Product Description

Contatti is the course for anyone wishing to learn Italian from scratch. Whether learning for work or pleasure, Contatti gives a thorough grounding in the language enabling learners to speak, read, write, and understand contemporary Italian. The Complete Pack contains the revised editions of the Student Book, the Support Book and two audio cassettes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2313499 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Review
Learn Italian from scratch through a course which provides fourteen thematic lessons with lively listening and learning materials. English is kept to a minimum but support is evident throughout, with a strong course book accompanying two audios recorded by natives in Italy, and a support book of transcripts. An excellent, in-depth learning tool for the serious beginner. -- Midwest Book Review

Language Notes
Text: English, Italian

About the Author
Both the authors are experienced teachers of Italian. Giuliana Checketts lectures in Italian at Thames Valley University.

Customer Reviews

If you want a tape to listen to while driving this isn't it!
I was looking for lessons on audio that I could use to practise Italian while driving. This audio falls way short of my expectations. There are no English explanations on the tape, so you have no idea what is being said. The tape is useless on it's own, you need to be looking at the book. The book is not well organized. I'm plodding through it but I find the approach somewhat irritating at times. I'm still searching for a good audio.

A Good Course
I think that this is a good book if your intention is to immitate a college course on your own. The book was well structured, and the listening excersises were a great compliment to the book. The cassettes were not meant to be used on their own, and no where on the package does it claim to be a "learn while you drive" type of product. This book is meant for more serious users who plan on devoting a little more than their freeway time to Italian. My only complaint is that it has a very poor method of teaching grammatical skills that are often desired.

Solid, useful package
I used this course after Barron's "Italian the fast and fun Way" and "Teach Yourself Italian" as a kind of review before tackling Barron's "Mastering Italian." I think it served the bill. My advice is try a simpler course first (such as Barron's "fast, fun way" or "teach yourself beginner's Italian") and you will get more out of this course without worrying about some of the grammar shortcomings. I agree with the "4 star" reviewer who likens this to a college type language course. The book is full of color pictures and illustrations, and helpful culture notes. It really is a departure from the many 'teach yourself' type books and other learn by yourself courses that lack colorful diversions. Overall the course is quite helpful, especially since it was not new to me. The dialogs are easy to follow and the book provides a lot of vocabulary and puts in you typical traveller-type situations. Again, grammar explanations were rare, you kind of have to pick it up on your own, but this won't be as critical if used as a supplement. Nothing extraordinary here, but a solid book that will greatly improve your speaking and listening skills if used at least 1/2 hour 5 times a week.