Description:
While it's true that no better vocabulary-acquisition method exists than tried and true flash cards, they need not be of the paper variety. Instant Immersion Italian is one solution: a set of four CD-ROMs that will take some of the pain out of learning new Italian words simply by being quite a bit more fun than flash cards. In addition, the package includes the "Voyage in Italy" CD-ROM, a buoyant tourist guide to Italian art and food--all in Italian. The software package includes two other skill-level-dependent CD-ROMs. For absolute beginners, you'll start with the "Talk Now!" CD-ROM and learn basic words acontextually for colors, food, numbers, and basic phrases. You hear the Italian pronounced while an image of he concept is shown. Most teachers actually prefer this, so that students associate the Italian sounds and words directly with a concept rather than the English translation. Intermediate students will start with the "Word Talk Italian" CD-ROM, which has a variety of games to practice vocabulary and a few more dialogues; you can also take dictation exercises or use your computer's microphone to repeat after the audio and compare your pronunciation to the recording. (It's painful, we know, but it helps.) The fourth CD-ROM is "Webster's New World Five Language Talking Dictionary"--a nice perk for pronunciation practice but not a real replacement for your handy Collins Gem. Caveats: First, the various CD-ROMs are not truly sequential, so do not necessarily expect to graduate from the beginning and intermediate CD-ROMs to the "Voyage in Italy" narrative. Second, the software is no ersatz for a competent Italian teacher and loads of homework, so do not expect similar results. The pedagogical approach here does not emphasize student production of Italian, either in speech or writing, so you will learn more to recognize spoken and written words and phrases than to speak or write them yourself. Overall, however, Instant Immersion Italian is a strong and, above all, affordable vocabulary-building resource--and it will take the doldrums out of memorizing new words. --Erik Macki
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