multiple interactive videos where native speakers interact and teach you about the Russian language. This allows you to learn what they are saying, how they are saying it and try and learn from them.

Another helpful feature is one that allows you to slow down each word that is spoken so you can listen to the pronunciation and learn how to say each word yourself. This feature will also help when you have to record your own voice and see how well you do up against a native speaker. However the speech recognition feature did not work as well as we had hoped. Sometimes the pronunciation was not even close and it got better praises than when we actually tried.

One feature that is missing from almost every Russian learning software package that we have reviewed is a feature that aids in the process of actual sentence structure. The basics for grammar, vocabulary and even pronunciation are covered but without the basic knowledge of forming sentences there is a gap in the learning process.

Ease of Installation:  

The installation process is like any other program; put in the DVD and click install. The program does take a few minutes to install all three programs but is not complicated by extra registration or other issues.

Help/Support:  

The help that Transparent Language provides for Russian Complete Edition is excellent. You can contact Transparent Language by email and phone, their online help includes FAQs, an online form and updates. However, if you are connected to the internet, when you open the browser it will prompt you for auto updates. There is also a video tutorial and helpful hints that can be turned on and off for each feature.

Fundamentals:  

Russian Complete Edition has all the fundamentals needed to teach anyone Russian from the bottom up. Learn vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and many other essentials needed to speak and understand Russian. Take test and quizzes at any point in the learning process to see how well you are doing and if you are really learning what you have heard or read. The fundamentals can even be learned on the go with hundreds of simple media files that teach thousands of words and phrases.

Effectiveness:  

The overall effectiveness of the program is based on each person. However the necessary fundamentals and features for teaching Russian are all included and with practice can be learned. You may choose to follow the lessons in order or skip from one to another until you have learned everything. The fact that they don’t have a set pattern for learning makes keeping track of what you have and haven’t done a challenge and could cause some problems if you are not using the program on a daily basis.

For those who have no experience with Russian this program could be a little hard to use because it throws you right into the learning process without teaching the basics. However, if you are willing to apply yourself, Russian Complete Edition can help you learn the basics and little more. We recommend this product to anyone and everyone for a fun interactive learning experience.