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Love the tapes. I drive quite a bit and the tapes provide continual stimulation and repetition. I am half way through the complete set and I am looking forward to ordering Pimsleur Italian II. I also own Rosetta Stone Italian CD's which I also enjoy but I must be on my computer to utilize them, which is a problem.
To get a reasonable working level of proficiency you really have to do all three levels, which makes the cost of the complete package almost as much as a round trip ticket to Italy. By "functional proficiency" I mean being able to shop, travel, and socialize in a given language.The Pimsleur Italian program uses native Italian speakers, giving it a big advantage over language books in teaching you to pronounce words correctly. To gain a functional proficiency in a foreign language as quickly and painlessly as possible, nothing beats the Pimsleur system. I would strongly suggest getting a used copy, which can be had for about half the cost of new. It also is better than any other audio course I've tried in the way it presents new material and drills you on previously-covered material. The constant review is a big confidence booster.The only problem I have with the Pimsleur system is the cost. Also, bear in mind there are 30 30-minute lessons per level, which means 90 days to complete the whole course.This isn't a college course; you won't be learning to write the language and you won't gain a level of proficiency that allows you to debate politics or negotiate a complex business contract. However, if you're planning to vacation to a foreign country and want to get up to speed on the language as simply as possible, nothing beats the Pimsleur system.
Italian has many agreements, between verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs and so on. These exercises are separate and having nothing to do with the rest of the instruction. As I developed my experience with the instruction, I also realize that Pimsleur's lessons were jumping from use of present tense to other tenses like the conditional and so on. This causes you to speak your way into the language and start thinking in Italian. For instance, I came back from Italy after living there for several months and then wanted to improve my skills.
It prepares and frames your mind appropriately for taking an active learning, not just to see the words on page and wonder where to put your emphasis. (Listen and repeat. I believe it's good for people who are not willing or ready to commit to a classroom, but have a lot of self initiative to learn. It can be very complicated and confusing at times to learn this language.
That's fine, but it was doing so without making it explicitly clear to the listener what they were doing and why.I don't know how anyone could possibly speak clearly and pronounce words right, if they don't understand what particular verb conjugations and agreements are being made. These verbal pronunciation practices have no other purpose other than seeing some vague written sentences and then trying to repeat them after the instructor's announcement. Preparing the mind mentally is perhaps a major advantage to learning.If there are any problems, perhaps it is that Pimsleur often seems to jump into the conversation too easily; that is, while it assumes that you will figure out the actual words, conjugations and agreements. (I find it more difficult than learning French). As such, the listener does not see the rest of the actual substance of the instruction being spelled out, or its sentences written down on the page.
Pimsleur Italian I, as well as the other like products in the series, is good for basic instruction; that is, if you already have a fundamental understanding of romance languages and various other resources at your command.Independently, learning the language via self instruction and use of books and such can be overwhelming, thus Pimsleur can be a good tool. There is no real phrase or instruction book guiding you with the various chapter lessons. The only book that is provided is that which is solely for verbal speaking exercises. In pronunciation lessons, you simply listen and repeat, without analyzing what you are actually saying. Indeed, many times I thought that I had comprehended a sentence right, but only later realized that I had not. He or she simply listens and learns to speak them. Pimsleur can help motivate and give you a good starting map, instead of simply gazing inside a text book and hoping for the best.Pimsleur will take you by the hand and guide you through basic pronunciations, phrasings and sentence construction.
At best, the listener needs to take notes and then figure it all out on their own and along the way through the process. Usually, Pimsleur does not explain these things or it seems to oversimplify.I have found that Pimsleur would be very confusing, if not frustrating, if I did not have text books, a dictionary and other online language guides to figure out how they constructed a sentence, created an agreement or verb conjugation. My basic familiarity with the language also helps, but so do my other resources. listen and repeat). Otherwise, he or she will struggle and learn to speak awkwardly.
Your brain somehow eventually gets it. I give this system a big thumbs up. I like that you actually learn to pronounce the language correctly by doing and no books are needed or recommended just listen and speak out loud. I'm not sure Italian one will make you a fluent speaker but you will be speaking it and perhaps after the second course you would be fluent with practice. I found it a little light on grammer so more in that area could be attained later but I feel you will have a very good grip on Italian after completing this course and it is an impressive learning system.
This reminded me of high school language lab way back in the 60's. I found this way of learning to be difficult and gave up before getting that far. You listen, repeat, listen again, repeat again. You need to be highly motivated to stick with this and stay awake.On the plus side, the sentences start out with very useful ones if you plan to visit Italy, such as Italian for "Excuse me, do you understand English." The Pimsleur Method for Italian I concentrates on an oral approach, with no written material for the first 8 units, and minimal written vocabulary after that. I need visual cues to keep learning organized in my brain; however, some people are more verbally oriented and might find the Pimsleur method enjoyable.
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