Penton Overseas has been doing foreign language books for the past 20 years. And they are now porting their courses to MP3 video that works on iPods, PCs and other compatible devices for people under 30 that want to learn French, German, Italian, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. The MP3 courses will also be downloadable from Penton's web site in 45 days.

"We converted our product *Learning in your car* into iSync ($15) which has text and audio that fits on an iPod, so you have both the target language and the language being spoken. And then we have a video version called iVideo ($20) which teaches you using real live action video [...] People under 30 years old really link to their TV and they learn better by watching people speak at the same time", said product Wizard Tom McGrew.

But if you don't have the *ear* for foreign languages already, don't expect miracles... McGrew's interview after the jump.

From Penton's press release:

iVideo

iVideo, showcases, in video, native speakers, the printed word, and topically oriented audio phrases. The program can be enjoyed on any DVD player but has been reformatted for the iPod. Two hours long, with 1500 words and phrases, iVideo also includes a PDF of all content for additional reference as well as actual conversations and self test review sections.

iSync

iSync, beginning level, is 5 hours long and contains 1650 words and phrases. Based on Penton's best-selling Learn in Your Car series, spoken text appears on screen as it is heard. Again, the entire contents of the audio plus additional grammar notes are included in a PDF on CD for reference."