Product Description

This best-selling beginning Italian text has provided hundreds of thousands of students with a lively, authentic, and comprehensive introduction to Italian language and culture. Prego! introduces students to the language through a focus on vocabulary and exceptionally clear grammar explanations, then reinforces that knowledge through the wealth of exercises and activities that follow each grammar point. The abundance and variety of exercise material make Prego! a popular choice for beginning Italian because it is easily adapted to suit many different teaching styles. The richness and diversity of Italian culture permeate each chapter, from the opening dialogue through the numerous illustrations to the final reading. Prego! Fourth edition especially reflects the issues, language and the look of contemporary Italy. New audio-visual supplements for the fourth edition include a listening comprehension tape for instructors to use in class and a lively new video, filmed on location specifically to accompany Prego!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #149657 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-10
• Original language: Italian
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 512 pages

Language Notes
Text: English, Italian

Customer Reviews

The newest edition of Prego! released 8/2000
As a former student, and now teacher of first year Italian at the university level, I found the previous editions of Prego! to be far superior than any other college Italian text available. I was, however, very disappointed by this edition and the number of mistakes and poor editing I found. Gone are the tables and charts which were so helpful. The literature sections are far too complicated for the beginner student. Had I been able to see this edition ahead of the deadline for ordering texts by begining of the semester, I would have seriously considered other options.

Wait for the next edition, or stick to the 4th!!
I took 3 semesters of Italian, with each semester covering 1/3 of the book, so I completed the entire book. This book is good if you follow it in a traditional classroom setting, especially since the proffessor pointed out all the mistakes in this book, which unfortunately, are quite numerous for a textbook. I have also checked out the 4th edition, which is much better than this one as it is better structured and contains useful charts,(which are now omitted) and is thoroughly proofread. The 6th edition just came out, so hopefully it is an improvement from the 5th.

Invaluable resource
I read this entire book across two college semesters before moving to Italy. After having spent $500 or so on Italian language books, this is one of the few that was worth the money. Even though I speak fluently, I still refer to this book frequently to resolve difficult tense questions or clarify grammar details. I highly recommend this book to any serious student.