ECCOCI!: Beginning Italian

Rating:
Summary: They call this a workbook?
Review: This is the workbook for the text I was assigned in Italian 101. (The ISBN is the one on the back of the gray and white workbook, but the image is that of the textbook, so make sure you're ordering the right one.) Some practice is preferable to none, but the exercises here are very short and choppy. Nothing is repeated, so if you want to really *practice* you'll have to make homework for yourself instead of relying on these assignments. The exercises generally require little effort. For example, each chapter has exercises where you look at a conversation in the text, then fill in the blanks in a conversation in the workbook--and the conversation is word-for-word the same as the one in the text. You don't have to think, generalize, or have even a basic grasp of Italian (or English, for that matter) to do that.

I also think that the text and workbook focus on vocabulary to the exclusion of grammar. The book doesn't talk about conjugating regular verbs till the third chapter. Instead, we've learned groups of vocabulary words that relate to topics like Grocery Shopping, Women in Italy, and Vacations.

On a positive note, you probably won't be turning to either of these books for reference or practice, so they'll stay in good shape and you can sell them at the end of the semester. I'd buy a good Italian dictionary and _501 Italian Verbs_ if you want to be able to write coherent sentences, because you sure won't get that from _Eccoci_.