Language!

Do a search, several have suggested a number of systems previously. If you are serious, spring for Rosetta Stone, otherwise, check out your local library, they may have something basic available to borrow.

I saw the Rosetta Stone course on Amazon.ca and wow! Expensive but comprehensive!!!!!

Try iTunes. They have several FREE Italian language downloads. Find a beginner one, and then practice!!

do a search for "Pimsleur" or "Rosetta" on this forum and you can find plenty of other discussions of this very topic.

My mom got the Italian Rosetta Stone I and II on Ebay for a great price.

Dave&Darcie,

Using the Rosetta Stone course is certainly one option, however keep in mind this is PC-based which will limit your mobility to some extent. Your original suggestion of a CD is a good alternative.

Given your location, you might check local night schools to see if anyone is offering Italian language classes. I can't recall the driving time from Trail, but I'm sure there are lots of people in that area that speak Italian.

I've been using the Pimsleur series (Level I, II, III) for the last few years, since no one is offering Italian classes in this area at the moment. The teaching method works well for me, and the best feature is the portability. I decided to purchase the lessons on Bookchips, which are basically an SD card containing 30-half hour lessons. These fit into my Palm PDA and I can listen to the lessons where ever I happen to be (often at the Gym). The Pimsleur lessons are also available on CD if desired.

Have a look at This website for further information.

I've believe the Pimsleur courses are also available on the net in MP3 format for use in IPod's or whatever, but I haven't had time to look into that further. You could also check the Apple "Apps store" to see what they have.

Ciao e Buon Viaggio!

Dave&Darcie,

Actually you're in very good position for Italian lessons (I'm jealous!). If you check the Selkirk College Continuing Education programs, they're offering Italian I / II / III courses in the Winter 2009 Course Calendar (unfortunately all at the Trail Campus).

I'm signed up for French Level I this year here at Okanagan College (which coincidentally begins the same day as the Italian Level II course in Trail), but unfortunately there are no Italian courses offered here at this time. I'm committed to becoming fluent in Italian, so may have to spend the money and take some courses in Italy. Retirement is coming in the foreseeable future, so that will provide the free time I'll need.

If you decide to take one of the courses, mention to Samantha (the Instructor) that she should consider presenting a few courses in this area!

Good luck and Happy travels!

Ken,

Thanks for the suggestion! Trail is about an hour south of Nelson and yes, there are a lot of Italians there...perhaps I could just go and hang out at one of the cafe's and get some free lessons!

I use "Italian learn in your car" by Penton overseas. Excellent!! find what you want then go to Amazon.com for a cheaper price. Here is the penton website spot.
http://www.pentonoverseas.com/index.php?cPath=135_192_240&osCsid=65084524206c4558967e6b7bc3ad00fd
Ciao Buona Fortuna

I used the "Drivetime Italian" series. It's all audio, so you'll never really learn to read Italian, but it's got pretty good travel phrases. Between that and my bad high school French, we figured out most things.

I spent 6-8 weeks studying before each of my trips to Italy. I use Michel Thomas and then supplement with "travel" cd's from the library. (I get Michel Thomas from the library as well.) I give a lot of credit to Mr Thomas for my ability to actually carry on conversations with people-he has a great system for teaching sentence structure and verb usage. You do need to supplement since he does not teach basics like numbers, days of the week, key booking a room phrases, etc. While I am far from proficient, I did have a lot of fun using it and there were several times where I was able to communicate with people who spoke no english. It is worth taking the time and when you use the library, it is free. Have a great trip.

Although this post is quite late for you, Dave & Darcie, I have found a great FREE website to learn some Italian and other languages as well. If you google BBC Language you will find the site. I'm am just in the beginning part (Italian Steps), but it is very helpful for me and again it's free!

First stop for me is the library. You can choose a variety of language programs. If you really like a particular one, buy it.

There are also multiple online language courses that are free. Try www.bbc.com/languages for a basic Italian course.

PS. I moved recently to DC area from Spokane and really miss the hot springs in Nelson. It's a beautiful area for anyone who hasn't been there.

I second Pimsleur's. I also like Michel Thomas. He teaches by a method that doesn't require rote memorization, but you are conjugating verbs before you know it!

I have another CD set I really like, but I can't remember the name of it. If I remember to check it, I will post the name.

I know, I know, I have severe OCD, but I can speak quite a bit of Italian.

Both Pimsleur and Michel Thomas allow you to sample the first lesson of their programs on their websites. This way, you can see if you like the way they teach.

I got the Pimsleur CDs at the local library and loaded them on my computer.
Didn't want to pay for language CDs without knowing if they were good for me.
I really enjoyed the Pimsleur classes and I was able to communicate a little on my trip.
I say - try the local library before buying anything.
Frances

One of the handiest Italian phrases is Vorrei questo (pronounced vor-ray qwes-tow). It means I would like this. A similar phase is Vorrei quello (qwel-low), which means I would like that. Just point to what you want and say either phase.

I bought Michel Thomas' cd set "Italian for Beginners" and found it pretty useful. It's a little frustrating to me that there are two students he's teaching Italian to on the CD and they make the same mistakes we would in learning a new language. It's fine the first listen through; but I listened to it a LOT and it was a little time-eating. He also can be a little grumpy to the poor students at times, which I didn't really care for. But I learned a lot and used a lot of the info from his cds.
I also used (and still use) www.learnitalianpod.com. It is a FREE site and you can download as many lessons as you want in whatever category you want (beginner, intermediate, advanced, culture shots, How To Italian, etc) for free. You can also subscribe to get the PDF versions of all lessons and supplementary info not on the free portion of the site. It's a great site and Jane and Massimo are fun to listen to (after the 10th or so beginner lesson, they loosen up a bit). :)
On L.I.P., they teach you short conversations (on most lessons) that are very useful, like ordering in a restaurant, asking directions, etc. And for free... you really can't go wrong!

I believe nobody has mentioned Berlitz Premier Italian. I haven't opened mine yet but I used the French version for my trip to Paris and it was pretty good. It includes both computer software and CDs for your car.