It may seem like a slightly insulting suggestion to imply that a native English-speaker might benefit from trying some English language software. And yet, to be honest, how many people find themselves in highly pressurised work environments where they are required to produce, as fast as possible, reports, detailed e-mail responses, and letters to clients, customers or professional consultants, all without a single spelling error or grammatical slip-up?

For anyone who doesn’t aim to be the next Oscar Wilde or Fyodor Dostoyevsky, but just wants to get their job done as accurately and clearly as possible as quickly as possible, English4Today may have the perfect solution. It’s an online resource with CD software to compliment it, and offers superb, instantaneous guidance on vocabulary, punctuation, grammar, and spelling.

The English4Today Grammar eBook explains the general principals of grammar with fabulously straightforward lucidity. If you never want to embarrass yourself with a poorly expressed but great idea again, Ebglish4Today is for you.

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Anyone in a hurry to learn how to be understood in a non-English speaking country will be impressed with eLanguage’s ‘Learn to Speak Deluxe’ range of language software.

You won’t be able to read Proust, Goethe or Freud in the original after the course, but you’ll be able to order food in a restaurant, ask for (and understand) directions and – basically but clearly – make yourself understood in a broad range of ordinary life situations. And you’ll be able to do so quickly. This software is specifically aimed at travellers and holiday-makers and places its primary emphasis on accurate pronunciation and practising conversations.

You get to practise ‘real time’ conversations with native speakers, and whilst you may not be able to translate the works of the country’s leading literary lights, you will build up a perfectly serviceable vocabulary in your chosen language. Available in Spanish, French, German and English, this software will allow you to speak you chosen second language. Fast.

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A visit to France can be a spellbinding experience; peering over the great city of Paris from the lofty heights of the Eiffel Tower, strolling through the magnificent gardens of the Palace at Versailles, or stepping into crystal clear water from the hot white sands of the beach at St Tropez, France has innumerable places of sheer enchantment.

But everything gets compromised when you don’t know how to ask where the nearest toilet is, or you can’t understand a word of the directions you’ve just asked for. Aurolog’s fantastic French language software will put paid to embarrassment like this. It packs no less than 850 hours of superbly crafted instruction into its programme, has 4500 exercise and 37 different activities to keep you on your toes.

And the software’s excellent Spoken Error Tracking System deftly corrects your pronunciation with instant feedback. You can pick and choose between three different learning modes – Dynamic, Guided and Free to Roam – for amazing learning flexibility. C’est magnifique!

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We’ve sung the praises of Aurolog’s excellent ‘Tell Me More’ language software before here. But the latest version (9) includes some enticing new features you won’t find on any other language learning software.

In particular, you’ll get a unique role-playing facility with v9, which includes over 10 hours of video (you become a character in a scene, interacting with native speakers). The new edition also cleverly incorporates weekly lessons that are based on currently running regional news events. Immersion learning doesn’t come more immediately (or realistically) than this. And the four learning levels of the earlier package are replaced with ten, amounting to a whopping 2000 hours of learning material.

Not only this but you’ll get online support all day, every day, with online tests gauging your skill level and tracking your improvements. And the speech recognition feature had been enhanced for even more accurate correction of mispronounced words and phrases. Roll over, White Smoke!

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Whilst it may not be the best idea, contrary to popular mythology, to throw a complete non-swimmer into the deep end of a swimming pool, it’s altogether less risky to immerse a non-German speaker into a deep German language pool.

That’s the guiding principal behind the excellent ‘Instant Immersion German’ software. The basics of the German language come to vibrant life in the lessons, taking the novice from basic words to complex phrases and fluent dialogue in easy to manage steps. As with all of the best language software, superb native speakers provide expert guidance through a variety of media, including audio clips, still images and video sequences. And the speech recognition feature helps you correct your stumbling mispronunciations with laser fast accuracy.

It may lack the online testing and chat with native speakers that more expensive packages offer, but at just $35, this software is hard to beat for anyone who wants to learn in a hurry.

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How would you like to be fluent in 75 different languages in an instant? No, you won’t need a micro-chip implanted in your brain – although, there’s an idea! All you’ll need is the superb Babylon 8 translation tool, available as an immediate download after purchase.

Formed in 1997, Babylon is now the market leader in translation software. Babylon 8 includes a dictionary, complete with synonyms, for each of the 75 languages and boasts a translation engine which is one of the most comprehensive and evolved currently available. It incorporates the Oxford Dictionary compendium and the latest Wikipedia database: you can instantaneously Wiki your words as you work. And the spell check engine even works on blogs, Gmail, Facebook and Hotmail.  

The software is also regularly updated via the net. You can now confidently translate into a language you’re completely unfamiliar, in perfect grammar, at the single click of a mouse. Brilliant stuff!

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Anyone trying to grasp a new language will be aware that the language seems to be infinite, but the time available to learn it horribly limited. For many of us, the idea of ‘spare time’ can feel like a cruel joke.

But how about learning while sleeping? This is the approach used by sleeplearning.com. The premise is that your mind continues to absorb information subconsciously, even while you’re dreaming about Kiera Knightley. Neuropsychologists believe that the brain uses only about 5% of its capacity in obvious mental activity (like dreaming), which leaves a thumping 95% for other things, if only it can be harnessed.

The language CDs essentially repeat 850 words in your chosen language – the number believed to be used by all native language users on an everyday basis, in whatever tongue. And you can listen to them in a CD player in your bedroom or with specially designed foam pillow speakers. Neat, eh?

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The most complex thing you’ve ever learnt in your life is your own language, and although it ‘just happened’ whilst you were growing up, it’s easy to forget all the misheard, mispronounced and misunderstood words you absorbed and discarded along the way.

Rosetta Stone is an established world leader in the field of language software. Its Direct Immersion method matches real-life visual scenarios with perfectly pronounced words uttered by native speakers: you won’t have to memorise vocabularies with this technique, you’ll just learn by living through it, just like you did when you were growing up – only without the confusion!

Advanced voice recognition technology enables you to compare your recorded attempts with the words spoken by native speakers, so you can cumulatively perfect your pronunciation. The product also includes audio CDs, so you can listen in the car or in the living room – and the software calibrates its progress according to your own pace.

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As high-speed transport and digital communication makes the world a smaller place, it’s increasingly useful to learn a new language, not just for that European vacation, but for business and work, too.

Berlitz, one of the most established names in the language-learning field, uses a three-pronged approach to enhance your learning. Its award-winning PC software provides entertaining interactive games like ‘Fill in the Blank’, where you have to add the missing word in a phrase or paragraph. You can listen to perfect native speakers then use the speech analysis feature to record your own effort, play it back and compare.

And you’ll be able to watch videos of everyday speech scenarios to help you see your new language in action. But you can also listen to your new language in your car with a CD and hear it on your iPod or MP3 player. Three approaches, one language. Das ist sehr gut!

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If you want to learn a new language at a lightning pace, Byki Deluxe language software is for you. Using a clear three-step process, it starts by taking you on a guided tour of the material you’re about to learn, then teaches you how to recognise the written and spoken words you’ll need and finally gets you expressing yourself in your new language in speech and writing.

Native speakers ensure your pronunciation is constantly perfected. Right in the very first lesson, you’ll lock scores of words and phrases into your memory: with its ‘Intelligent Refresh’ system, it ensures you constantly review items you might otherwise forget.

And the personalised learning system works out what you find easy and where you’re struggling, focussing your attention on the things you sweat over rather than those you romp through. And you’ll get BykiPod MP3 audio files, so you can practise away from your computer on your MP3 player or iPhone.

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