Italian [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Pimsleur (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0743525760 | ISBN-13: 978-0743525763 | Edition: Abridged

Speak Italian Instantly!

The Pimsleur® Method provides the most effective language -- learning program ever developed. More than one million people every year use it to gain real conversational skills in new languages quickly and easily -- without books, written exercises, or drills.

Easy and Practical

This package contains sixteen lessons that will get you started speaking today! Simply listen, follow the instructions, and then respond out loud, just as you would in an actual conversation. Complete one lesson each day, in consecutive order. When you've finished this program, you'll be thrilled to realize you can hold a real conversation in Italian!

Go beyond the 8-lesson Quick & Simple -- and double your language skills

Simple, step-by-step instruction

No classes to attend -- learn at your own convenience and pace

No books, written exercises, or memory drills

Listen-and-respond method lets you self-test your mastery

Increase Your Language Skills

Learning a new language is a tremendously rewarding achievement. Once you see how much you've learned in these 16 lessons, we think you'll want to continue with the Comprehensive Pimsleur® Level I Program, which contains an additional 14 units and an Introduction to Reading. To help you, we'll give you a rebate of $150.00 when you purchase the Level I Italian Comprehensive Program. Please see bottom of package for details.

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Pimsleur; Abridged edition (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743525760
• ISBN-13: 978-0743525763
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.8 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,795,610 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #70 in Books > Books on Cassette > Languages > Italian

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

87 of 91 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Molto Bene!!!, February 22, 2003

By 

Lobsta Johnson (Bruttenholm, TN) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Italian (Pimsleur Instant Conversation) (Audio CD)

I am going to Italy in 3 weeks, and was totally stressed about not knowing the language. I bought this Pimsleur course in desperation, knowing that a lot of the ambassadors use this method. I was prepared to be disappointed, but I was totally amazed at how effortless and natural this method is.

Basically, the Pimsleur method immerses you in a very small subset of the language at first, and runs you through EVERY permutation: "I don't understand english", "I understand english a little", "I understand italian a little", "do you understand english?"...etc. Once you've done this for a little while, it ramps up the vocabulary and the different verbs and usages. The progression is so natural, you'll be amazed at the sophistication of the conversations you will understand on the CD.

I can now ask my wife: "Vorrebbe mangiare qualcosa con me?" and to ask the waiter (il camierere) "Vorrei una birra nazionale, molto grande e molto freddo!" The first sentence is a standard Pimsleur construct, the second one I naturally constructed on my own with the knowledge I gained during the course.

Anyway, I can't wait to buy the rest of the series. Io parlo un po' l'italiano adesso!

Buona Fortuna!

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good teaching method, but content inadequate for travelling, July 8, 2000

By 

Sonja Kueppers (Takoma Park, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Italian (Audio CD)

Before travelling to Italy last year, I used this program to learn a little bit of Italian. I had no previous experience with Italian. I found the CD's very well organized and easy to follow, and I thought the Pimsleur method made it easy to learn the material. While I was in Italy, my confidence was improved markedly because I had done this course before I left.

However, I wish it had focused more on topics I was likely to encounter as a tourist. I did supplement this program with a very simple Berlitz program for travellers that taught me more of the vocabulary I was likely to need.

Also, while I liked the Pimsleur method and found it to be a useful way to learn Italian, I think the prices they charge for the full version of their courses is too high. Cynically, I suspect that this product is part of a marketing strategy to get you enthusiastic about their program so you'll buy the full system. After getting my feet wet with this product, I would have enthusiastically purchased Pimsleur Comprehensive Level 1 for $75, but not for $300. However, I would probably purchase a full Pimsleur system, even at the prices they're asking, if I were going to be moving to a country where I didn't speak the language.

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Audio and Visual learners., February 21, 2005

By 

Elizabeth (Jamestown, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Italian (Pimsleur Instant Conversation) (Audio CD)

I think the course is great for audio learners. I realized about halfway through the course when I was becoming frustrated with the speed of the conversations, it is because as an artist, I'm a very visual learner. After I do some visual homework, this course will be more useful to me. Ask yourself before buying it, am I an audio or visual learner.