Teach Yourself Beginner's Italian, New Edition

Rating:
Summary: A Good Place to Begin
Review: I'm looking forward to a move to Italy and, while I'm "moderately good" at reading Italian, my written Italian is not so good and my spoken Italian is almost non-existent. I've found TEACH YOURSELF BEGINNER'S ITALIAN to be a perfect introduction for a "beginning speaker" like I am.

The book, like many "beginners" books, is centered around "real life" situations, but these situations cover only the most basic. This might be okay for a casual tourist, but if you're going to be speaking Italian in everyday life like I am, then you are certainly going to need more. Luckily TEACH YOURSELF BEGINNER'S ITALIAN also shows the student how the Italian language works so he or she can create original sentences. Italian grammar isn't particularly difficult, but it's up to each student, of course, to build his or her own vocabulary.

TEACH YOURSELF BEGINNER'S ITALIAN is divided into twenty-five chapters with a reference section and vocabulary at the end of the book. The one drawback I found in TEACH YOURSELF BEGINNER'S ITALIAN was a lack of pronunciation guides, however the book does come with a 90-minute audio cassette that can be purchased separately. Unless you're going to be speaking with native Italians, as I am, I would definitely recommend buying the cassette. Italian isn't difficult to pronounce, but there are certain sounds that, in Italian, are pronounced quite differently from their English counterparts and a beginning student might not notice all the little nuances if they don't listen to (or interact with) native speakers.

Sometimes, learning a new language can seem overwhelming. One thing I like about this book is the fact that the information is broken down into manageable "chunks," so the student never feels overwhelmed. In addition, each lesson builds on the one that precedes it. Grammar lessons (hated by most students but so, so necessary) are also provided as are written exercises.

TEACH YOURSELF BEGINNER'S ITALIAN includes basic information about Italy and Italian life. Italians are used to more levels of formality than are Americans and this book will let you know what those levels are and when each should be used, but don't expect TEACH YOURSELF BEGINNER'S ITALIAN to be a cultural guide to Italy...this is a language course and all references to culture are tied to the use of the Italian language.

Italian isn't so very difficult to read and write, but it does take a lot of practice to comprehend native speakers fully and to produce the language fluently yourself. Your practice will be well-rewarded, however, for once you do master Italian, you'll have access to one of the most beautiful and fascinating cultures on earth.