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Title: Fodor's Italian for Travelers: More Than 3,800 Essential Words & Useful Phrases (Fodor's Languages for Travelers (Books and Cassettes)) by Living Language, Inc Fodor's Travel Publications ISBN: 0679034129 Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks Pub. Date: April, 1997 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 2 List Price(USD): $18.95

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Average Customer Rating: 2.33

Rating: 4
Summary: Useful introduction to Italian for travelers
Comment: My experience with this set has been more positive than that of some other reviewers. I purchased it a year ago before my first trip to Italy. I'm using it now to help with pronunciation in the adult ed class in beginning Italian I'm taking. I chose it over other available language tapes because of the reasonable price, an emphasis on traveler's Italian, its compact packaging, and the inclusion of the 288-page Fodor's Italian for Travelers: Phrasebook Dictionary. (The latter title is available separately and has received favorable reviews on Amazon.com.) In addition to the phrasebook, the set consists of two 45-minute audiocassettes and a 32-page audioscript of everything on the tapes. My Italian teacher has listened to portions of the tapes and praises their overall quality, especially the diction and accents of the female and male speakers.

The contents of the first tape are: (1) Useful Expressions, (2) At the Airport, (3) Finding Your Way, (4) Accommodations, and (5) Socializing. The contents of the second tape are: (6) Dining Out, (7) Personal Care, (8) Health Care, (9) On the Road, (10) Communications, (11) Sightseeing, (12) Shopping, (13) Activities, and (14) General Information. All but the first and last sections begin with a brief (6-10 sentences) dialog in Italian between a native (banker, customs officer, waiter, hotel clerk, etc.) and a tourist. The exact English translations of the dialogs are in the audioscript but not on the tapes. Each dialog is followed by drills that break down and expand on the elements of the dialog. Each sentence, phrase, or word is spoken once in English then repeated twice in Italian. I found that the pauses after the spoken Italian gave me enough time to repeat almost everything I heard after some practice. Most of the drill sentences are 4-8 words long.

I played the tapes through once while reading the audioscript without practicing the drills. Then I transferred the set to my car where I listened to the first tape several times to become accustomed to the sounds of spoken Italian. I didn't try to repeat anything after the speakers except the simple words and phrases of the Useful Expressions drill. A few of these are familiar to many English speakers--"Ciao," "Prego," Arrivederci," "Buon giorno". See, you already know some Italian! After I'd played the first tape through several times, I began to practice the drills. Once I was repeating most of the drills with confidence, I began playing the second tape. Again, I listened to the dialogs and drills several times before I began to repeat the words after the speakers. Occasionally I would check the audioscript for a translation or the breakdown of a sentence. Most of the time, however, the meanings of the dialogs and drills became clear through repetition.

I want to conclude my review by emphasizing what these tapes are not. These are not the drills that you listened to in high school and college language classes. They are not intended to help you conjugate verbs; develop an extensive Italian vocabulary; perfect your pronunciation; or discuss politics, literature, sports, and other topics in depth with Italians. They will not take the place of structured classes in Italian taught by native speakers. However, if you purchase these tapes and use them as the publisher recommends, you will be able to use basic Italian phrases and sentences to ask and answer simple questions. When you visit Italy, you will find it easier to make travel arrangements, order meals, ask directions, shop, book hotel rooms, and make yourself understood in an emergency. And, while many Italians speak English, they will appreciate your efforts to communicate in their language, and will respond accordingly.

(Note: the material discussed above was previously published as Living Language Traveltalk Italian.)

Rating: 2
Summary: If you can only buy one - pick something else!
Comment: After listening to 3 other sets of Italian tapes, I came across these and found them to be the least useful.

The tapes are arranged into subject areas that they think you will find useful as a traveler. Then, supposedly related sentences are blurted out in English, then Italian with an all-too-short pause, then they are repeated. As far as I can tell this goes on continuously without variation.

My review will only cover the first tape because I haven't bothered with the second tape in this set.

The problems are

1. There is little or no narration to explain things or break up the tape. Just a continuous drill.

2. The first pause is insufficiently long, making it difficult to respond at times. The second pause is even shorter, making it nearly impossible to repeat the sentence you supposedly just learned.

3. Very little conversation. Few examples are given of how the sentences might fit into the context of an actual encounter you might have.

4. Emphasizes quantity over quality. Over the course of two tapes I'm sure you'll hear more sentences in Italian than most other sets of language tapes. However, they accomplish this at the expense of focusing on and repeating more important phrases that you're sure to use over and over and over.

5. Expectations of the listener are too high. I actually tend to learn foreign languages quickly and easily. In fact, my complaint about the highly regarded Pimsleur tapes is that they're TOO easy! I have not had problems with other tapes to learn French, Italian or Spanish until I encountered these. The reason is that they don't break the language down into phrases and instead expect you to learn fully intact new sentences in which all or 75% of the vocabulary in that sentence is new. As soon as you hear it once and it gets repeated, you're done with that sentence for the rest of the tape. A smarter way to train the listener would be to build on phrases that the listener has learned from before.

I listened to these tapes in my car and did not even look at the accompanying booklet.

Rating: 1
Summary: If you want something useful, look elsewhere
Comment: This book-and-cassette package is a disappointment. The emphasis is on certain set phrases -- "Where is the bathroom?" "Everything is so interesting!", with weak coverage of grammar. The tapes feature an English phrase, followed by the Italian translation (repeated after a pause).

In the "section" on occupations, we are told how to identify ourselves as either a businessman or a lawyer. That breadth of coverage gives a pretty good idea of the value of this book. Save your money.