Tools

I want to make a short post about the tools I have bought to teach myself Italian. I think that I bought some good ones. it's a good mixture of course books, audio cds, software, and flashcards. Like I said, this post will be really short but I want to record this newly discovered passion that I have found, and I think it'll be good if in years or months to come I can look back and see which of these tools helped, which didn't. and it'll be good to remember the tools I started off with.plus if somebody out there wants to learn Italian maybe this will be a good resource suggestion list for them to get started.

• Instant Immersion Italian Levels 1,2 & 3 
• this is a software that I bought. it's a lot like Rosetta Stone, but probably not as good as Rosetta Stone. however, it is cheaper! it's $50 or so, and it has all  the levels this specific software offers, which is tons cheaper than Rosetta Stone. I am worried it wont work on Windows 7, but it says it does so we shall see. my bible teacher, Anthony Ash, has this software and he says its mostly vocabulary and not really grammar things, which is fine for me. I'm really focused on Speaking the language and understanding it to be able to have  conversations in Italian. i do want to learn to read Italian and write in it and so I think this will be a good software. I do have books that explain the grammar and things so it's a good resource. 

• Italian Vocabulary Cards: Academic Study Card Set 
• This set is a lot like the Biblical Greek flashcards that I bought, but it's for Italian. it seems like a good vocabulary set and  it'll be good for me to take along and work on outside the apartment and so I'm excited. 

• Italian Conversational Flash Cards
• This set is by the same company that does the Vocabulary flashcards I mentioned above, except this one has conversational phrases instead of just words, so it's a good resource for me to learn Italian phrases and how to say and ask certain things, not just the words. 

• The Big Green Book of Italian Verbs (Book w/CD-ROM): 555 Fully Conjugated Verbs (Big Book of Verbs Series) 
•  This book is pretty self-explanatory. this is a book on Italain Verbs. it teaches how to conjugate them, and I looked at it on Amazon, and it seems pretty good. it contains exercises, and talks about the different kinds of verb forms, present, perfect, etc. I also love that it comes with a CD-Rom. it's a good feature because I'll be able to hear the verbs. 

• Italian Now!: A Level One Worktext 
• This is a work text. it's kind of a combination instruction book and workbook. It teaches you basic skills, vocabulary, and it also has exercises in it to really help you learn it. it's a good resource for me. I don't think it comes with the answers though, so that might be a bit of a challange. but I think it'll still be helpful. 

• Italian for Dummies (With Audio CD) 
• again, pretty self-explanatory. I wanted to get a beginner's Italian Textbook, but they are way expensive, so I settled for this. I loved that it comes with an Audio Cd so I'll be able to hear the Italian words. and this series is designed to make it as simple as possible to understand. 

• Italian, Conversational: Learn to Speak and Understand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs 
• this is an Audio Cd course, and it's approach to teaching you a language is more along the lines of natural language learning. it emphasizes repetition and learning to speak the language before teaching you the grammar, and the verbs. after all, you could speak before conjugating verbs. It seems a different approach, and I like it. I like the emphasis on listening and repetition, which is super important in any language to really make it stick.my Language, Culture, and Communications professor was using this software to learn another language(other than Italian)and he said it was really good and really helped, so I have hope!

• Ultimate Italian Beginner-Intermediate (Coursebook) (Ultimate Beginner-Intermediate) 
• pretty self-explanatory. it's an Italian course. It seems good and I like the Beginner-Intermediate level, so I can go through to the intermediate level and not have to buy a new coursebook for intermediate. 

• Webster's New World Italian Dictionary: Italian/English, English/Italian

• I also bought an Italian/English dictionary, this way I can look up words.  

 as you can see, I am placing an emphasis on resources that comes with audio or cdroms, so I can listen to the pronunciation, and since I am self-taught this is an important aspect for me. I am VERY excited and I cannot wait to get started!