Learning to speak Italian
 

Plan on going to italy in march and would like to know some italian.

What would you suggest to achieve this?

I looked in my area and didn't seem to find one (orlando)

Is there a computer program, tapes etc people recommend?

Do a search at amazon.com for Michel Thomas Italian Language.
He does a series of six audio C/D's for beginners. There are both positive and negative customer reviews. I found the course helpful.

Have you checked all of the colleges in your area. Include the community colleges. They may have evening courses.

I recommend starting with a library - - the largest public available to you, or if you have privileges at a college library, there may be materials available there also. Allows you to try it before you buy it.

A few useful suggestions: I think it is important that you SAY IT OUT LOUD - - not under your breath, not "to yourself", not mumbled... it's important that you get used to, and get over how (bad you think) you sound.

And monitor your progress; approach this seriously just like it was school, amnd make goals and see how you are keeping to them. If you buy a book with a workbook; do the exercises; make flash cards; aim for a target number of new vocabulary words each day/week. Many people can learn 25-50 new words a week. You <i><u>can</u></i> do this, and it will add so much richness to what you get out of a trip to Italy.

Today would be a good day to start.

Best wishes,

Rex

The big key is retention. You can listen to all the tapes you want but if you don't get a chance to use it, you'll lose it. Find a buddy to practice with and/or someone you can practice with on a daily basis or you'll forget. I speak some Italian (took it in college) and my sister speaks fluent French but, the instructor told her that to achieve fluency even if you live in the country of the language will take more than a year.

I don't know how widely represented the Dante Alighieri Society (Societa Dante Alighieri) is in the US, assuming you're American, but if you're in a major city you may find that they offer language classes. Face-to-face teaching is always better IMO.

I have found the Living Languages set of CD's to be very useful for both Italian and French, and they tend to be available in U.S. bookstore chains like B&amp;N and Borders. I find that going through a few lessons with the accompanying text, then putting the CD in my car and listening/repeating on the drive to/from work reinforces both pronunciation and retention, as I struggle to remember what the word I'm hearing means and how it is spelled.

Rex is right...you have to speak it out loud to learn it right. Italian is as much about rhythm and inflection and tone as it is about words. That's why I like the Pimsleur system. It's all about 'listen and repeat'. My car made a fine classroom!

Too bad I couldn't also practice my hand gestures while driving...