I want to learn a "little" Italian prior to our trip. I do not have a great memory ... Any suggustions for learning material ?

Go to your local book store if you live in an area where there is one. (Something like Barnes & Noble) There are lots of cassette-based language courses with instruction books included. They can range from a simple and very general course with one cassette tape, all the way to a very complete course with video or DVD. You just have to decide how deeply you want to go into the learning process. Good luck.

Take a class, if possible. That would be much much better than trying to learn the language all by yourself from books and tapes alone. You may be able to find informal classes in a nearby adult evening school or possibly with some cultural organization.

Do a search on this board for Pimsleur. Many people have like the CDs. I feel like I have a dead ear for language and I found that they worked for me. They are expensive, so check your library to see if you can check them out.

Decide what you want to focus on and stick with that for your first tie, perjhaps ordering food, shopping etc., the basics - a good place to start

Someone, either on this board or on another board, recommended the Living Language In Flight series.

A friend and I used the ones for the Czech Republic and for Hungary. We found the single disk, basic phrases, approach wonderful, as neither one of us had a clue as to the structure of either Czech or Hungarian! It didn't matter. We were able to pick up enough to get by at a very elementary level and we didn't have to turn ourselves into conjugation wonders or twist our tongues into pretzels!

I found the "Language Survival Guide Italy" (Harper Collins) to be one of the best language/information books I have taken on a vacation. I used this book daily on our 2 week trip to Italy.

Hi marcie

I write down words and phrases on flash cards (or just bits of paper) English on one side and Italian on the other.

Pull out a card at random and *write and say* what's on the other side. Check what you've written.

Repeat.

If you are concerned about pronunciation, just remember to pronounce all of the vowels.

hi marcielee,

go directly to

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/italian/

do not pass go, do not collect 100 euros.

it's all there . . . hth

Does anyone know of any good interactive computer programs for the Italian language?

http://www.rosettastone.com/home

Having used their programs for French, Dutch and Italian, I found them very good for retentive learning and accurate pronunciation.

Get a guide book with the top 20 essential words/phrases. Study a few every night before bedtime. Add a new one every night, if possible. Keep repeating them all day long, to yourself. Say them for someone who speaks Italian, so you know if you are pronouncing the words correctly. You only need a few key words - please, thank you, certain foods, etc..
I did this with Czech and was really surprised when I got to Prague & it worked! I even got free food at a cafe for just trying to order in the native language!

If you do a search on this site, you will find links to many resources for learning Italian from books, CDs and online. http://italian.about.com/ There are also audio files on this site itself.

I still think taking a class is the best option.

pronunciation: http://italian.about.com/cs/pronunci...ouncewords.htm

the basics, online: http://italian.about.com/library/fare/blfarehome.htm

I think that cmt has it right: take a class. marcielee is telling us that she may do not do as well as some people without the kinds of reinforcements that another person can give you.

Best wishes,

Rex