Italian, Conversational: Learn to Speak and Understand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur) [AUDIOBOOK] (Audio CD)

by Pimsleur (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Pimsleur programs provide plenty of positive reinforcement that will keep learners on track, and we found that Pimsleur gave us more proficiency and confidence in speaking the new language than any of the other language programs we reviewed."-- AudioFile Magazine

"EXTREMELY ACCESSIBLE...each section within the lessons is short enough to hold our attention, and there is enough repetition to teach even those who consider themselves slow learners...Pimsleur [programs] are extremely thorough and easy to use -- quite lively!"-- Boston Herald

"Learn French while commuting, German while jogging, Spanish (or Russian, Italian, and Japanese) while cooking all with NO WRITTEN MATERIALS!"-- New York Daily News

"Designed for the ear and not the eye...the lessons provide PERFECT 30-minute bites of work."-- St Louis Post-Dispatch

"Learn to habla español or parlez français before your next trip aboard. The interactive LESSONS CHALLENGE STUDENTS to use new words in conversation instead of memorize them."-- American Way (American Airlines inflight magazine)

"I tried other language programs with little success...This is the best by far!"-- Pamela A. Mitchell, Pilot, International Society of Women Airline Pilots

Product Description
This Conversational program contains 8 hours of interactive audio-only instruction, 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 these pieces -- dictionaries; grammar books and instructions; lists of hundreds or thousands 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 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.

Conversational Italian includes the 10 lessons from Pimsleur's Basic Italian plus an additional 6 lessons.

The 16 lessons in Conversational Italian are the same first 16 lessons in the Pimsleur Comprehensive Italian Level 1.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Pimsleur; Revised, 16 Lessons edition (October 3, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743550439
• ISBN-13: 978-0743550437
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 8 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #84,815 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

98 of 100 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple crash course before your trip. Basic, but effective., January 15, 2006

By	Nada Vergili, Italy Guide & Language Teacher ... (Charlotte, North Carolina) - See all my reviews

From an Italian teacher's perspective, I highly recommend the Pimsleur series. I do think they're the best. And the reason is because they get you to repeat the phrases over and over and over again. Learning a language takes time, but if you need some essential expressions before your trip, this is the audio CDs you want.

The important thing in learning a language is repetition, and you'll get plenty of it with these CDs, as well as learning correct pronunciation. As far as books go, you may end up using a combination, but I do like the Living Language Beginner's book a lot.

Definitely join a course in your area - there's no better practice than to practice in a group! Perhaps you can ask if a community college has it as a continuing education program - although you won't have big problems with the language in the bigger cities, Italians do appreciate if you know at least a little bit.

If instead, you're planning on visiting Southern Italy, or the countryside, you definitely want to know some Italian (if you want a vacation, and not an adventure, that is!).I hope this helps!

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not quite what it seems, October 26, 2006

By	Isabella Palone "J." (USA) - See all my reviews

Students beware! I bought this set over the summer in hopes of getting a jump-start on learning Italian, as I had scheduled to take an Italian 101 class at my University in the fall. I was very excited about the product and really felt as though I was learning a lot. It was a very helpful set, the repetition made it easily to learn simple phrases in a short amount of time. I felt very prepared when the semester started and was looking forward to showing my new teacher how much I knew...
Too bad at least half of what I learned was WRONG!!! Some of the incorrect words/phrases are correct in theory but would offend an Italian if used in Italy, and others were just plain wrong. I was clearly not the only student who purchased this, as the phrases in it come up every so often in class. Our professor, who by the way grew up in Italy and is 100% Italian, explains that we are very confused and that the phrases cannot be used. Some of them, she had never even heard of and made absolutely no sense to her.
This may be an ok start to get the accent and way of speaking Italian down but do NOT depend on it to teach you the language or expect to use it in Italy.
Beware!

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fun to learn with this program, November 9, 2006

By	kittydawg (San Francisco CA) - See all my reviews

I have tried several audio language learning programs, but have really enjoyed the Pimsleur Italian program & found it most helpful for learning. I believe the best features of this program are the variety of topics and complexity of each lesson, the way repetition is used while complexity of phrases and sentences increases (i.e., they start with a word, then a phrase, then making the phrase negative, then a sentence, then incorporate prior learning with the new, so on), and it's fun. It helps to enjoy learning a language. Not sure if it is just me or is intentional but the stories/subplots in the lessons are entertaining. It makes me laugh often when the American male traveller in the lessons strikes out with Italian women! Certainly makes my drive to work more enjoyable! I highly recommend the introductory lessons & plan to continue with the more advanced ones myself.