Can you suggest a DVD series to learn Italian?
 

Has anyone tried a dvd series they can recommend for learning Italian?

As in audio/video? The Rosetta Stone series (which is between US 300-400) is highly regarded (they also sell these language programs in the mall kiosks) It is supposedly the number one language learning software in the world. I have seen demos. of it, and as a former language major, what I saw I thought was very useful.

There are very good CD programs available, beginner to advanced-from the Living Language Series-which I and my friends have used for multiple languages and think are excellent-particularly the Italian series. You might want to try the Living Language Ultimate Italian book and CDs.

Thanks, Spygirl. Yes, I meant to say CD series since I want to use it in my car. I'll look in to the Living Language Series.

I'd have no way of knowing who's "No. 1" but the Pimsleur series is decent.

Pimsleur is great if you can learn by a purely oral/aural method, or if you are a visually oriented learner who already knows a little about the language. Rosetta Stone might be a better choice if you need visuals (words and or pictures) along with sounds in order to learn.

I find it best to supplement oral/aural methods with a book. I like the "Teach Yourself" series.

Costco regularly carries good CD Italian language sets, which also include handbooks and/or phrasebooks. They vary between two or three brands there, but I've use the French brands and they seem pretty comparable. For me, the handbook is a must, so I can see the words, too.

We have tried different language CDs, and prefer the ones by Pimsleur. The lessons are well paced, and are not overwhelming. They are very good for the casual tourist.

Woody

Pawleys,
Try your public library. They may have several different ones. You can try a few and find one that suits you.

and it is free !!

Pimsleur is good for learning common phrases that you might use while traveling. I also found A+ Italian by Transparent Language to be helpful. It's a CD-ROM. A neat feature on the A+ CD-ROM lets you speak into a microphone and it shows you how closely your pronunciation matches that of a native speaker.

We did the Launguage Immersion Institute "In Italiano" CD and book, thinking we would use it in the car, but my husband and I must both be visual learners, because we found it necessary to follow along in the book in order for anything to stick. So we quickly abandoned the car idea.

We did like it, particularly because it is based on people visiting Italy, so the vocabulary tends to be useful.

However, we were also glad to have Rick Steve's phrase book with us.

Vera

I'll vote for the Pimsleur series, at least for German. The costco $30 version is just the first 10 lesstions and you will pay about $500 for the various levels of the entire set. I thought it was very good.

Another Pimsleur vote here. I learned French in my car before my workday. I was four days in Paris before anyone spoke to me in English when I spoke French. It's not the complete command, but good for a visitor. Pimsleur Italian is next.