Customer Reviews

Conversational Italian in 7 Days

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I recently returned from Italy after reading this book and listing to the two language tapes that accompany it. The book and tapes cover everyday subjects which arise during your trip to Italy. How to buy things in stores. How to ask directions. How to order from a menu. How to make reservations. How to talk about yourself and carry on a basic conversation. It also gives travel advice on how to use the public telephone, buy parking tokens and other juicy tidbits that will make your vacation a lot easier. (Italy is not a very efficent country, and everyday situations can become a lot more complicated than you could ever have imagined!)

When we were in Rome I found that about 95% of all Italians spoke fluent English. Most of them did not even tolerate my attempts at speaking Italian. But when we traveled to Tuscany, Florence, and the outlying Veneitian islands this book became very useful.

I highly recommend it as a succinct surivial guide if you're planning to go to Italy. I also thought that the tapes were excellent and the lessons well planned and pertinent. I carried this book with me during my trip for reference.

It will definitely help you learn some basic surivial Italian quickly and easily.

If you want to get the tapes that accompany this book, then do a search on: "Conversational Italian in 7 Days". (If you write "7" instead of spelling out "seven" another version of this book comes up. This version includes the language tapes for just a few more dollars.

Believe me, you really need the tapes. And you'll really enjoy them. Italian is a beautifully-sounding lanugage to pronounce. And the tapes make it easy and fun.

Ciao!

Conversational Italian in 7 Days is part of a great series. I used this book and the tapes to learn a bit of Italian before visiting Northern Italy. With the help of the book, I was able to converse on all the important topics: getting a hotel, buying train tickets, ordering food and drinks, and buying things. When limited to these areas, I had all the needed vocab to understand the person I was talking to. I ended up having whole conversations in Italian!

One person complimented me on my beautiful Italian accent and asked where I had studied Italian. I showed him my little book! The tapes really help with pronunciation and with memorization. I liked having the book to explain the concepts from the tapes, but I primarily learned from the tapes. Once in Italy, I used the book as a refresher course. For example, if I were to ask for a train schedule, I would look up that section in my book.

If you are going to Italy, buy this book! Italians will be charmed when you can speak their language. You will have access to much more with the language in command. No longer will you be relegated to the tourist restaurants. The book also gives cultural tips, which I found very useful.