As someone who has wanted to learn Italian for ages, and who is also busy, when I saw this item, I was excited and it gave me the impetus to actually do something about my desire to speak Italian.
I'm at a slight advantage, having taken an A Level in Latin, that it was easy for me to pick up.
As for the product itself, while it won't get you a GCSE, it'll more than cover you in holding a conversation and going on holiday without being a typical bumbling Brit abroad.
You get 2 CDs and a book, and can work with the 2 together, so listening and reading, or you can take a CD with you on the move. As an audio-visual person, I found it easier with the book, I must admit. It is not at all taxing and you pick things up very quickly.
I'd certainly recommend it for a beginner, and if the Spanish and French sets are the same as this, I'd recommend them too
Well put together but not revolutionary! (Rating 4 of 5)
» A. I. Mackenzie
As explained in the other reviews you get a two CD set and an A5 booklet with this pack.
It's all been nicely put together for the beginner (this is definitely aimed at the phrase book/ tourist market) and the stand alone CD is a good idea.
However the main problem with this is the inclusion of Tony Buzan's mind maps - I just can't see that they are helpful in learning a language.
It's also quite annoying that he lays claim to teaching techniques that really wouldn't surprise Plato or Socrates! If you can get past Buzan's self advertising this is a very well put together set and will put you well on the way to learning enough to get you by on a business trip or holiday
Great for holidays and basic language learning (Rating 4 of 5)
» Lilly Penhaligon
The market in language learning products has always been an anathema to me. As soon as I have approached the shelves laden with endless confusing packages - some for beginners, intermediates or advanced - even `advanced advanced' (!?), those that claim that they take you from beginner to fluent in 2 nanoseconds (provided of course, you follow the exercises in each of the 85 disc set), those that use books, those that say that books are useless etc, the idea of language learning suddenly becomes an unwanted chore instead of the fun opportunity that it started out as. So is this product any different from the other thousands of available book/disc sets out there? In some way yes and in others no.
Having used this product now for a few weeks I think that it is primarily useful for two things:
one: you want to holiday in Italy and need to be able to get around - i.e. you need basic phrases for buying things, describing things, giving and receiving directions and all the other things you might be asking for on holiday or
two: you want to start learning Italian perhaps as a Uni course or evening school but you want to make sure that it's really for you before you commit to something more expensive and intense.
This book/disc combo is bright, informative and enables you to get to grips with the basics easily and quickly. It includes a relevant amount of information about each topic teaching you exactly what you need to know and omitting onerous, complicated and difficult details. If you are someone that wants to know the ins and outs of a language, this is definitely not for you. If you want something quick and easy and couldn't less about grammatical explanations etc then this is definitely up your street. The book was much thicker than I expected and relies on extended use of mind maps accompanied by lots of bright colours. Some might say that the presentation has a childish feel to it but others would argue that it makes for a more interesting and engaging experience. There is method behind the colour usage - it is supposed to help you remember things more easily.
One of the immediately noticeable things about this disc set is that the recordings are very clear - you would be surprised how many language packages have discs with recordings that sound like the speaker is sitting 500 miles away from the nearest microphone or where it seems that the speaker has the microphone in their mouth. The intro disc is a little too long for my liking - others here have said the same but stick through it. I would agree with a previous reviewer about the length of pauses allowing the learner to practise the phrases, my cd player did not like being paused so often.
Overall, I think this package is great depending on what you want to get out of it. If you are thinking of learning Italian properly with a view to being able to speak proficiently, forget it, this definitely will not help you beyond the extreme basics. If you want to go on holidays, it's almost perfect - the accompanying book would double as a comprehensive phrase book and it doesn't bog you down with unnecessary details. The chapters are clearly set out and the colours make it an easy reference tool. It's also more reasonably priced than some other beginner's courses so it's great for one off holidays or basic learning
Accessible guide for those who find languages difficult (Rating 4 of 5)
» Ian Shine
I've learnt a few languages before, and am quite prepared to go through what many see as 'boring' books learning tables and so on. However, this book is nothing like this. It's colourful and friendly and interesting to use - although I don't feel that it would give you a massively solid grounding in Italian. It's ideal for someone who is going on holiday in a few months' time and wants to be able to learn the basics in a fun way, but it's probably not for the really serious langauge student
Pretty good, in it's market - Another attempt at this review! (Rating 4 of 5)
» The Penguin
If you want to learn a language, there are two ways to do it. Up sticks and immerse yourself in the culture and language or go to lessons with a good teacher. You can't learn to speak a language from CDs or Tapes.
You can, however, gain an understanding and ability to communicate at a basic level and in this respect Tony Buzan's mindmaps are an admirable way of going beyond phrasebook muddle and confusion. The two disc approach, with one "structured" disc to be used with the A5 book provided and the other to play anywhere for a simple way of immersing yourself in the vocab you have learned.
The course is structured around real life events, at the bar, in the restaurant etc, and gives a good view of the basics of Italian.
Mind maps offer a way to structure thoughts and fit learning languages well. 1 Star deducted for the old fashioned and wasteful package that the book and discs came in!
(Rating 4 of 5)
