Italian, Plus: Learn to Speak and Understand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Pimsleur (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 29, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0743571649 | ISBN-13: 978-0743571647 | Edition: 10 Lessons

Pimsleur® equals success. Just one 30-minute lesson a day gets you speaking and understanding like no other program. German Plus Phase 4 includes five hours of spoken language practice. Designed to be used after completion of Phases 1, 2 and 3, this course puts your language skills to the test with reallife situations and a faster pace. Phase 4 includes a wider range of interpersonal exchanges and more complex structures requiring you to use diverse language strategies.

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; 10 Lessons edition (July 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743571649
• ISBN-13: 978-0743571647
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.7 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #170,499 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #13 in Books > Books on CD > Languages > Language Instruction > Italian

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Only Good if you want more Pimsleur style lessons, March 23, 2009

By 

DanZ (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

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

I enjoyed the Pimsleur Italian series so much that I bought this.
The bad and the good about this product:

THE BAD - Conversations and dialogue revolve around publishing so it's obvious that they repackaged/repurposed some Simon & Schuster training materials. This is also bad because not as much from the previous Italian series is referenced.

THE GOOD - There are some very useful phrases that apply regardless of the publishing business. The same techique (which I really liked) is used in the lessons. So you can continue to practice on the go. All in all I really liked Pimsleur.

Recommendation: Buy it used if possible and only buy it if you liked the approach and desperately want more.

Otherwise the 80 dollars approx would be better spent on private lessons, classes, etc.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A gift if you have longish commutes, March 5, 2010

By 

dragonness (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews

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

I love the Pimsleur programme for learning Italian because it has turned my commute to work into an extremely useful and pleasant series of Italian lessons. I've done the whole set from the beginning of Level II on (I had taken Italian years ago in high school and didn't need to start from scratch). I am currently finishing Italian Plus. I wish there were more of these CDs, because I don't feel ready to converse at length quite yet, I think. I'm sure it would only be a matter of a little bit more practice, because I have a very solid knowledge of the basics by now.

I got the CDs at my local library and I'm so pleased they were available because I wouldn't have sprung for the set if I had to buy it, even though I do think they teach you the language very effectively.

It's true this set focuses on publishing, but the general ideas are what matters, and the specific vocabulary is secondary. You could just as easily apply these sentences in any other kind of business, if you substitute your own terminology. Here's an example sentence "My boss doesn't like the title. We will solve that problem with the help of the translator who is very good."