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Title: Basic Italian: Learn to Speak and Understand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur)
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Manufacturer: Pimsleur
List Price: $24.95
Our Price: $12.99
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| Customer Reviews: |
| Basic Italian: Learn to Speak and Understand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur) by Pimsleur Great basic program |
I thought this was a great program. It focused on practical things first like saying "I don't understand" and "I speak English" and finished up with "I'll have dinner/drinks with you at nine o'clock". I liked the format, often the narrator asked you in English to say things and then you had a chance to do it in Italian before the speaker gave you the response so you weren't just using repetition.
As other reviewers have noted, it would be nice to have a booklet with the words for review... I spent two lessons not sure I was hearing a certain verb correctly. I have had a lot of Spanish lessons so found a lot of similarities between Italian and Spanish and the format of their sentences and conjugation of verbs so perhaps the CDs were good for me because I wasn't exactly starting from scratch.
I have since purchased the Italian I course to further work on my Italian. It should be noted that the 5 CDs (i.e. first 10 lessons) in the Basic Italian are also the first 5 CDs out of the 16 CDs in the Italian I. So if you think you'd like to learn past the "I'll go out to dinner with you", you might want to just buy Italian I and skip the Basic Italian. |
| Basic Italian: Learn to Speak and Understand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur) by Pimsleur Good way to hear the proper Italian accent |
| This CD set is a great way to receive a simple exposure to the musicality (?) of the Italian language. The Italian language has a flow to it, like music. It is to Spanish what an Irish brogue is to English, if that helps. This CD set will not make you an expert by any stretch of the imagination. But it will get your ears and tongue accustomed to Italian, which is a good thing. I bought it and used it to get my feet wet in Italian and have since gone on to speak the language with mild fluency. It's great for the morning commute, in the car, listening to Italian. It goes at a good pace and tests your short-term memory along the way. There is no background music or sound effects, either. |
| Basic Italian: Learn to Speak and Understand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur) by Pimsleur Just what I needed! |
| I am working my way through the CD's in my car and so far they are just what I needed. I may end up purchasing the next inthe series after I finish these. |
| Basic Italian: Learn to Speak and Understand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur) by Pimsleur Just the basics.... |
My husband and I have, in the last few years taken two trips to Europe and though we were only staying for a couple weeks wanted to learn a bit of the language in order to make an effort to at least be able to say the polite phrases and to understand the basics. I was not looking for a comprehensive program, nor was I looking to continue on to a more challenging program.
This set was recommended by my sister who has a degree in Language and has learned and speaks several languages fluently. She advised me that Pimsleur was one of the best programs on the market for what I was looking for, and she was right.
I have found that any effort that I have made to speak the language (no matter how horribly mangled-it appears that it is all about the sincere effort) has been met with appreciation and has often resulted in a more friendly and pleasurably stay. I'm NOT fluent, nor am I a quick study. I used polite/useful phrases from the series frequently in my travels such as: Hello, How are you, excuse me, do you speak English? I do not speak Italian, Where is the bathroom, the list goes on. Any attempts seem to be appreciated, and for me it is worth the time for me to learn a little to be able to get around a little easier. Also, it is fun. I can take the cd's in my car and work on them on my commute. Perfect!
This will not teach you all the Italian you want to know if you are looking to speak fluently, but for a traveler, I thought it was perfect and it was both useful and fun.
I would highly recommend this product for those traveling to Italy that would just like to know a bit of Italian. You can always build onto it later if you wish to, but for the traveler it is a very nice program.
My one wish for these sets would be a booklet that gave a basic run-down on the chapters. With an audio only format sometimes I did not catch the word immediately and found myself looking up a few words on-line in order to understand how they were spelled so I knew if I was pronouncing them correctly. I'm a visual person, what can I say? Other than that I felt this was a highly effective program and would definitely look at other items in this series for our next adventure.
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| Basic Italian: Learn to Speak and Understand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur) by Pimsleur Good course |
I found it quite useful, however it provides the very basic vocabulary and then you have to purchase an extremely expensive course to continue learning.
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| Basic Italian: Learn to Speak and Understand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur) by Pimsleur Product Description |
| This Basic program contains 5 hours of audio-only, effective language learning with real-life spoken practice sessions.HEAR IT, LEARN IT, SPEAK IT® What is the Pimsleur® difference? The Pimsleur Method provides the most effective language-learning program ever developed. The Pimsleur Method gives you quick command of Italian structure without tedious drills. Learning to speak Italian can actually be enjoyable and rewarding. The key reason most people struggle with new languages is that they aren't given proper instruction, only bits and pieces of a language. Other language programs sell only pieces -- dictionaries; grammar books and instructions; lists of hundreds or thousands of words and definitions; audios containing useless drills. They leave it to you to assemble these pieces as you try to speak. Pimsleur enables you to spend your time learning to speak the language rather than just studying its parts. When you were learning English, could you speak before you knew how to conjugate verbs? Of course you could. That same learning process is what Pimsleur replicates. Pimsleur presents the whole language as one integrated piece so you can succeed. With Pimsleur you get: - Grammar and vocabulary taught together in everyday conversation,
- Interactive audio-only instruction that teaches spoken language organically,
- The flexibility to learn anytime, anywhere,
- 30-minute lessons designed to optimize the amount of language you can learn in one sitting.
Millions of people have used Pimsleur to gain real conversational skills in new languages quickly and easily, wherever and whenever -- without textbooks, written exercises, or drills. The 10 lessons in the Basic Italian are the same as the first 10 lessons in the Pimsleur Comprehensive Italian Level 1. The 10 lessons in Basic Italian are also the first 10 lessons in the 16-lesson Conversational Italian edition. The 10 lessons in Basic Italian are also the first 10 lessons in the 16-lesson Conversational Italian edition. Pimsleur learners progress from either the Basic or the Conversational to the Comprehensive Level 1, and not from Basic to Conversational edition. |
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