Italian, Conversational: Learn to Speak and Understand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Pimsleur Instant Conversation) [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Pimsleur (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0743550439 | ISBN-13: 978-0743550437 | Publication Date: October 3, 2005 | Edition: Revised, 16 Lessons

Italian is the official language of Italy and San Marino, and an official language of Switzerland, Croatia, and Slovenia. It is spoken by about 58 million in Italy, 24,000 in San Marino, 840,000 in Switzerland, another million in other European countries, and 5 million in North and South America.

Italian, Conversational

• Sixteen 30-minute lessons of spoken Italian language instruction. These sixteen lessons are the same as the first sixteen lesson of Pimsleur's 30-Unit Comprehensive Program.
• Each lesson includes an introductory conversation, and new vocabulary and structures and includes practice for vocabulary introduced in previous lessons.
• Essential grammar and vocabulary. Topics include: greetings, numbers, meals, shopping, telling time, scheduling activities, and asking and giving directions.
• No mindless repetition! Converse with native speakers in natural (and useful!) conversations.
• Easy, fast, fun and effective language acquisition.
• Completely Audio - anytime, anywhere. No computer necessary! Unlike expensive software programs which tie learners to a computer, Pimsleur courses are available in CD or mp3 format to meet your needs.
• Receive an instant credit of $150 to trade up from the Conversational to the full Level 1 Comprehensive CD course.

Pimsleur® equals success. Just one 30-minute lesson a day gets you speaking and understanding like no other program.

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: 8 pages
• 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: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,777 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Books on CD > Languages > Language Instruction > Italian
  • #7 in Books > Books on CD > Reference
  • #11 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Italian

More About the Author

Dr. Paul Pimsleur (b. 1926, d. 1976) devoted his life to language teaching and testing and was one of the world's leading experts in applied linguistics. He was fluent in French, good in German, and had a working knowledge of Italian, Russian, Modern Greek, and Mandarin Chinese. After obtaining his Ph.D. in French and a Masters in Psychology from Columbia University, he taught French Phonetics and Linguistics at UCLA. He later became Professor of Romance Languages and Language Education, and Director of The Listening Center (a state-wide language lab) at Ohio State University; Professor of Education and Romance Languages at the State University of New York at Albany; and a Fulbright lecturer at the University of Heidelberg. He did research on the psychology of language learning and in 1969 was Section Head of Psychology of Second Language Learning at the International Congress of Applied Linguistics.

Dr. Pimsleur was a member of the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF), American Educational Research Association (AERA), Modern Language Association (MLA), and a founding member of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).

His many books and articles revolutionized theories of language learning and teaching. After years of experience and research, Dr. Pimsleur developed a new method (The Pimsleur Method) that is 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."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

137 of 139 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

This review is from: Italian, Conversational: Learn to Speak and Understand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Pimsleur Instant Conversation) (Audio CD)

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!

33 of 33 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

This review is from: Italian, Conversational: Learn to Speak and Understand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Pimsleur Instant Conversation) (Audio CD)

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.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great!, July 24, 2006

By 

J. W. Geiken-Joyner "Wynne" (Flagstaff, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Italian, Conversational: Learn to Speak and Understand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Pimsleur Instant Conversation) (Audio CD)

I've taken language courses in the past, and listened to audio cassettes (dating myself), and none have been as effective as this. I am 90% through the course now, and had a native Italian speaking client today. I understood much of what she said, and she was impressed by what I could say and understand! Great price if you think you will stop studying here!

If you think there's a good chance you'll want to learn more, just go for Italian I instead since the first half of it is in this course. I was skeptical at first, and I didn't want to invest in the more expensive 30 lesson set. Now I'm hooked and I'll be buying Italian I. Wish I had just paid the full price in the first place instead of buying BOTH Conversational Italian and Italian I, since they overlap by 16 lessons.