Bill H

Hi, <BR> <BR>I will be moving to Italy in a few months to <BR>work for a few years. I need to learn Italian BEFORE I go! Do any of you have <BR>suggestions on the best learning tools for Italian. I have looked at Berlitz and a few others but don't know which is the best. <BR> <BR>Thanks, <BR> <BR>Bill H.

Rex

Your local educational cable TV channel may have a telecourse in Italian. We do here in Columbus, Ohio - - and I don't think we are the most sophisticated metropolitan area in America. The one we have here isn't as good as "French in Action", but I think it would always be useful to hear any native Italian speakers in a teaching context. <BR> <BR>And for those seekig to improve their French, you may be able to find French in Action on videotape at the library of a (community?) college in your area. Also on PBS in some markets - - or purchase at 1-800-LEARNER or at www.learner.org (Annenheim/CPB). They also have Spanish (Destinos), German, Russian and Japanese offerings (no Italian, regrettably). <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex

lola

I've taken Berlitz and I've taken intense courses. If I were doing it, I'd find someone who speaks Italian (try colleges or even local restaurants) to bolster any coursework. You could converse slowly, in real conversations with simple sentences, over the phone. Maybe pick a topic that coincides with your course work for that week. Pay whatever you can afford and let the conversation be basic and free-flowing, the way it would be in Italy. That's what I'd do, ideally....

ciao

Bill -- don't know where you live, but in many major cities a smaller local cable channel will probably be broadcasting RAI, the Italian news. It's on all the time here in NYC. It's a great way to complement Berlitz or whatever and helps with pronounciation; plus, you'll be up on the current events and you'll get to pick up vocabulary that a class might not offer. Reporters and politicians are trained to speak clearly and slowly, so it's easy to catch most of what's going on (but when they start interviewing hicks in the sticks you may get a little lost!). You'll get quite a window into cultural differences (I'm assuming you're moving from the States) too. I can't imagine a woman anchoring any major news show in the US with bleached hair (pitch black roots) flowing all over the studio and a blouse buttoned up to her navel.... <BR> <BR>P.S.: congratulations on getting such a fabulous opportunity!

Jolene

Bill: <BR> <BR>Congratulations on your job in Italy! I have been using Ultimate Italian basic-intermediate lesson book by Living Language. The ISBN number is 0-609-80257-7 and you can order it from Amazon. There are tapes to accompany the lessons as well. It claims to be the equivalent to two full years of college level study. One of the men in my community Italian class(also a Bill H)has studied Italian on his own here and in a language class in Italy. He has a number of Italian language textbooks and finds this one the best "general" book. Another good resource is 501 Italian Verbs (sorry, don't have it handy for the ISBN #) it gives you the full conjugation of common verbs. <BR> <BR>The previous suggestion of finding someone at the local restaurants or a college is great. I live in a small town over 100 miles from any urban area and we have 3 people whose primary language is Italian in our study group, so chances are you should be able to hook up with someone who speaks Italian in your town! <BR> <BR>Buon fortuna <BR> <BR>Jolene

Frank

Ciao Bill, <BR>You can do a lot with tapes, if none of the other alternatives suggested are available to you. The best, but most expensive, are the Pimsleur series: very repetitive, programmed, each lesson builds on the one before and keeps referring back to material already learned to refresh you, etc. There are almost no written materials with them, just an aural way of learning, which is great if you have a commute. You can also order tapes from a company called Audio Forum, 1-800-243-1234, or [email protected]. I have the Modern Spoken Italian tapes, parts A & B, and they are helpful, especially for grammar. The Listen and Improve Your Italian series is excellent for business Italian at an intermediate level spoken at a fairly fast clip, very authentic, entertaining, and helpful. Also, the BBC puts out a series of videos, tapes, and a book called "Buongiorno Italia" which is great for beginning and low-intermediate Italian; it's what our local university uses to teach in adult education classes. We're all envious of your good fortune in getting to live in Italy! Auguri!