Italian: Pimsleur Language Program

Rating:
Summary: Good teaching method, but content inadequate for travelling
Review: Before travelling to Italy last year, I used this program to learn a little bit of Italian. I had no previous experience with Italian. I found the CD's very well organized and easy to follow, and I thought the Pimsleur method made it easy to learn the material. While I was in Italy, my confidence was improved markedly because I had done this course before I left.

However, I wish it had focused more on topics I was likely to encounter as a tourist. I did supplement this program with a very simple Berlitz program for travellers that taught me more of the vocabulary I was likely to need.

Also, while I liked the Pimsleur method and found it to be a useful way to learn Italian, I think the prices they charge for the full version of their courses is too high. Cynically, I suspect that this product is part of a marketing strategy to get you enthusiastic about their program so you'll buy the full system. After getting my feet wet with this product, I would have enthusiastically purchased Pimsleur Comprehensive Level 1 for $75, but not for $300. However, I would probably purchase a full Pimsleur system, even at the prices they're asking, if I were going to be moving to a country where I didn't speak the language.

Rating:
Summary: PIMSLEUR method is overrated
Review: I actually bought ... version of these tapes. I found them easy to follow, and generally enjoyable. I was a Russian major in college and never tried to learn a language in this fashion, but found this audio program to be very well done. Unfortunately, you can't get a huge breadth of knowledge from four hours of instruction, but it does give you some foundation to go out and learn more if you are interested. The lessons themselves add onto the previous one, but usually only with the introduction of about 10-20% new material, the rest is old material so you are constantly reviewing. This is good because it really reinforces the lessons' content, but it also makes for a somewhat slow pace and of course four hours is only enough at this base to get a fairly basic understanding of the language. Although a few grammatical concepts are explained, I would have wished they had given full verb conjugations instead of just the first person and second person singular. Likewise neither plural nouns nor verb tenses were explained or given as examples. Despite this, it was definitely enjoyable and really gives you practice in saying a lot of Italian words and phrases. It repeats a lot, yes, and some people might get tired of this, but this is a big reason for it being so effective in teaching pronunciation. As far as teaching by syllable, this is generally only done when introducing new words. They do sometimes step through a sentence if it is fairly long first doing one word, then a couple, then a couple more, then the whole thing. But this especially important when dealing with a long sentence in a language you are not familiar with and which you don't have anything in writing to follow along with.

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money on this
Review: The Pimsleur method is great for learning a language: Listen and repeat in your car on the way to and from work. I like the cassette version better than the CD, easier for me to back up and repeat.
This edition is a very basic 8 tape introduction to see if you like the language and the system. If you are going to Italy and want to learn enough to get around, go with the 16 tape set, the Italian Abridged edition, for only a little more in cost. Much more practical and rewarding.

Rating:
Summary: False Packaging and Inflated price
Review: These are the exact same CD's found in "Pimsleur Quick & Simple Italian" IBSN#0743517679 but with a different box and almost double the price. Though the content is fine, no one should spend the extra money when they can get the exact same CD's for less!

Rating:
Summary: The easiest way to learn and remember!
Review: This is the most effective introduction to Italian that I have seen. The listener learns the basics through repetition and role play while working on pronunciation. The tapes move at a great pace, giving the listener plenty of time to respond. Unlike most other language tapes that move ahead too quickly, here the lessons are designed to move ahead while still testing retention.

Rating:
Summary: Absolute Beginners ONLY
Review: This series of tapes is a great concept - learn by hearing, break language down into its simplest part(the syllable), and lots of repetition from the syllable to the sentence level.

It must be a great method for English speakers who have never tried to learn any foreign language before. However, I found it so simple that it was frustrating and annoying. If you have any background in romance languages this method will probably be too simple for you too.

For instance, the entire 1st tape (both sides) is devoted exclusively to learning how to say, "I understand Italian." "I don't understand Italian." "Do you understand English?" "I'm American." Tape 2 begins, of course by repeating what you've already learned. In a half hour I expected to learn more.

Part of the problem is that I had already bought other tapes first and then moved on to these because I had heard they were so good.

While I would hihgly recommend this if it's your first time learning a foreign language, if you've had high school Latin, Spanish or French, move on to something a little more advanced like The "Listen & Learn" or "Berlitz" methods.