Learn to Speak Italian – Including Course and Software reviews
Posted on August 5, 2009
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The Italian language is spoken by Italy’s 57 million people. Italian is spoken in such diverse places as Libya, Somalia and Ethiopia, which were once Italian colonies and, of course Austria, Switzerland.
Italian is considered one of the oldest, most romantic languages spoken today. The Italian spoken today is decendent from Latin. Italy became unified as a kingdom in 1860 at that time many different dialects came together to form the Italian language we know today.the father of the Italian language is Dante Alighier. The author of Divine Comedy is credited for unifying all the different dialects in the 14th century. Todays Italian has Tuscan dialects at its base…a bringing together of the languages of southern Italy and northern Italy. Learn Italian
Here are reviews of the best on the internet Italian Language courses. Here is the best online: Rocket Italian Language Software, Rosetta Stone Italian Language Software and Pimsleur Italian. There many others of courses, such as Lingo Italian, How to Learn Any Language and Berlitz Italian and for children, Power Glide Italian. Here are some more Italian Langauge courses on the market: Giovanna’s Learning Italian Like Crazy, Performance Italian Language Learning Software, Surefire Italian Learning Package and Tell Me More Performance Italian.
My favorite was Rocket Italian. So you have just a few months to study the Italian language I believe this Italian software course is for you. Not only is Rocket Italian effective in teaching you Italian, it was fun! Alex Marino, as the host and narrator, keeps things moving along with his sense of humor , this keeps the interactive lessons light and humorous. He teams up with Maria DiLorenzi, a native of Rome, who’s perfect and distinct accent will have you pronouncing italian words like a native. It won’t be long before you can imagine yourself spending time in Rome with Maria showing you the sites. She will become your virtual Italian friend in only a few lessons.The back and forth between Alex and Maria will keep you committed and focused. The program is entertaining which makes it easy to learn the language. The complete Rocket Italian Premium package includes 31 Interactive Audio Lessons, 31 Grammar & Culture Lessons, and the full range of MegaItalian software-based Learning Games. In summary, the program is very effective and fun and the price of $99 is a steal (regular price $299: The limited sales price was still in effect). Their customer service is great also! The amount of people around the world who have learned a langauge from Rocket Languages is now 352,510 (July, 2009). Learn Italian
The next program I looked at was the Rosetta Stone Italian Language Software. I was always fascinated by Rosetta Stone and their approach to teaching languages. The Rosetta Stone method unlocks your innate ability to learn a language. If you have failed with other methods before, you’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll learn with this method. Learn naturally, no translation or memorization required. Engage interactively and stay motivated with a range of activities and exercises. Speak confidently and build your conversational skills using Rosetta Stone’s speech recognition software. Have fun, the Rosetta Stone program makes language learning accessible and enjoyable. In my opinion, the Rosetta Stone Italian Language program is the most powerful language software product available. For both professionals and individuals and with customers like NASA, Pitney Bowes, U.S. State Department, U.S. Army, 10,000+ schools you would be in great company.
Rosetta Stone Italian uses a blend of interactive audio lessons, games, word association techniques and a unique organic teaching program that gets you to think in Italian…you may even dream in Italian! The Rosetta Stone Software is quite expensive, but, it is more then worth it. It is, by far, the most comprehensive and complete Italian language product on the web. Learn Italian
If you only want to learn Italian for conversational purposes then Pimsleur Italian is perfect. Pimsleur’s goal is to get you to speak the Italian language quickly. The program teaches you the most common vocabulary and grammar and teaches you ways to handle various common social scenarios.
The Pimsleur course uses CDs and is totally audio based. So if you are an audio learner then you will enjoy this course, but for visual learners the program’s one-dimensional approach may present a problem. If you are taking a vacation and need a dose of the Italian language then I recommend this course.
Pimsleur offers several products but their flagship program is the Italian Comprehensive Series. The Italian Comprehensive 1 Course cost around $200. The entire Italian Comprehensive 1,2 and 3 package retails for $600. All Pimsleur products are available online.
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