Product Description

This exciting new Easy Learning language course allows learners to take on board all of the Italian they will need while abroad without the need for thick textbooks and complex grammar. 3 audio CDs and accompanying colour booklet make language learning fun, fast and flexible. The 3 audio CDs guide learners through a series of 12 short units. Each unit introduces 5 new key words or phrases before expanding on the basic vocabulary with practice activities, memory tips and culture and etiquette advice. An accompanying 48-page colour booklet provides full transcripts of the CD conversations as well as helpful hints to guide the user through their learning experience. Unit 1: Hello Unit 2: Excuse me Unit 3: Where's the bar? Unit 4: Over there Unit 5: What would you like? Unit 6: Have you got any!? Unit 7: Can you help me? Unit 8: I want to go to! Unit 9: Have you got a room? Unit 10: It hurts Unit 11: I want to make an appointment Unit 12: What's it like?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32463 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-07
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 3
• Binding: Audio CD

About the Author
A well-known figure in the field of language learning, Rosi McNab has produced bestselling courses and materials for Collins, Heinemann, Pearson Education, Hodder Education, BBC and Goethe Institut. Her hugely successful and ground-breaking books are currently used in primary and secondary schools across the UK and abroad.

Customer Reviews

Eccellente!
This is an excellent audio course. I didn't download it on to an mp3 player but used it on a laptop. I already knew a few basic phrases and because the CDs offer some flexibility you can (if you want to) skip to another track. I opted to listen from beginning to end in order to truthfully offer my opinion. When I loaded up the CD it works just like a music CD would but the tracks don't actually have names. It would've been helpful, if instead of Track 1, it said Unit 1 Hello, for example. There is a male and female voice to listen to, this gave a variety and allowed you to hear different variations of the same word. It was good that explanations were given as to the stress of syllables for example; as this was something I hadn't been told before.

One benefit of this audio course, apart from it's flexibility, is that it suggests how long to spend learning for - an optimum 8-10 minutes, rather than encouraging you to plough through it all. By hearing the words spoken individually for you to get your tongue and head around, then hearing it spoken in conversation you get a fuller experience. It is real words that are spoken as well, not just the grammatically correct version that we all learn when studying language but aren't understood when you get to the relevant country. The words/phrases are put in context so you actually get to hear the appropriate responses back, another thing that other language courses often fail to deliver. The only downside to the audio is the sound that indicates it is your turn to speak; it's very quiet, even with the volume turned up all the way.

The accompanying booklet is useful to actually take away with you as there are extracts from each unit which includes key phrases and dialogue, plus any further explanations needed. I've found it very effective educationally using this particular audio course, and although I have only listened through once in order to offer an honest review, I will be going back in more detail to actually learn some of the language. If you were to use it in an education setting, this would be great over loud speakers, combined with flash cards for children (or adult learners). I would imagine it to be very effective.

A good basic introduction for the casual visitor
This set won't have you speaking Italian like a native or give you the ability to have complex conversations in Italian, but it will give you enough basic Italian skills for a holiday or short visit without sounding too much like a tourist. It's very much of the old 'ecoutez et repetez' format, although it does offer background and explanations on phrases and words so it's not simply learning by rote. It also helpfully includes possible answers to questions you're likely to ask abroad - after all, what's the point of being able to ask a question if you can't understand the answer? - as well tips on body language and tone of voice to help you convey more than just the phrases themselves.

It's not meant to be a lightning course - it's best to give yourself a week or two at least before your trip to get the most out of the course - and it doesn't offer any new learning techniques if you've had problems with the 'ecoutez et repetez' format in the past - it's still basically a reinforced memory technique. But as a useful introduction to help you get by in Italy, the three CDs and booklet cover the basics effectively enough.

Easy way to learn the essentials
If you're completely new to Italian or just starting to learn the basics, you won't go wrong with this gentle introduction. Broken down into neat sections, you are eased in with basic greetings and essential words before moving onto more complicated sentences. The audio encourages you to repeat words out loud and listen to conversations to see how much you understand before they break it down for you. You're also told how to pronounce the words correctly in the proper Italian way!

The approach is light-hearted and encouraging, keeping you motivated throughout the course. While this course won't make you fluent in Italian or teach you the finer points of Italian grammar, it will help you feel confident enough to interact in Italian when on holiday.

Overall, a quality product. 4 stars!