Customer Reviews

Basic Italian: CD/Book Package (LL(R) Complete Basic Courses)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I would buy this course again, but I had hoped to be able to use it in my car. The course pretty much requires that you listen to the CD with the textbook in hand.

While I am still unable to carry on lengthy conversations in Italian, this course did help me to ask questions and, more importantly, understand the replies while on a recent trip to Italy. A word of caution -- this course won't help you read an Italian menu, so if you don't like tripe, learn the word for that before you go. My only complaint is that, in a few places, the CD and the text did not match. This is a minor complaint considering the cost of the series and its overall effectiveness. Definitely worth the expense if you need to take a crash course before you fly...

I found the course to be very comprehensive, but a little too involved for someone who wants to get quickly familiar with language and does not want to look at the written text while hearing the CDs or tapes. For example, I would not recommend it for learning the basics of language while driving, which I have been able to do with Berlitz. The recording is strictly in Italiano, no English except for chapter headings. Bummer!

Although this course certainly gets you started in learning Italian, it, by no means, should be used alone. Other books, studied in tandem, are absolutely necessary. This course barely covers grammar basics, except for an extremely brief overview at the end. Most annoyingly, however, is that there are several instances when the CD and the book don't match. Sometimes words and even sentences are omitted from either the CD or the book. One example even had the wrong verb conjugation! In one instance -- lesson 39 -- the entire lesson is completely different on the CD. In other lessons, the same words and phrases are repeated ad nauseum. So, even though I can put together a simple conversation, this CD set is not enough to really learn the language. Perhaps, it's intended that way...so you buy the intermediate set next.

I used this book/CD to study Italian before a trip to Italy. I only completed the first 14 lessons (one of the 3 CD's.) I was able to make myself understood and knew all of the basics. I didn't study enough to be able to understand the replies! I wish I had done more, but recommend this book.