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Starting Italian, advice, thoughts pls :) | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| mr_chinnery Senior Member England Joined 5758 days ago 202 posts - 297 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 1 of 9 14 December 2010 at 4:37pm | IP Logged | ||
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I started learning Italian 8 days ago. My main resources are http://www.italian-
flashcards.com, http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/italian/lj/ and the FSI programmed course. I've tried learning German in the past, and as much as I love the language, I found it really difficult grammatically. So, I've decided to concentrate on a basic Italian vocabulary and a good phonological grounding, and then move on to the grammar. Does this seem like a good idea? My main inspiration for going this route is the very, very impressive http://www.youtube.com/user/Torbyrne. I've found the flashcard site above to be really useful. What is the general consensus on FSI courses? I saw a review on youtube by a polyglot who pointed out the flaws, and this was quite off putting. Sadly I can't afford an Assimil course, and they seem to be the best. Can anyone tell me of their experiences learning Italian, preferably from a native English perspective? Any advice or help will be most gratefully received :) Matt 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| magictom123 Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5594 days ago 272 posts - 365 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, French | Message 2 of 9 14 December 2010 at 4:46pm | IP Logged | ||
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I am learning Italian also and after meandering around and taking years to really get
the correct study tools, I am now into a settled routine. I think some of the better materials for learning Italian (for me anyway) have been: The Michel Thomas course's Assimil Italian with ease www.yahoo.it for news stories UZ translations has some graded reader books from a1-b2 Italian TV (if you live in England, Aldi sometimes sell satellite kits - I got one for £50 - that enable you to watch plenty of Italian tv for free - no subscription needed) Personally I don't like flashcards so have only used them occasionally. Assimil is not expensive if you can get hold of the audio seperately from some other source. Good luck with your studies. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Cainntear Pentaglot Senior Member Scotland linguafrankly.blogsp Joined 6012 days ago 4399 posts - 7687 votes Speaks: Lowland Scots, English*, French, Spanish, Scottish Gaelic Studies: Catalan, Italian, German, Irish, Welsh | Message 3 of 9 14 December 2010 at 5:51pm | IP Logged | ||
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I'd second Michel Thomas.
I can understand why school made you scared of grammar, but MT does make it easy. You can try out the first hour of the course for free and see for yourself. If you like it, see if your local library has it. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Andy E Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 7104 days ago 1651 posts - 1939 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, French | Message 4 of 9 14 December 2010 at 11:29pm | IP Logged | ||
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Another vote for two things - Michel Thomas and your local library. You're in the UK, so I'd be surprised if they don't have it. They will also have other courses, many of them older ones that are more than likely better than the dumbed-down alternatives of today.
If you're not a member, do join and get some assistance on catalogue searches. Even if your branch doesn't have a particular course another may - and you can easily request an inter-library loan. My own county (Hampshire) lets you do all of this online - searching and reserving. It's highly unlikely you'll find Assimil but Linguaphone courses will most likely be available, even if they're cassette-based. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| diabolo menthe Diglot Groupie United Kingdom Joined 5974 days ago 68 posts - 70 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Italian, Swedish, Japanese | Message 5 of 9 15 December 2010 at 12:03am | IP Logged | ||
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I agree with all of the above.
I have found Assimil to be very useful, as well as the Barron's exercise books (though I have found a couple of mistakes in one, it is still good for doing drills). The library really is your best friend, not only for language courses but also for novels and DVDs. Check the children's section as well, as they will likely have easier material. There is a great website run by RAI for non-native speakers. Though it is a little more advanced, I honestly don't think it would take you too long to get there: http://www.initalia.rai.it/docufiction.asp?contId=301 Best of luck! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| magictom123 Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5594 days ago 272 posts - 365 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, French | Message 6 of 9 15 December 2010 at 12:14am | IP Logged | ||
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Further to the above, there is also this course - which I personally prefer to initalia:
http://www.italianoinfamiglia.it/ Edited by magictom123 on 15 December 2010 at 12:19am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| diabolo menthe Diglot Groupie United Kingdom Joined 5974 days ago 68 posts - 70 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Italian, Swedish, Japanese | Message 7 of 9 15 December 2010 at 12:38am | IP Logged | ||
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Thank you for that link, magictom. I had not seen that one previously, and it looks excellent!
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| mr_chinnery Senior Member England Joined 5758 days ago 202 posts - 297 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 8 of 9 15 December 2010 at 1:45am | IP Logged | ||
I took your advice and managed to track down a torrent of the Michel Thomas course, I've just finished the first lesson, and I've probably learnt more in those five minutes than I have in the last 8 days :D Thank you very much! 1 person has voted this message useful |
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