Express Italian: Learn to Speak and Understand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Pimsleur Express) [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Pimsleur (Author)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr. Paul Pimsleur devoted his life to language teaching and testing and was one of the world’s leading experts in applied linguistics. After years of experience and research, Dr. Pimsleur developed The Pimsleur Method based on two key principles:  the Principle of Anticipation and a scientific principle of memory training that he called “Graduated Interval Recall.”  This Method has been applied to the many levels and languages of the Pimsleur Programs.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Pimsleur; Lesson 1 + Scenes edition (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743533917
• ISBN-13: 978-0743533911
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 4.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,222,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Travel Language for Survival - Not Indepth Language Study, March 1, 2005

By 

Robert J. Jackson "Frequent Travel Miles" (Springville, UT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Express Italian: Learn to Speak and Understand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Pimsleur Express) (Audio CD)

In reading some of the other reviews I am amazed at what people think a single CD course will accomplish. The Pimsleur Express courses (I've used Spanish, French, Italian, German and Russian) are not gimmicks, but merely an effort to provide a bit of comfort with spoken basics and travel expressions. If I want to learn a language well enough to survive several weeks in a foreign country I know I'll need a more indepth course than this. These do, however, give me enough to do one of those tours where I'm spending 2, 3 or 4 days in a country (or several countries), before moving on to another.

The only reason I give them a 5-star rating is that they do exactly what they say they will. Even though the second part is an oral listing of basic travel expressions, rather than fully developed Pimsleur lessons. I found that, when coupled with a great phrasebook (such as those published by Lonely Planet), Pimsleur gave me enough exposure to the phrases to be able to either read or say them correctly. Yes, I did have to review the travel phrases several times to learn them, but I think if Pimsleur took the time to develop separate travel lessons in the Pimsleur format I'd have had to pay a lot more for them, and I'd have had to spend a lot more time studying them.

If Pimsleur is guilty of any gimmick, it's the same gimmick others use by trying to tell us we can learn a language in several hours (or 10 minutes a day) -- and the Pimsleur Express doesn't make that claim -- just that it's a quick introduction to important phrases needed for travel. They haven't prepared me for deep philosophical discussions, but they have successfully gotten me through airports, train stations, in and out of taxis, stores, hotels and restaurants. I think that's exactly what they were created for.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Marketing Gimmick, Only Decent Italian Speakers Should Buy, December 30, 2004

By 

W. Dermody (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Express Italian: Learn to Speak and Understand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Pimsleur Express) (Audio CD)

This Pimsleur Express CD contains a 25 minute conversation lesson followed by about 40 minutes of "scenes", or typical travel situations.

The conversation lesson is obviously the highlight of this product. Organized in the patented Pimsleur style, it stuck immediately.

The "scenes" contain many useful phrases, but I retained very, very little on the first listen. Several listens later, I have still not retained much. However, I do value the facts that (1) the vocab is topical, and (2) native speakers do the talking. Maybe by the 30th listen I will have this all down. This makes the "scenes" portion of the CD about on-par with Pimsleur's competitors (too much work!). The "scenes" are all about repition.

This product is a gimmick. I assume that Pimsleur wanted to create a low-priced product that would look attractive on the bookstore shelf next to the $20+ Michel Thomas, Berlitz, Living Language, etc. etc. products. People will buy this for the topical vocab and the low price. But they will keep buying Pimsleur because their conversation lessons work.

If I ever buy a Pimsleur Express CD again, it will be in a language I already speak pretty well, not in a language I am just starting to learn. A decent Italian speaker could get a lot more out of this product. In the meantime, I will try the Pimsleur Instant Conversation method that worked so well for me in other languages.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pimsleur Express, November 5, 2006

By 

Angela J. Davenport "Angie D." (Reed City, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Express Italian: Learn to Speak and Understand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Pimsleur Express) (Audio CD)

I would not order the Express series again. The Quick and simple is much more geared toward learning. The Express CD mostly just gives you words to repeat and I ended up buying something else. I do recommend Pimsleur for language learning though.