Contatti: 1st Course in Italian

Rating:
Summary: A Good Course
Review: I think that this is a good book if your intention is to immitate a college course on your own. The book was well structured, and the listening excersises were a great compliment to the book. The cassettes were not meant to be used on their own, and no where on the package does it claim to be a "learn while you drive" type of product. This book is meant for more serious users who plan on devoting a little more than their freeway time to Italian. My only complaint is that it has a very poor method of teaching grammatical skills that are often desired.

Rating:
Summary: Solid, useful package
Review: I used this course after Barron's "Italian the fast and fun Way" and "Teach Yourself Italian" as a kind of review before tackling Barron's "Mastering Italian." I think it served the bill. My advice is try a simpler course first (such as Barron's "fast, fun way" or "teach yourself beginner's Italian") and you will get more out of this course without worrying about some of the grammar shortcomings. I agree with the "4 star" reviewer who likens this to a college type language course. The book is full of color pictures and illustrations, and helpful culture notes. It really is a departure from the many 'teach yourself' type books and other learn by yourself courses that lack colorful diversions. Overall the course is quite helpful, especially since it was not new to me. The dialogs are easy to follow and the book provides a lot of vocabulary and puts in you typical traveller-type situations. Again, grammar explanations were rare, you kind of have to pick it up on your own, but this won't be as critical if used as a supplement. Nothing extraordinary here, but a solid book that will greatly improve your speaking and listening skills if used at least 1/2 hour 5 times a week.

Rating:
Summary: If you want a tape to listen to while driving this isn't it!
Review: I was looking for lessons on audio that I could use to practise Italian while driving. This audio falls way short of my expectations. There are no English explanations on the tape, so you have no idea what is being said. The tape is useless on it's own, you need to be looking at the book. The book is not well organized. I'm plodding through it but I find the approach somewhat irritating at times. I'm still searching for a good audio.