Book Description
These intensive programs are complete language immersion courses, and were created by the federal agency that trains U.S. government personnel in foreign language proficiency. They start with grammar and vocabulary basics, then bring students to proficiency in reading, writing, speaking, and listening comprehension. This program contains a grammar textbook plus fifteen compact discs.
Customer Reviews:
Useless and boring.......2007-07-21
"What the previous reviewer failed to realize is that this set isn't meant to be for someone who just wants to "learn how to order a meal, get a room, get around town, maybe shop a little". There are plenty of other products that will do that for you (in far less than 15 CDs). This is for someone who wants to learn to speak the langauge fluently."
Oh, I think we all understand that, thank you. And it's certainly true that you're not going to learn how to order a meal, get a room, etc., from this course. The problem is that you're not going to learn anything else either!
Point 1: You're not going to learn to speak any language fluently from CD's alone.
Point 2: What a good CD course can do for you is - maybe - get you to the level where you can maintain a fairly simple conversation in the language, after which you need to find yourself a community of native speakers and start talking and listening.
Point 3: This is not a good CD course.
As a linguist I appreciate the importance of phonetics, but to quote an earlier reviewer, "practicing vowel sounds for hours without any context will not make you better at the language, nor will that make it easier to learn."
Just in case you were wondering, that holds true for consonant sounds too.
Having visited Italy several times, and having communicated with Italians in several different regions just fine without once worrying about "the tongue-flap R" or other niceties of phonetics that this course emphasizes, I KNOW this detailed phonetic study is not necessary for getting started in the language. So why do these CD's emphasize phonetics to the point of inducing coma? And it's not just the first three or four lessons - I turned to Unit 30 - the last in the book - and they're still investing major time in earnest discussion of vowel elision (saying "un'italiano" for "uno italiano," etc.) which, forgive me, anybody with a decent ear for language will have noticed for themselves approximately, umm, 29 units earlier.
More important is what the book and CD's DON'T teach. Imagine slogging through 15 hours of drills (most of which require you to have the book open on your lap at all times)to learn only ONE verb tense. I quote from the introduction: "This course is intended for the serious language student who wishes to speak Italian fluently."
Since when does being able to use ONLY the present tense constitute fluency?
In graduate school I took other FSI-designed language courses (Arabic, Swahili, etc.) and was impressed with the structure and teaching methods. That's why I made the mistake of buying this one without looking at the reviews. The Foreign Servie Institute ought to be ashamed to put its name on this total waste of time and money. I was going to try to resell the book and CD's but have decided that's a dirty trick to play on some poor innocent soul who actually wants to learn Italian. Maybe I can use the CD's to reshingle the garage or something.
Corrupted CDs.......2007-05-22
One footnote to the other reviews here is that the CDs included with the course have been corrupted (presumably using the standard trick of corrupting the error-protection data) so that they cannot be played on a PC or on many car CD systems.
If, like me, you were hoping to use a PC or iPod for listening to the tracks, that is probably a deal-breaker and I have returned mine to the store.
Ineffective for learning language, effective for pronouncing vowels by yourself on a Friday night.......2007-01-03
Try to imagine a music course, in this case, let's say a piano lesson, where your teacher examines the sheet music before you, determines that the A-flat just below middle C occurs forty times during the piece, and thus you must practice depressing that Ab key forty times to better acquaint yourself with the music. Even for those of you who are not musicians, I think this illustrates the dangers of over-specialization when attempting to get a picture of the whole, whether it be conceptualizing a piece of music, reading a book, or learning a language. Scrutiny of the smallest parts by itself will never lead to a satisfactory understanding.
This analogue is, of course, meant to describe the methods of teaching found in Mastering Italian. It should be noted that the most positive recent review was made by someone stating that while he has not used the Italian, the other Barron's language series have been of great use to him. While certainly well-intentioned, there is quite the distinction to be made between the Italian program and other programs. The German one, for example, is very effective for me, and I also assumed that the negative reviews were from people who simply hadn't tried the program for any period of time. However, the gripes are indeed quite real, and the method of teaching is nothing like the methods found in other, successful FSI programs.
I don't see the need to iterate what has already been reiterated regarding phonetic spellings, etc., and I urge you to read the reviews not only for this product, but also for the cassette tape version, as there are some quite accurate accounts (i.e., negative reviews) found there.
I do see the need, however, for those who may still be unsure, to point out that even the most studious of individuals will find this is a waste of time. The most efficient language learners, namely children, spend precisely zero time on such activities, yet tend to do quite well with language only a few years later in life. Grammar, structure, and the like are all inferred quite easily from natural speech. That principle is the guiding light in many other language programs (Pimsleur, and other Barron's FSI programs, for example), but is abandoned entirely in the edition at hand. I would not even recommend it as a supplement to a class.
Indeed, it is possible for a studious individual to complete this program, however, one must ask what the predictable consequences of this action would be. For a helpful comparison, find a piano, find an audience, play an A-flat forty times for practice, and then see how impressed everyone is with the Chopin that follows.
Don't waste your money or your time.......2006-02-13
As a professional linguist, I have devoted a great deal of time to learning, teaching, and using foreign languages and I can sincerely tell you that this Barron's series is a complete waste of time. As a matter of fact, I gave it one star because that is the only way I could write this review. My fiance (who is also a professional linguist) and I purchased this series in order to learn Italian in anticipation of our honeymoon in Italy this spring. We bought this yesterday and will be returning it tomorrow for the Pimsleur course. The audio lessons focus too keenly on pronunciation (WHAT is this Vowel 70 nonsense all about anyway?!) and the accompanying textbook did little to overcome my dissatisfaction. The lessons are poorly developed and presented in both the audio and the text, and the use of phonetic letters in the text is distracting, unnecessary and extremely annoying. The program promises to teach you to "Hear it, Speak it, Write it, Read it", but it never develops a foundation from which to build comprehension and worse yet, it doesn't have a single page written in proper Italian characters!
I do agree with the reviewers who emphasize the importance of pronunciation and precision when speaking a langauge, but this series spends too much time on that single aspect and not nearly enough time teaching you the living language. There are better and more effective ways to demonstrate, teach, and learn proper pronunciation without killing the enthusiasm of a new student and complicating the fairly simple and (fun) matter of learning a new langauge!
If you are truly a serious student of Italian or of ANY langauge, then you (should) know that practicing vowel sounds for hours without any context will not make you better at the langauge, nor will that make it easier to learn. To suggest that this course (and its over emphasis on pronunciation) is the best thing to happen to learning a language is to completely ignore the effect of dialect in a living language. Fluency and your ability to understand and to be understood when speaking will come only with experience and exposure to the langauge.
If you want to learn Italian, you will do better to spend your money on another series (and I recommend Pimsleur), get some of those workbooks (Barron's has a good one, although it is not in this set) to introduce you to grammar and vocabulary, and then go and rent some Italian movies (if your local Blockbuster of Hollywood Video doesn't have any, try Netflix - they have a fantastic selection of foreign films!) You'll get LOTS of langauge - and plenty that isn't covered in ANY language series (except those "Street Slang" ones)!
Nothing like the other FSI courses!.......2006-01-05
This course is very poor compared to the other wonderful FSI language courses. I would not recommend this to a person wanting to learn Italian as that's exactly what you don't do with this course! I have other Barron's FSI courses and even some of the additional levels to the French course from other sources, and they are all fantastic.
The course being presented here is "Programmatic". I have Mastering Portuguese and although it shares a similar approach to "programmed" learning, you can actually learn something from that course. When I first looked at Mastering Italian I assumed it would stop with the intonation patterns and get some dialogues after a few lessons; I was wrong. Not only does the entire course seem to be based upon intonation patterns, but it strays from even showing real Italian text and uses its own writing system which you have to learn! This seems to be the only FSI lemon out there, but is sure is bad.
If you really want to learn Italian, take a look at the Assimil, Pimsleur, Linguaphone (available mostly in the U.K.) and Michel Thomas courses.
Book Description
This is the same course developed by the Foreign Service Language Institute to train diplomats and other government personnel to be fluent in foreign languages. An in-depth course for students intent on complete competency in speaking, understanding, reading and writing Italian, this program stresses development of conversational skill, vocabulary, pronunciation and mastery of grammar. The twelve cassettes emphasize the use of the spoken language through intensive drills, and the book uses written exercises to help students master grammar and the written language. An ideal tool for language labs.
Customer Reviews:
Complete waste of time.......2006-04-07
I was truly disappointed with this course. After listening to the first few CDs, I realized that I had wasted over $75.00 on nothing more than one heck of a boring course on countless pronunciation drills--one cd after another. After the fourth CD, I did not want to pursue this nonesense any further. I wanted to get a reimbursement right then and there, if only it wasn't too late. I'll know better next time to read these reviews first.
I learned French at home, minored in Spanish in college and taught myself Portuguese. So, I consider myself a serious student of the romance languages. And after taking a basic course in Italian, which was truly a lot of fun, I figured I was rest ready to do the rest on my own. But contrary to the hyped blurb, this Barrons course was truly a flop. Save your dollars!!
Disappointing.......2006-01-18
In general, I think that the Barron's Mastering series of language courses is one of if not the best selection of language courses in their price-range. I have experience with the Spanish 1&2, German, and French 1 courses and I fully expected the Italian course to be of the same quality. Sadly, it's a dud, and I hope that this course won't turn anyone off using this series for a different language than Italian.
While pronunciation is important, there's a difference between teaching learners how to pronounce a language correctly, and teaching pronunciation for 5 whole units *before* introducing any real vocabulary. I believe that by Unit 6 you will have learned two whole sentences with this course.
There are so many things in this course that desperately need revision. Do we really need to spend a whole two pages explaining the difference between a yes-no question and a multi-choice question to language learners? If this course were to be streamlined so that vocabulary and pronunciation were taught as a unit, and the English speaking portions of the audio trimmed (almost all the English text in the book is read by the narrator, which, if the prospective language learner can read, is completely unnecessary), I'd estimate that the course would be 300 pages and 7 CDs shorter. Perhaps Barrons could replace the deleted material with real content.
I dislike the phonetic spelling which is used throughout the course in lieu of standard written Italian. I think this is a huge weakness in a course that claims to be able to teach one how to read in the target language. (Note that the Spanish course has a phonetic system *and* the standard writing used throughout, which can actually be useful to learners)
I am also disappointed in the scope of the course. In more than 500 pages and 15 CDs, a course should definitely cover both more vocabulary, and more than one or two tenses. Indeed, all of the other courses in this series that I have experience with *do*.
Even with all that said, this course is not completely useless if you have the patience to stick with it all the way through. You'll definitely learn some Italian, and your pronunciation should be beyond excellent. You'll just need more supplemental material than the advertising blurb on the box would suggest.
All FSI courses have similar strengths -- and weaknesses.......2005-12-09
All of the FSI courses were produced for *serious* students of the language -- not tourists or one-time travellers who want to be able to order wine and pizza and offer the equivalent of "voulez-vous coucher avec moi?" to local girls/boys. Are they "boring"? Yes, rather. Do they teach fine detail that the serious student needs? Yes, they do. Is this something even ten percent of language students want? No.
There are, to be sure, problems with the design of the courses -- but there's no space here to go into them in detail. The main point is that they are "dry" -- and especially so if you take them as home-study kits. All of them were intended to be presented by a teacher, and a living warm human being -- smiling, encouraging, frowning, demanding, exploding with a delighted "BENE!" when you get it exactly right -- would help tremendously. It is extremely hard to get through this kind of thing unless you have iron discipline and a passion for learning the exact best way.
For more than 19 out of 20 users, then, I would recommend the Pimsleur courses, and perhaps Michel Thomas, about whom I've heard good things. However, if you want to really speak a language with precision and grace, and put behind you the idiot-child-at-a-party feeling of the stammering and constantly self-correcting tourist, FSI courses may, merely may, be for you. They should be supplemented by other materials, but you won't find anything like this level of seriousness in any other home study course.
As far as the expense is concerned, given the number of CD's and the book, fifty bucks is as cheap as it gets. That's maybe two private lessons.
solid introduction to spoken Italian.......2004-11-26
Having been through much of this course, I was surprised to read some of the negative comments. I suspect these opinions may relate to wanting a quick result easily, rather than building an in depth comfort with the language. Much of the course is built around pronunciation, as it should be. Too many courses give only grammar or vocabulary. This one forces you to evaluate your speech and pronunciation of the sound, resulting in more accurate responses. You actually learn to know how to spell unknown words in Italian and to hear subtle differences which change the meanings of words. While this course does not go far enough with the language (I gave 4 stars because there is no level 2 or 3), it does provide the solid base you need to proceed in Italian. Italian is not that easy to pronounce correctly. As I continue to study Italian, I have no doubt that I do so with a much better foundation than other courses offer. Without a live teacher to correct your errors, attention to these details and much repetition are essential. You may then move on to courses with more of the vocabulary and grammar desired with less concern over the basics of pronunciation.
The Worst Language Course I've Ever Partially Gotten Through.......2004-10-01
As other reviewers have described, this course is absolutely nonsensical. Neverending drill of obscure distinctions of pronunciation seems to be the point. I was about to throw the course away, when I gave it instead to my daughter to take to her school's used book sale. I later felt sorry for the poor fool who got stuck with it. Also, the accompanying book is poorly produced. Buy Pimsleur instead of this bomb, and actually learn to speak Italian. Buona fortuna!
Amazon.com Audiobook Review
Look ma, no textbooks! The Learn in Your Car series treats you like a child--in the best possible way--starting with one-word phrases ("please," "good-by"), counting exercises, and simple nouns ("bus," "train") designed to imitate a child's learning process. First you hear the words in English, then they are repeated slowly in clear, unaccented pronunciations. The method is extremely effective for those who don't know a thing, or for those who want to brush up by testing themselves when the English words are spoken. The tapes emphasize the building blocks of communicating in a foreign country rather than rote phrases that only apply on the tape and not in real-life exchanges. Level 1 painlessly covers basic verb forms, essential prepositions, near future and past tenses, as well as shopping, hotel reservations, and other travel-related situations. The series includes French, German, Italian, Russian, Japanese, and Spanish in three levels that can be purchased individually or in boxed sets. Each level contains two 90-minute cassettes (or CDs) and an accompanying booklet (not for use behind the wheel) with helpful explanations and scripts for the lessons.
Book Description
Listeners learn pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar of a new language without the need of a textbook. Convenient to use while driving, working out... or anywhere! Includes zippered CD wallet carrying case.
Customer Reviews:
Amo questo corso di lingue!.......2007-04-04
I really love this program. My car was broken into and it was stolen from me. I invested a lot of time in learning from this course and really wanted to master all 3 levels. So I just purchased a new replacement on the very same day. Technically, it's not flawless. But for some reason, I just want to keep plodding along so it must be working. I spend a lot of time in my car and everytime I go somewhere I turn it on. I studied Italian 23 years ago at college so this is a perfect refresher course. It might be somewhat difficult for someone whose never had any exposure to a new language.
Learn in Your Car Italian Complete (Learn in Your Car).......2007-04-02
Starting with valuable travel phrases, the lessons are very logical in progression. Allows you to learn at your own pace in short lessons.
My favorite.......2007-03-23
I really love this series. I've read the other reviews and agree with some aspects - there are a few places that it's a little difficult to understand the speaker so perhaps the recording equipment could be better. I have the Pimsleur Italian Conversational as well. But I almost exclusively listen to the Learn in the Car CDs. I just prefer it. I've used it for about a year now. I've also taken 2 beginning Italian classes from a local college and it's fun to find the CD tracks that correspond with whatever we're doing in class. I think I could use the CD alone and be learning but using them in the car, to and from work AND taking the class - well, it's been amazing how quickly I've learned. I think its because I am doing both that I am quite a bit ahead of the others in class. It's hard to judge because I also have spoke Spanish for years and no doubt, that has helped as well.
Oh, one other small negative about these CDs - in the later lessons, Level 3 Cds 2&3 - the speaker is cut off. I don't know if it's just my copies or on all of them. You hear the English, then the Italian but on the repeated Italian line, several times it cuts her off. So again, the recording quality could be a bit higher but it hasn't lessened my enjoyment in using them.
Excellent course.......2007-02-23
Excellent course, especially for people who have a prior knowledge of the Latin languages and for people who spend a lot of time in their cars.
Italiano.......2007-01-03
it is a good sysytem. I have heard better. For beginners it is ok
Book Description
This is the same course developed by the Foreign Service Language Institute to train diplomats and other government personnel. An in-depth course for students, this program stresses development of conversational skill, vocabulary, pronunciation and mastery of grammar.
Customer Reviews:
A System That Works, For Serious Language Students.......2002-08-05
With great delight and anticipation, I picked this book and its accompanying tapes from the dozens available for two reasons. First, from personal experience I know the programmatic method, developed by the State Department's Foreign Service Institute (FSI), is effective. In a 20-week full time course in Spanish at FSI 30 years ago, I emerged knowing Spanish grammar cold, not from memory, but automatically. The course drilled Spanish sounds, words, and meaning into my brain, so that I could speak Spanish without having to think about it or strain to remember grammatical rules. Second, this course has more tapes than others, more drill.
Now that I have finished working through the 18 hours of tapes and 600 pages of workbook, I am still very pleased with the foundation in Italian that it provided. Its greatest strength is in pronunciation. You can learn to speak Italian sounding like an Italian. If you speak with correct pronunciation and intonation, Italians will understand you, and you can expand your knowledge by conversing. It's possible to speak a fair amount of simple Italian fluently. This course covers the present tense of verbs, including most or all common irregular verbs, singular and plural of nouns and adjectives, some uses of pronouns, agreement between nouns and adjectives, days of the week, numbers to 20, forms of addressing people politely, and more.
It's important to bear in mind, however, that this book with its tapes covers only 10-20% of the 20-week FSI course. There is much more to learn, particularly all the other verb tenses. If you are trying to learn Italian on your own by tape, it's a good idea to continue with another course that provides dialogues to memorize or practice with verbs. The only dialogues on these tapes refer to the telephone.
I like this approach precisely because it offers a lot of work to do. That doesn't mean it is unflawed. Typographical errors are much too frequent. The authors assume no previous knowledge of grammar and create their own from scratch. Nouns and adjectives, for example, are lumped together as "genderables," and the subject of a sentence becomes a "verb governor." I found their grammatical terms annoying and unhelpful. Treatment of pronouns is piecemeal and not drawn together coherently in one place. Italian for "the" is left incomplete. There are no verb tables, not even for the present tense, and within the confines of this course, not enough practice exercises using verbs. The basic problem, I suspect, is that the authors have simply published the first 30 chapters of a much longer course, thereby cutting it off in the middle. It could be much more valuable as a self-contained course if the authors redesigned it to stand alone.
The Most Horrible Book In the Foregin Service Institute.......2002-05-12
I don't like to pan something this badly--- But the Barron's Mastering Italian has to be one of the most useless language programs I've ever used. This is particularly disappointing given that their German Series is perfect.
The first 1/4 of the book is devoted to the minutia of vowel sounds. It has no examples to speak of, and the tape that accompanies this book actually uses wrong answers intentionally!!! Thus, if you play the tape in your car without benefit of having the book with you, you will actually have incorrect examples played over and over. This obviously leads to confusion.
Again, I've used the German, French, and Spanish versions of this series. The Spanish is also disappointing, but the Italian is so horrible that even it looks great.
If you buy this, you are libel to frustrate yourself and actually run the risk of losing interest in Italian.
Sorry, I wish the news were better.
Book Description
Even if you do not like traditional crossword puzzles, you will love these. Designed to help anyone learning Italian, or Italian speakers learning English, these puzzles are absolutely addictive. They are formatted in such a way that each puzzle can be solved in 15 to 30 minutes, while exposing you new vocabulary in each puzzle. The folks at Webster's Online Dictionary helped make the vocabulary gradually harder across puzzles thus increasing the challenge as you progress. These are truly pleasant crossword puzzles for language learning, and well worth the price.
Book Description
On the Go language learning programs are now available in a choice of either cassette tapes or compact discs. This updated compact disc program emphasizes Italian speaking and listening comprehension on a fundamental level, which makes it an ideal self-teaching tool for learning in a car, international travelers, as well as good supplementary material in school language labs. On the Go programs, available in several languages, each offer approximately 180 minutes of audio instruction. They come with a script booklet. No textbook is needed for these informal and practical language learning programs.
Customer Reviews:
Very good interactive DVD.......2007-07-09
ability to interact w/voices on the DVD is extremely well paced and then the accompanying booklet allows the listener to check for any small portion that might not be understood
Only slightly helpful.......2004-08-30
Although there are some phrases about travel, hotels, and restaurants, much time is wasted on things that are not helpful to the beginner, and especially not to the tourist. Siblings arguing over borrowing money from their grandparents? People gossiping about their friends and describing their living room furniture? Whose idea was this? In any case, there is no systematic approach to the language, nor any serious attempt to help a beginning student learn the basics of vocabulary and sentence building. There are much better choices available, such as "Learn in Your Car Italian".
A fast way to make Italian stay!.......2000-11-05
About a year ago, I had the honor of going to Italy with my high school band. I live in Minnesota, and it was to be my first experience in a country where English is the second language. So being the type of person I am with language (I could speak Spanish, English, German and Esperanto fluently already), I thought I should pick up a little Italian before I left. So I went to a local bookstore and was directed to the 'Italian on the Go' cassette set by the old woman behind the counter. The price was right, so I purchased it and popped it in on the car ride home. From the moment I heard the Italian banjo-thingy start to play and the authentic language pursue, I was hooked. The amount of vocabulary I retained from just a few listenings was incredible. Literally everything stuck! When I got to Italy, I was by far the best Italian speaker in our group. And I could speak what I knew confidently and without thinking! With the help of a basic phrase book and the cassettes, I could shop without using any English. It was amazing. Since I came home, I have kept Italian close to me. It is my most proficient language next to English and a lot of it is because of 'Italian on the Go'. Though I've moved to much more advanced courses now, I still run through the 'IOTG' cassettes once a week to keep my pronounciation sharp. I just love the dialouges! Anyone who wants to start learning Italian shound start here. It's prob'ly the most beutiful language in the world and now there's a NO EFFORT way to fluency.
Amazon.com Audiobook Review
Look ma, no textbooks! The Learn in Your Car series treats you like a child--in the best possible way--starting with one-word phrases ("please," "good-by"), counting exercises, and simple nouns ("bus," "train") designed to imitate a child's learning process. First you hear the words in English, then they are repeated slowly in clear, unaccented pronunciations. The method is extremely effective for those who don't know a thing, or for those who want to brush up by testing themselves when the English words are spoken. The tapes emphasize the building blocks of communicating in a foreign country rather than rote phrases that only apply on the tape and not in real-life exchanges. Level 1 painlessly covers basic verb forms, essential prepositions, near future and past tenses, as well as shopping, hotel reservations, and other travel-related situations. The series includes French, German, Italian, Russian, Japanese, and Spanish in three levels that can be purchased individually or in boxed sets. Each level contains two 90-minute cassettes (or CDs) and an accompanying booklet (not for use behind the wheel) with helpful explanations and scripts for the lessons.
Book Description
Listeners learn pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar of a new language without the need of a textbook. Convenient to use while driving, working out... or anywhere!
Customer Reviews:
Not a good learning resource.......2006-03-27
I am a true beginner, and when I started listening to this course I liked it. It is structured for simple vocabulary building (words/phrases in English followed by Italian translation). But even to me it was clear that Italian speaker in not native. As I listened to other audio classes, I questioned pronunciation, and confirmed with my Italian teacher, that a lot of words on this CD are mispronounced(the rest of reivews seem to agree), and some are presented in wrong content. Unless you are ready to double-check every word you learn, stay away from this course.
Italian: Level 1.......2006-03-26
The course itself is great. However,the spoken word is sometimes not understandable without following the lesson in the book and seeing the word at the same time. This is impossible to do safely while driving.
OK if used with other programs.......2006-02-27
Use this if you are using another program also. The speaker isn't native. She actually makes mistakes on the CDs--wrong gender for nouns, mistaking the formal form of the verb for the familiar form, putting the wrong article for the noun. Also, she is not fluid in her speech. I bought the Pimsleurs programs 1 & 2 and will probably buy the 3. Pimsleurs gives you great pronunciation, conversation, and correct sentence structure. I just use the "Learn in Your Car" program because I recently moved to Italy and I'm not in a position to wait until I get to the end of the 2nd or 3rd Pimsleurs course to get the vocabulary I need. The benefits of the "Learn in you Car" Italian are that you do get a lot of vocabulary words quickly and that it's cheap--especially when compared to Pimsleur. But remember that with this program, you won't talk like a native. With Pimsleurs, you actually can talk like a native and you're being taught the materials correctly. My suggestion is that you find this at the library like I did.
P.S. I am also using "Ultimate Italian" to learn to read Italian better and to get more grammar and vocabulary. I'm just starting on the Ultimate Italian this week, so I don't have a recommendation for that program yet.
What is going on??.......2004-04-15
I am going to Italy for my honeymoon in two months and am so excited I decided I should learn some of the language, so I can really get into the vacation. I also commute far to work so this sounded ideal, however, I have no idea what is going on during these cds. A man randomly says words and a woman says them in Italian... I don't learn like that at all (does anyone?). Are we really supposed to just memorize every single word on these cds from hearing someone say them in Italian, without any instruction on the logic of conjugations, pluralization, etc.? It is such rote memorization, totally not for me. I remember like three words, don't ask me to put them into a sentence! I have only listened to the first cd, so the other two may be different, but its pretty telling in and of iteself that someone as eager as I am to learn the language can't bear to listen to all the cds! They are so useless. If you learn by hearing, and have a fantastic memory that requires no understanding of logic, this is for you.
Where did they get this anouncer from ??.......2002-04-09
The package says "Prepared by dialect-free professionals"... What they should also have insisted on is they be NATIVE Italian speakers too! Listening to the female do the Italian part gave me an uneasy feeling... I kept asking myself "is her pronunciation right?" For example, every beginner knows "Io voglio" is pronounced "ee-yo volyo"... but the speaker here kept saying "ee-yo VOY-yo" (wish no "l" sound). Drove me crazy to listen to her mispronounce it over and over!
At other times, it sounded as if she was just learning the proper pronunciation (in other words, as if they took someone who knows nothing about Italian and has them practice a word a few times, then reads that word aloud). How did they expect people to learn the correct pronunciation like this??
The other less severe complaint I have is that they should have steered away from "travelers vocabulary" and instead focussed on what most other programs don't, that is normal BASIC speaking which is what grammer is built upon. I know most people who take couses do it because of travel, but there are tons of specific travelers leanguage pograms already available. How about a program with vocabulary NOT used for travel? I'm tired of refrences like "customs office". The package implys the method used here is how a child learns.. well that may be true, but I doubt children focus on travel terms.
Overall, good idea but he speaker's pronunciation wasn't good enough.
Average customer rating:
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Forza!: Level 1
Manufacturer: Emc Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0821922270 |
Product Description
Forza! is an Italian course for a new generation. Totally up-to-date in its methodology, this learner-centered course represents a refreshingly imaginative response to current curriculum guidelines and classroom needs.
Forza! uno is the first level of this comprehensive, three-level course designed specifically for the multi-level classroom.
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Ciao! Level 1 Copymasters (Ciao)
Jackson ,
Wicksteed , and
Israel
Manufacturer: Heinle & Heinle Publishers
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 017439229X |
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Ciao! Level 1 Student Book (Ciao)
Jackson ,
Israel , and
Wickstead
Manufacturer: Heinle & Heinle Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
General
| Language Arts
| Reference & Nonfiction
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Education
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
English (All)
| Dictionaries & Thesauruses
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Italian
| Instruction
| Foreign Languages
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0174392249 |
Books:
- Mathematics for Finance: An Introduction to Financial Engineering (SPRINGER UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS SERIES)
- McGuffey's Eclectic Readers/Boxed
- MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exams 70-290, 70-291, 70-293, 70-294): Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Core Requirements, Second Edition
- Nigella Bites: From Family Meals to Elegant Dinners -- Easy, Delectable Recipes for Any Occasion
- Novel & Short Story Writer's Market 2007 (Novel and Short Story Writer's Market)
- Only You Can Save Mankind (Johnny Maxwell Trilogy)
- Osho Zen Tarot: The Transcendental Game Of Zen
- Our 50 States: A Family Adventure Across America
- Photonics: Optical Electronics in Modern Communications (The Oxford Series in Electrical and Computer Engineering)
- Practical Introduction to Data Structures and Algorithms, Java Edition
Books Index
Books Home
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- Contractor's Business Handbook: Accounting, Finance, Tax Management, Cost Control
- Silent Theft: The Private Plunder of Our Common Wealth
- The Laws of Invisible Things: A Novel
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