Review of CortinaLearning.com
Books+CDs, No pronunciation scores, Cheap books, Expensive CDs, ★
They teach 6 languages, with good grammar explanations and drills, but vocabulary of the 1950s and poor CDs. The 250-450 page books are on Amazon used for $5 or less. The book and 8 CDs are sold by the publisher for $150.

The books explain grammar well, with interesting drills and good phonetic pronunciation. Remember you are learning Stalin's Russian, not current.

The audio samples on the website show they enunciate each word clearly, but with poor rhythm or phrasing of the sentence as a whole, for example to show a question. They give learners one chance to repeat a sentence, and no breakdown into individual words, so you depend on reading the target language while listening, and will be distracted by spelling, and your native language assumptions about how each letter is spoken. (Click for Arguelles' review.)

Review of Transparent.com,  Byki.com
Desktop+online+MP3+app, Pronunciation scored, Cheap ★★★★★ up to Windows 8,  Expensive ★★★ in Windows 10
Transparent and Byki (Before You Know It) are the same company, and have several versions of language courses on their 2 websites. Versions 1 and 2 are highly recommended for beginners with older Windows computers, because of the pronunciation scores and graphs. Version 2 costs more, and also gives you MP3 files to download and listen offline. The following graphs give an example of the falling then rising tone of yǔ in Mandarin, meaning "and." Transparent helps you learn to say tones. Use BBC to practice recognizing them when others speak.

1. $12-$30 for a desktop package of 76 languages, 1,500+ words each; good graphs and scores to improve your pronunciation (title: 101 Languages). Needs Windows XP, Vista, 7, or 8; does not work in Windows 10, so it loses a star in the overall list. Support has ended. Use instructions below, not the instructions which come with it. ★★★★★
2. $20-$70 for desktop and MP3 in any one of 72 languages, 1,000+ words; same graphs and scores to improve your pronunciation as version 1 (title: Byki Deluxe). Needs Windows XP, Vista, 7, or 8; does not work in Windows 10, so it loses a star in the overall list. Support ends in 2017 ★★★★★
3. $30 per month online, (cheaper for longer terms) in any one of 100 languages, 2,000+ words; limited graph only shows volume, accepts poor pronunciation, but you can replay pronunciation of the native speaker and yourself to compare them and improve (title: Transparent Language Online) ★★★
4. $50 for 5 audio CDs or MP3 downloads in any one of 10 languages; does not score your pronunciation (title: Everywhere Audio Course) ★★★
5. Free desktop version with 150 words or phrases in each of 72 languages; does not score your pronunciation (title: Byki Express) ★
6. $8 per language for Android or iPhone apps, 1000+ words in each of 25 languages; does not score your pronunciation  (title: Byki Mobile) ★
7. $99 per 90 minutes for private tutor or $300 for 8 classes, by web, though they do not say how many teachers are native speakers, or class size. You may find less expensive sources.

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CHEAP AND EXCELLENT APPROACH for older Windows computers (XP, Vista, 7, or 8):

Versions 1 and 2 are excellent places to start, since they hear you and score your pronunciation while you learn. Beginners do well to take advantage of this pronunciation scoring, so you build good habits. Bad pronunciation is hard to fix later and is a barrier to people ever understanding you. The main competitor which has pronunciation scoring is Pronunciator (free through many US libraries, for 47 languages). It costs more than version 1, and has much less detailed feedback on pronunciation (just an overall rating and pitch), but it lets you start with very simple words like numbers, which are easier for learning good pronunciation than the complicated artificial conversations which Version 1 teaches. Try either or both.
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Instructions: Version 1 teaches individual words and phrases, but its instructions are too cryptic, so try these:

1. During installation choose which languages to install; go back later to install more. Besides the target language(s) you want to learn, install one you know, such as English (it is aimed at Spanish speakers), so you can learn how the program works in a language you know. Keep the CDs handy, since the program sometimes asks for them.
2. After installation, the opening screen lets you double-click any installed language.
3. They call each line of text a segment. In some languages the 3rd-10th segments (lines) are a table of contents showing the segment (line) where each topic starts: 12, 68, 116, 184... However this is in the target language, not very useful for beginners, which is why step 1 suggested installing a language you know. Different languages have different lessons, but similar approaches.
4. Click the Pronunciation tab, then "Listen+Speak" then "Start."
5. Scroll down past the explanatory text to simple phrases. Double-click any word to hear it spoken. The meaning of the word and its sentence will appear below the text. Click the turtle to toggle between normal speed and slower.
6. Hold down the left mouse button on the "Record Your Voice" button, while you say the word. Graphs compare you to the native speaker, and a half-circle graph gives you an overall score (green is best).
7. If you find a section you want to go back to, write down its segment (line number), which is in a small rectangular box under the display of words in the target language. In future you can click that box and enter the number you want to go back to.
8. Numbers are taught in different places in each language. For example numbers 0-100 are taught near the end in most languages, but some languages only teach numbers 1-10, and they start in segment 23.
9. Repeat, with more words each day, and later advance to full sentences and the other tabs.

Version 1 has 76 languages and dialects with pronunciation by native speakers, and another 25 with 750+ words each but not pronunciation, hence its title "101 Languages of the World." Our index shows the languages which lack pronunciation as "Trans silent." Version 1 converts all spelling to the Roman alphabet. Amazon reviewers say it is a good introduction for people going to multiple countries, or who want to hear common words in some rarer languages.

Version 2 teaches 66 of the first 76 languages, and 17 others. Most are also in version 4. The 17 which are not in version 1 are: Altai, Armenian, Bashkir, Buriat, Chechen, Dari, Georgian, Hausa, Kazakh, Macedonian, Mirandese, Mongolian, Pashto, Tajiki, Turkmen, Tuvan, Uzbek.

FREE, NOT SO GOOD APPROACH:

By contrast with the thorough teaching in the low cost Version 1, the free Version 6 only has vocabulary flash cards. It shows spelling in English (optionally also in target language), and a native speaker says the word or phrase.

A problem with Version 6 is that even the first lesson is full of phrases which are too long for beginners. They range up to 5 syllables and average 3 syllables per word in the first lesson, in both English and Chinese. The turtle button lets you toggle between normal speed and slightly slower, but it is still very hard for total beginners to pick up the sounds of long phrases.

You could start instead with numbers. Version 6 shows zero through ten, in random order.

Ttansparent and Byki do not teach business phone conversations. Version 6 is clearly aimed at travelers, with 30 long phrases on taxis, though no lessons to understand drivers' answers. Version 1 includes similar phrases on taxis along with a few possible answers. It also has conversations on changing money at banks, and checking into hotels.

OTHER DISTINCTIONS:

Version 2 and perhaps others too, will display words/phrases which are hard for you, more often, until you learn them. In all versions you can click to repeat anything.

Only the MP3 files (Versions 2, 3 and 5) let you learn alone in the car, since the apps make you look at the screen.

For intermediate students Transparent/Byki have strengths and weaknesses. They do not conjugate verbs, and do not cover as much vocabulary as Pronunciator. However they cover grammar in a way Pronunciator does not. Version 1 (and probably 2-4) lets you click any word in the lesson on the Reading tab, and then shows you links to grammatical explanations for how that word is used. Version 1 is thus an inexpensive way to learn basic grammar if you cannot find a printed grammar for your target language. Pronunciator does not have these grammatical explanations, though Pronunciator conjugates 100 verbs in past, present and future tenses.
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All versions are taught in English, except English itself which most versions teach in Spanish and/or Portuguese. Apps (version 7) teach English in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish.
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Versions 2 and 7 have over 1,000 words/phrases according to reviews of the desktop and the app, or "thousands" according to the website, with some of these contributed by other learners.

Review of PRONUNCIATOR.com
Web, MP4, App, Pronunciation scored, Free, ★★★★ in USA. Not available in rest of world.
This is only accessible if your library in the USA and Canada subscribes. Your library will tell you how to log in. It has words spoken by native speakers in 72 languages. It is free state-wide in Texas (TexShare), North Carolina (NC LIVE), Louisiana, and Arkansas (Traveler).

App: "Pronunciator" needs a constant data connection.

You can choose lessons in any order. Inside each lesson (drop-down menus) you have to study words in order. Click to repeat a word or phrase as often as you need.

It offers structured lessons, beginner to advanced. At the top of the list is the "Main Course." At the bottom is basic vocabulary for health care workers.

"Main Course" has Core Vocabulary (100 categories like computers), Powerful Phrases (50 travel categories like money), and 100 Verbs conjugated. Beginners can choose easy subjects (like Numbers or Animals), and the site slowly speaks numbers 1-30, then by tens to 100, or names the animals, and pauses for you to repeat, while showing pictures so you know what each foreign word means.

An excellent feature in the Main Course is the Songs (tab called "ProRadio"), very clearly sung, and it shows lyrics to help you learn (Chinese, Danish, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish and Swedish).

​Videos (drop down menu item called "ProFlix") with subtitles let you repeat any phrase you want to learn in some languages. 

The Audio tab lets you download lessons, though they have a lot of distracting explanation in your own language (Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Sinhala, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Turkish, and Urdu, not English).

Another excellent feature is to listen and score pronunciation, under Main Course /  Drills / Pronunciation Analysis. I recommend students start here, specifically with the drop down menus for Core Vocabulary and Numbers. Click the spelling on the screen to hide it, and listen, wait for the red light, then repeat. Your rising scores encourage you to continue. The system gave me appropriate low scores in Arabic, which I do not speak, until I practiced enough to get middling scores, so it can help and motivate beginners. It gave me an occasional 100% for my intermediate Spanish accent, so its standard is not strict, and it may not help you polish an intermediate accent to an excellent one.

It also lets you record and compare your voice to teachers.

Health vocabulary, grammar, and a class for the US Citizenship exam are in the first menu (same page as language selection in the App).

Pronunciator has a graph of pitch, as musical notes; it is under the word Pitch, at the far right of the Main Course Drills tab. It only gives one or two notes per syllable, so it is not detailed enough to show the rising and falling tones of Chinese. Also, the notes do not always match the voice: Merci beaucoup shows rising notes, but the speaker goes down at the end. If you have a Windows computer with Windows 8 or earlier, Transparent has more detailed graphs on pitch, vowels, consonants, etc, which gives you more guidance.

Pronunciator is a good site for beginners and intermediate learners, because of the pronunciation feedback and the range of topics. Beginners do best to start with topics where pictures clearly show the meaning, and spellings can be hidden (by clicking the spelling on the screen): numbers, animals, colors, eating utensils, furniture, home appliances, bathroom, kitchen, insects, light sources, musical instruments, nationalities, shapes, tools, vehicles. Spelling normally distracts you from good pronunciation, since your mind tries to pronounce letters as they would be pronounced in your language. However the spelling is available to clarify whether the speaker is saying b, p, v, etc. Even for Chinese there is a Pinyin option, giving Roman letters which help with consonants, and accents which show tones (explained in free FSI and BBC courses and graphed in Transparent and Tellmemore courses).

The main competitor which has good pronunciation scoring is limited to old computers with  Windows 8 or earlier: Transparent ($25-40 for unlimited time in 76 languages). Transparent costs less, has more detailed feedback on pronunciation, and grammatical explanations of each word, but it starts with complicated artificial conversations, does not let you choose topics, and does not conjugate verbs. Pronunciator lets you start with very simple words like numbers, which are easier for learning good pronunciation, and then you can choose more advanced topics. After you learn good pronunciation with Transparent or Pronunciator, there are other free or inexpensive programs with 4 or 5 stars to expand your vocabulary and grammar.

The main competitors which lets you pick topics to study are 50 Languages and Internet Polyglot, but they have no feedback on pronunciation, and have less vocabulary. For example on medical terms, Pronunciator goes from ache, acne, aids, allergy, ambulance, to vaccination, vitamin, wheel chair, and x-ray. If you need medical care abroad, you really need practitioners who speak your language or hire a translator, but for times when the translator is not there, you can learn some medical terms to track the babel around you. Even if you speak the language, you may not know all these terms, so you can learn them when needed.

A PDF file compares Lessons from Lang1234, 50 Languages, Pronunciator, and Internet Polyglot.

Review of SurvivalPhrases.com
MP3+text, No pronunciation scores, Cheap, ★
They offer 15 languages, $25 each, with up to 50 phrases. Each phrase (e.g. "Thank you" in formal, informal, and deep gratitude versions) has its own MP3 file of 3-8 minutes, with explanation in English. Transcripts show spelling, including foreign alphabets where applicable.

Lessons are interesting, and will earn you appreciation from locals. Though they have few repetitions, they do have fast and slow breakdowns by syllables, which few other programs offer. They explain meaning; for example thank you in Indonesian, terima kasih, means to accept (terima) with love (kasih). I said the phrase hundreds of times in Indonesia, and never knew that underlying meaning.

The main disadvantages are the few words, and that teachers are not all native speakers. The teacher of Indonesian is from San Diego, now living in Korea. They do not tell you teachers' backgrounds.

Comments in the Bulgarian section say it has only 22 phrases, so not all languages have the full 50 phrases.

Review of Eurotalk.com InstantImmersion.com
Web+DVD+MP3+App, No pronunciation scores, Cheap, ★
They offer small selections of vocabulary in over 120 languages ($20-40 per package), under several names:

• Talk Now, and Instant Immersion Level 1, are the simplest, with pictures and words for "colors, numbers, time, parts of the body, food, shopping, common phrases and countries."
  
• Vocabulary Builder shows pictures for 100 words, overlapping the above.
• Talk More, Talk the Talk, and Talk Business, use video to teach intermediate learners.
• World Talk gives you practice in understanding basic replies from native speakers, using context to learn words you do not know.
  

All let you record yourself and compare your pronunciation to their native speaker. All or most use games for practice.

Instant Immersion Level 1 says it lets you download MP3 files to practice on your own. Talk Now says you can load it to an iPod. None of their other versions has that feature.

Instant Immersion 102 Languages has 85 spoken and written words in 102 languages, including non-Roman alphabets. It does not create MP3 files. (Transparent has a better package with 1,500+ words in 76 languages, and pronunciation scoring, though all its text is in Roman letters.)

The publisher says Talk Business includes: Internet, e-commerce, finance, business travel, careers, "What is your website address?," ''My computer crashed and I lost all my files," negotiations, exchange rates, product guarantees, marketing budgets, trading, advertising, communications.

You can listen to sample words in each language, though they do not provide any sample lessons on their websites. Many Amazon reviewers of Instant Immersion and Talk Now are satisfied, though they note the limited vocabulary.

Most products seem to be taught in 120 languages, though some are taught in only 40.

Review of Busuu.com
Web, No pronunciation scores, Expensive, ★
They teach 3,000 phrases in 12 languages, by saying the phrase and showing spelling in your language and the target language, with a photo ($18 per month, $90/year). The voice can be repeated; spelling cannot be suppressed.

It is too hard for beginners. Many phrases in the first lesson have 7 or more syllables, and the average is over 5 syllables, in Portuguese. You cannot slow them down or play them syllable by syllable. Dialogs have words which are not yet taught. They introduce two forms of "you" and two forms of each adjective, without explaining when to use each form.

The "record" buttons, if you subscribe, let you record a limited number of phrases, then press several buttons to compare yourself to the model. There is no voice recognition for immediate scoring, but you may find a native speaker to befriend on their network, to ask for feedback. You can similarly ask for feedback on your short written sentences, but the feedback I saw was often wrong. Intermediate learners might be able to find a reliable pen pal this way to practice with.

A business course in English or Spanish costs $26 per year for intermediate to advanced students. It teaches 600 words and phrases for job applications, phone calls, emails, meetings, presentations, and "Marketing I – discuss products, pricing, distribution channels and promotions."

They also sell a $10 online guide to usage of prepositions and grammar; competitive with finding a used grammar book.

Explanations can be in any of their languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish. However it often jumped to English, though I asked for explanations in Spanish.