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Complete Italian: The Basics (PKG) (LL(R) Complete Basic Courses) | 
 enlarge | Author: Living Language
Publisher: Living Language
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $18.12
You Save: $11.83 (39%)
New (27) Used (2) from $18.12
Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 939178
Format: Unabridged
Media: Audio CD
Edition: Com/Pap
Number Of Items: 4
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.4 x 2.2
ISBN: 1400024161
Dewey Decimal Number: 458
EAN: 9781400024162
ASIN: 1400024161
Publication Date: August 19, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
With Living Language Complete Italian: The Basics, you’ll start by learning words, and then you’ll progress to phrases, sentences, and conversations. This simple four-step building block approach will have you speaking with confidence right from the beginning, and you’ll be able to learn gradually and effectively. Best of all, this comprehensive course includes everything you need — pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, culture, and practice — and it’s designed to be effective in a short period of time. So what are you waiting for? With Living Language, you’re just a few simple steps away from speaking Italian!
This comprehensive course package includes:
•40 step-by-step lessons in a convenient coursebook
•4 audio CDs with all the important course content
•A comprehensive grammar reference section
•Supplemental sections on e-mail and internet resources
•An English-Italian/Italian-English learner’s dictionary
•A bonus pocket travel reference
Plus, you can save $5 with publisher mail-in rebate!
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Wonderful learning resource September 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This has proven to be a most helpful resource for mastering colloquial Italian. I work as a priest in a parish with many elderly Italian parishiners, many of whom speak little or no English. What a blessing to have a language package that I can listen to in the car and read and review at home. It has helped me communicate with and understand Italians in a way no other audio course has.
Very Satisfied (Molto Bene!) September 7, 2008
A very helpful course. I came across the book (without the CD) in a local library while I was trying to study Italian. The explanations in the book were far superior to what I had in my Rosetta Stone course. When I ordered the book from Amazon, it came with the CD, which was even more of a help. I have been totally satisfied with this book and CD. It is certainly worth the price. Frankly, I am more satisfied with this course than I have been with Rosetta Stone. Explanations are better and less confusing. For anyone trying to learn the language, a shortwave radio tuned to an Italian station helps a lot also!
Bob Morton
Language Starts With Sound December 21, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I just migrated my version of "Complete Italian" from cassette to CD, so I pretty much knew what I was getting: the confidence that I would be able to "hear it right" and "say it right" when I return to Italy. I have tried several foreign language products and find that what works for me is one that begins right with saying the alphabet and the basic sounds that are the building blocks of spoken language. I also am more comfortable with the learning approach that requires me to concentrate on listening and seeing the written word at the same time.
Learning another language has never been easy for me but I have done well with this series. Travel is my motivator and I am content with acquiring enough phrases to be courteous, book rooms, order a wide variety of foods and trade a few basic observations on what I am finding to be of interest in the country. This book-audio set gives me a fine start. The spoken exercises are clearly presented and I can pick up details of ennunciation of natural conversation. There is a good amount of space for my repetition of the instructor's models. I don't expect mastery from the first go round: spending time with a language is the key to learning some of it for me. It is agreeable to spend that time with these exercises.
No one basic course can be "all things" in meeting an individual's language learning needs. I always supplement courses from this provider with more exercises (such as provided in the "...For Dummies" series and I get a Marlings Menu Master or a food dictionary and work out the messages I might want to communicate in advance of leaving. But the whole process begins with a Living Language Product such as this one.
 Quite disappointing August 16, 2007
I've studied Spanish, French, German, and Portugese by CD, and in all cases was able to learn by playing the CDs while I drove, or by listening on my iPod while I did other things. With this set, however, that is not possible.
The CDs included have NO LESSONS on them. The lessons are in the included book. To use this series, one is intended to read the lesson in the book, then play the corresponding track on the CD to hear pronunciation, and then stop the CD and go back to reading the book. It requires an incredible amount of active participation, which is the opposite of why we buy language lessons on CD!
In the past I've used the Instant Immersion series and been very happy with it for Spanish, French, and German. I'm wishing I'd have bought it for Italian too, but I decided to try something different. I regret that choice, and I will most likely toss this product into the trash can and order the Instant Immersion Italian series.
I gave it two stars rather than one (or none, if that's possible) because while I find this to be in opposition to what I expect from a language learning system, I have to give credit for the amount of work involved in compiling such a product. For those with the time and ability to learn this way, the product seems adequate. Also, if nothing else, the box contains an English-Italian dictionary, in addition to the lesson book, so there's at least something useful included.
a great start for serious learners July 24, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Language learning from zero has never been easy. i am about finish this basic pack. without any knowledge of Italian before, i can pickup some paragraphs in Bell' Italia (a magazine can be found at some newsstands) with some help from the included dictionary.
this set is not really for driving-learning. because the CD has no English. for me, who had no idea of Italian before, the learning is not piece of cake. There is no rush hour killing time stuff works for me. By putting effort seriously on this book about 30 minutes everyday, I saw the result at the end of this book. So, I think if you seriously want to learn Italian, this is a great start kit. If throwing out couple of sentences in exotic flavor from time to time is your goal, go for those CD only packages.
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