Learning Italian

I would strongly recommend Rosetta Stone. You learn the language as a child does - by matching items to words in Italian - rather than by translating. I did Rosetta stone for a few months (at a very slow pace) before my last trip to Italy and it helped immensely. I took a private tour in Puglia and spoke a bit of Italian and my guide was surprised at how good the pronunciation was and that it was much better than people who spoke more fluently than I but who took more traditional courses. I can't speak highly enough about Rosetta Stone. Good luck and have fun!

Unfortunately, I had the opposite reaction to Rosetta Stone from the previous poster. I agree that it was good for pronunciation, but I was unhappy with the vocabularly and phrases that they started with. I recall that they taught sentences such as, "he is drinking water", but didn't teach "may I have a drink of water?" So I didn't feel it was very practical or useful. Perhaps I just didn't stick with it long enough, though. I believe that a conversational course at a community college, if you have the time to devote to it, would be a good choice. You would have the opportunity to actually converse with others, which would be excellent practice.

Dina, My suggestion would be to start with the Pimsleur language courses, as I've found that their teaching method works really well (for me). They also use a method which replicates the way children learn, introducing new words with every lesson and reinforcing them with repetition from previous lessons. I believe they can be obtained as MP3 files now, so could be loaded onto an iPod (or whatever). I've looked at Rosetta Stone but that seems to be mostly computer-based, and that just doesn't work for me. With an audio course, I can complete a lesson when I'm at the Gym or other locations, and don't have to be tied to a computer. I've also looked at Michel Thomas and others, but still prefer Pimsleur. I would supplement that with courses at your local College, as those provide several distinct benefits: > You'll receive instant correction on incorrect grammar and pronunciation > You'll get more practice with "real world" conversational situations (ie: in a restaurant etc.) > You'll be able to learn something of the grammar rules. I've found it a bit confusing to learn the correct masculine or feminine versions of words, familiar vs. polite forms, etc. The disadvantage of the College course is that you'll start to forget the material as soon as the course ends. That's why it's good to have the audio course to keep the material "fresh". I also have two Italian TV channels, so I try to get daily exposure to the language, to become familiar with the "cadence" and expressions. Your relatives likely want to practice their English, but you could also enlist their help (you could speak Italian, they could reply in English?). Buona Fortuna!

I would also suggest Pimsleur for a crash course. And, yes, it does open up a whole new level of experience when you can chat in Italian with the locals.

In terms of chatting with locals, I also offer this advice: I regularly have the experience of going into a business, speaking Italian, and them replying to me in English (the vowels give it away I guess). However, I am persistent, and respond right back to them in Italian, to make it clear that I want to practice without saying as much. Usually they will then switch back to Italian. So be persistent in speaking it whenever you can!

Thanks to everyone for the advice, it has been helpful. Let's hope next time I am in Italy I know more Italian than just the gelato flavors.

Dina, Ken's advice is spot-on IMHO. I too used a combo of Pimsleur and community college. I also found some free podcasts (My Daily Phrase Italian is one) that were useful. In addition, the BBC Steps course on their language site is helpful when combined with other training. I am not a Rosetta Stone fan. Too much computer time, not enough talking. Give yourself time and don't get frustrated. It will come if you persist in doing a little every day. I also listen to a lot of Italian pop music, which helps tune the ear. You can find translations of many songs on the Internet to help you sort out what you are hearing. In bocca al lupo!

I am using Rosetta Stone right now. I've advanced to Level 3, lesson 2. Been working on it since November last year when I got the set as a birthday present. I have used the studio sessions (got 3 months free with the purchase) and I just paid for 9 more months. I enjoy the interaction of actually using the language with a native speaker. You are not allowed to use any English in the sessions. I learn more paroli (words) and get corrected for grammar. I checked into Meet up groups and other private lessons. Rosetta Stone has worked great for me. I feel like I have a much better understanding when listening. As with anything, the speaking will take a bit longer. Considering I haven't had a lot of time in the last few months to work on it every day (my father passed a way, and work got busy) I feel like the money spent was great. A month or so ago I went to a private lesson, the level was a bit more than beginner, and with my Rosetta Stone learning, I was right in there with the gal that had been taking private lessons for a year! Probably the best would be taking a class at a local college....if you learn languages that way. I took French in high school and Russian in college. Of course I learned as I worked for a grade! All I can say is, I have used Rosetta stone and for me, I've learned some Italian! We leave in September for our trip, I'm going to buckle down and practice at least 4-5 times a week for an hour, and review, and take more studio sessions to reinforce my learning. I can recommend it for sure!

I also liked Pimsleur. I listened and practiced in the car. Also, I took a community class through my local community college. It only met once a week and was focused on survival language skills. The instructor was Italian and the vocabulary she taught combined with cultural tips was priceless. I was there three months and while my italian didn't improve as much as I'd hoped - I always felt I could get my point across. (I was in Florence where many speak English)

There seem to be two Rosetta Stone offerings. There are the cd's and an online subscription. Does anyone have a preference?

I went through three levels of Rosetta Stone with Dutch, and here's my review: better than nothing, but there are far better resources out there. As another poster noted, they give you a basic working vocabulary, but it's close to useless for conversational skills. And with the Rosetta Stone method, it is close to impossible to obtain an adequate understanding of the languages' grammar rules. I then discovered the far superior Tell Me More series. Although there's no substitute for practicing with native speakers, Tell Me More comes close.

One of my Italian instructors once told me that there's another factor in whether the Italian person will refuse to switch from English - esp. in the hotel trade, they may have been hired precisely because they can speak English. So if the boss is around, they might not want to show that their English prowess is not needed. I've never seen that myself, but thought I'd mention it.

Many years ago I used a system called "Just Listen and Learn Italian" by Passport Books and it is still available at Barnes & Noble. The set contains a book and a tape, now a cd. I used it in my car and studied the book at home. Later I discovered Pimsleur and still listen to the cd's. I bought Pimsleur 3 at a website called The Big Red Garage and the price was 50% less than retail. I also have family in Italy, but they live in Calabria and no one speaks English. I can speak fairly well, but I need the constant reinforcement of listening to the language daily. We go to Italy every year and my ability increases while we are there and then decreases after we return. We also have Rai Internationale from our cable carrier, which also helps. Like anything else, learning a new language is "use it or lose it." Buon viaggio,

Bryan is spot on about how the locals will switch to English once they figure out that you're not Italian, which will probably take only a glance. :-) They will indeed switch back to Italian if you ask politely ("Vorrei parlare in italiano, se fosse possibile" will work. It means "I would like to speak in Italian, if that would be possible.") BUT (and this is a big but), if the Italian you're speaking to is in the tourist trade AND is busy at the time (e.g. waiter or gelato server with other customers waiting), they might not be able to take the additional time needed to talk with you in Italian. So don't be offended in those circumstances. One thing you can do is have a bunch of memorized sentences and/or questions at the ready, that are specific to you. E.g. "I'm from Pittsburgh. Have you heard of it?" or "One thing I really love about Italy is _____." or "Have you ever visited the US?". Things like that. Happy travels. I mean, "Buon viaggio." :-)

I speak French and Spanish fadingly well (medieval French lit major - that was useful!). I thought that I could merely order some workbooks, use Mango Languages, free at the library, and watch "Cuochi & Fiamme" on You Tube. Hah! I was just at the point of acknowledging that I have created a cacophonous but not trendy language when you posted. I tried the Rosetta Stone, and it was fun. I tried, then bought, the Pimsler downloads.
Pimsler is great for me. I worked out to it this morning, at the gym, and it was perfect. If you do the sample class, you will get a discount email.

Michael: I guess I'm not as polite! I just respond immediately in Italian and look them in the eye :) Although I must say, today I was in a shop where the woman spoke English so well that I just gave in and spoke English with her.

I'm doing the Pimsleur Basic Italian lessons now and what I think is funny is that one of the first things taught is how to say, "I understand a little Italian." I'd better stick with it to make that a true statement. People learn differently, which could account for the difference in tastes for, say, Rosetta Stone. I tried a different Italian program prior to Pimsleur (might have been Living Language but I don't remember) and I quickly realized it was a waste of time for me. So my advice is to see if you can get your hands on a few different ones (library?) to see what might jive best with your learning style.

I highly recommend making te at an Italian Mersin language school in Italy. Even a week or two can do wonders. I've done it as part of a vacation , and now my kids are. You take three hours to four hours of lessons in the morning, meeting interesting people from ALL over the world (who then make great international friends), and then tour about with or without them every afternoon and evening. It's great. We can recommend the DILIT school in Rome, but have read gray reviews of many orher schools in other cities, including Florence. If you have the time and a little extra money (we feel most of the cost in a European vacation is in the flights), give yourself a true chance to immerse in the language and culture. Happy travels!

Oops. iPod typing. Make the "gray" reviews into "great" reviews.
:-)

And "immersion schools" NOT "Mersin"schools.

I recommend using anything you can find for free before paying for something like Rosetta Stone (that has mixed reviews). I have learned quite a bit from the podcast learnitalianpod.com (with Jane and Massimo). I also bought Italian for Dummies, it has an audio cd, and throughout the entire book all Italian words are accompanied by phonetic pronunciation so you don't have to keep referring back to the pronunciation section. I also like the BBC Italian Steps interactive course and the website transparentlanguage.com. The latter will send you a new word via email every day, use it in a sentence and speak it with the audio. Pimsleur's free intro course is good also.

Years ago I took classes at Inlingua while living and working in Italy, and in a few months had a good grasp at reading Italian and understanding about 70% of what was being said to me, but was far from being fluent in speaking Italian. I still had trouble formulating the response without sounding like an Italian version of Yoda from Star Wars. Whatever method you decide on, I'm sure the relatives will be touched by your efforts but you really do need to practice and have someone who actually speaks it to correct your pronunciation as you learn. The language CDs, podcasts and online programs are good aides, but I don't think anything beats taking an actual class.

I have been plugging away at Rosetta Stone. I think the mixed reviews are about right. If you chose Rosetta Stone, be sure to do the studio sessions- I think they are essential for Rosetta Stone to be successful.
I am curious about the Pimsleur series. There seem to be many Pimsleur products available on a google search. Any recommendations for which ones? Thanks

@Kate, I've been using the Pimsleur I - IV series. AFAIK, that's the "full course". It's a bit on the "pricey" side so you'll have to do some web browsing to find the best price. Check This Website for all the details. Cheers!