Customer Reviews
Well put together but not revolutionary! - By: A. I. Mackenzie, 14 Apr 2008 
As explained in the other reviews you get a two CD set & an A5 booklet with this pack.
It's alll been nicely put together for the beginner (this is definitely aimed at the phrase book/ tourist market) & the stand alone CD is a good idea.
However the main problem with this is the inclusion of Tony Buzan's mind maps - I just can't see that they are helpful in learning a language.
It's also quite annoying that he lays claim to teaching techniques that reallly wouldn't surprise Plato or Socrates! If you can get past Buzan's self advertising this is a very well put together set & will put you well on the way to learning enough to get you by on a business trip or holiday.
Great for holidays and basic language learning - By: Lilly Penhaligon, 28 Mar 2008 The market in language learning products has always been an anathema to me. As soon as I have approached the shelves laden with endless confusing packages - some for beginners, intermediates or advanced - even `advanced advanced' (!?), those that claim that they take you from beginner to fluent in 2 nanoseconds (provided of course, you follow the exercises in each of the 85 disc set), those that use books, those that say that books are useless etc, the idea of language learning suddenly becomes an unwanted chore instead of the fun opportunity that it started out as. So is this product any different from the other thousands of available book/disc sets out there? In some way yes & in others no.
Having used this product now for a few weeks I think that it is primarily useful for two things:
one: you want to holiday in Italy & need to be able to get around - i.e. you need basic phrases for buying things, describing things, giving & receiving directions & alll the other things you might be asking for on holiday or
two: you want to start learning Italian perhaps as a Uni course or evening school but you want to make sure that it's reallly for you before you commit to something more expensive & intense.
This book/disc combo is bright, informative & enables you to get to grips with the basics easily & quickly. It includes a relevant amount of information about each topic teaching you exactly what you need to know & omitting onerous, complicated & difficult details. If you are someone that wants to know the ins & outs of a language, this is definitely not for you. If you want something quick & easy & couldn't less about grammatical explanations etc then this is definitely up your street. The book was much thicker than I expected & relies on extended use of mind maps accompanied by lots of bright colours. Some might say that the presentation has a childish feel to it but others would argue that it makes for a more interesting & engaging experience. There is method behind the colour usage - it is supposed to help you remember things more easily.
One of the immediately noticeable things about this disc set is that the recordings are very clear - you would be surprised how many language packages have discs with recordings that sound like the speaker is sitting 500 miles away from the nearest microphone or where it seems that the speaker has the microphone in their mouth. The intro disc is a little too long for my liking - others here have said the same but stick through it. I would agree with a previous reviewer about the length of pauses alllowing the learner to practise the phrases, my cd player did not like being paused so often.
Overalll, I think this package is great depending on what you want to get out of it. If you are thinking of learning Italian properly with a view to being able to speak proficiently, forget it, this definitely will not help you beyond the extreme basics. If you want to go on holidays, it's almost perfect - the accompanying book would double as a comprehensive phrase book & it doesn't bog you down with unnecessary details. The chapters are clearly set out & the colours make it an easy reference tool. It's also more reasonably priced than some other beginner's courses so it's great for one off holidays or basic learning.
Accessible guide for those who find languages difficult - By: Ian Shine, 21 Mar 2008 I've learnt a few languages before, & am quite prepared to go through what many see as 'boring' books learning tables & so on. However, this book is nothing like this. It's colourful & friendly & interesting to use - although I don't feel that it would give you a massively solid grounding in Italian. It's ideal for someone who is going on holiday in a few months' time & wants to be able to learn the basics in a fun way, but it's probably not for the reallly serious langauge student.
Pretty good, in it's market - Another attempt at this review! - By: The Penguin, 09 Mar 2008 If you want to learn a language, there are two ways to do it. Up sticks & immerse yourself in the culture & language or go to lessons with a good teacher. You can't learn to speak a language from CDs or Tapes.
You can, however, gain an understanding & ability to communicate at a basic level & in this respect Tony Buzan's mindmaps are an admirable way of going beyond phrasebook muddle & confusion. The two disc approach, with one "structured" disc to be used with the A5 book provided & the other to play anywhere for a simple way of immersing yourself in the vocab you have learned.
The course is structured around real life events, at the bar, in the restaurant etc, & gives a good view of the basics of Italian.
Mind maps offer a way to structure thoughts & fit learning languages well. 1 Star deducted for the old fashioned & wasteful package that the book & discs came in!
A terrific way to learn a new language - 2nd attempt to post this review! - By: E. Heckingbottom, 06 Mar 2008 What a fantastic introduction to a new language! It's attractively presented, colourful, bright & cheerful & the very presentation encourages you to want to learn! I have only had this pack for 2 days now, & have already worked my way through the first 2 units, learning as I go & enjoying every minute of it!
On opening the box, I found 2 CDs - one to be used with the book, providing invaluable listening & converstaion practice; & the other to be used 'anywhere', helping with the trickier words & phrases & providing extra listening & conversation practice.
There is also a wonderfully colourful book, filled with hints & drawings to help us to learn a foreign language.
These include:
* mental images - eg. to remember the word for orange juice, think of Sue & her friends (Sue & co) on a ranch drinking orange juice - put the image together & you have 'succo de arrancia'. There are a great many of these scattered through the book.
* hints - including the fact that Italians never drink a cappuccino after lunchtime! A useful tip if you want to 'fit in'.
* tips - one very useful one is on page 27 of the book, & shows how to fix your learning into your long term memory by using the 'repeat & succeed' method.
* Mental gymnastic activities to help fix what you've learnt.
* Cartoon strip stories, putting the vocabulary into context.
* Quick puzzles & exercises to help you practice your new skills & new vocabulary.
In addition, there are Tony's wonderful mind maps. For anyone who has never previously encountered mind maps, these may look a little unusual - but they are being used more & more in teaching & in revision. Their bright, cheerful imagery helps to fix ideas & words into the long term memory.
Then there are the 2 CDs
The first CD is great - leading you straight into learning.
The 2nd CD has a longer introduction, which may appear tedious to some, but which contains some very useful hints; so I would encourage you to listen to it the first time you play the CD.
In addition, there is a link to a website which provides extra practise exercises & answers to the exercises in the book.
My only criticism with the pack is that the CDs would benefit from longer pauses to alllow the learner to repeat the phrases & words that they have learnt - or to alllow thinking time. This is the reason why I only gave it 4 stars rather than the full 5 - as it is reallly the only complaint I have with the whole pack!
Well worth a try if you want to learn some basic Italian in preparation for your next holiday!
