Italian Now! 8.0

by Transparent Language

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 9 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004NHL4
• Item model number: IE-R08-2-CD
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 15, 2000
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,578 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #67 in Software > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Italian
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

With Learn Italian Now!, you'll learn by immersing yourself in Italian. You'll participate in real conversations, read interesting articles, and watch intriguing videos from Italy. Study from four language-learning titles: Fundamental Italian, Survival Phrases for Italian, Around Italy with Gabriella and Piero, and Conversations in Italian.

Product Description

Participate in real dialogs with native Italian speakers at your own speed. As you interact with the program, you'll hear how words are pronounced, see the spelling, discover word meanings and actually hear yourself speaking. In no time, you'll be confidently conversing in Italian!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun practice but you can't really learn, August 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Italian Now! 8.0 (CD-ROM)

I hesitated to buy this series because version 7 had such BAD reviews. They must have improved with version 8. This is great practice. Using the speaker, you get constant feedback at how well you are pronouncing the words. You can see it in various ways - your tone, accent, pitch, etc. But I must mention that this isn't for the absolute beginner. You don't actually learn proper sentence structure, etc. YOu MUST first take a class or learn through the various language tapes. I had taken a semester of Italian in college and prior to that briefly skimmed the Living Language Audio cassettes. The software is simply a tool to PRACTICE what you've learned.

There are a variety of lessons: 1) a video dialogue; 2)Conversation phrases; 3) Fundamental Italian; & 4) Survival Phrases. But they really lack in organization. Don't bother going to their HELP menu. It's generic. It isn't unique to the language you choose. It's the standard throughout the entire series. I know there is a grammer help somewhere. But again, because it isn't at all organized, I can't find it again. Don't bother with the button "Getting Started." IT doesn't lead you to a nice step-by-step guide.

But I still recommend it for those who've at least learned the language elsewhere. I tried the French one- which just proves my point. My knowledge of French is less then what I know of Italian. I was lost, because I really didn't know it. But at least I can HEAR if I can pronounce the words.

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Italian Now! 8.0 by Transparent Language NOT!, October 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Italian Now! 8.0 (CD-ROM)

While this program appears to be a great program, it actually is not user friendly. It does not include any instructions, other than how to install the discs. It does not tell you how to set up the microphone or how to use it (the program or the microphone). When I ordered this I was very excited by the description on the box, but I was at a lost on how to operate it. As a professional opera singer, I bought this software to increase my fluency in Italian. I am very computer literate and also have taken Italian classes in the past, but felt I wasted money on this program.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars still non capisco l'italiano..., September 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Italian Now! 8.0 (CD-ROM)

....The software itself has not seen much action because everytime I try to use it, I get terribly bored. It is not too encompassing for a beginner. Perhaps with some knowledge of Italian the program would be of more use (?). The phrases that you begin with are not really relevant nor are they interesting and I find that I am still looking for that "right" software that will hold my hand through the basics.