|
BUONGIORNO!!
Having learnt
Italian to GCSE level a few years ago, I felt that although I wasn't
exactly a beginner anymore I needed to revise what I had learnt
and practice speaking it again. Using the Michel Thomas Italian
Language Builder pack would 'refresh rusty Italian' and 'quickly
boost your confidence to speak everyday Italian'. This sounded just
what I needed!
The pack comprises
of two CDs and is a two-hour Language Builder course that caters
for those who have either done the Michel Thomas 8-hour course or
for those who have never done one of his courses but want to revise
what they have learnt. I had already been exposed to Michel Thomas'
method of teaching via the Introductory French course and so felt
comfortable using his same method to build on my Italian.
|
I
had already been exposed to Michel Thomas' method of teaching
via the Introductory French course and so felt comfortable
using his same method to build on my Italian.
|
The pack also
comes with an accompanying booklet and nothing else. That's to say
that you are not meant to study anything or write anything down
or memorise anything. Michel teaches the Language Builder course
just by helping you to create your own sentences and phrases and
build up vocabulary like building blocks. As opposed to the Michel
Thomas French beginners course, Michel is the only person to be
heard on the recording. There are no students learning with him
this time, so you don't feel that you are part of a study course.
Instead, we
can listen to him creating sentences and phrases and building on
them to create new sentences. We can also follow the booklet at
the same time, but you don't need to do this if you are on the go.
We are encouraged to pause the CD after each new phrase so that
we either repeat what Michel has said or anticipate what he is going
to say. This is how you learn.
I found this way of learning much more intensive than when I studied
the Michel Thomas French Beginners course. It is not as entertaining
as the beginners' pack and far more challenging. As I was using
the pack on the train, in the car or lying on the sofa at home,
I had to go back to certain places on the recording and without
specific points on the CD to go back to, it was difficult to find
my place again. We are supposed to make a note of the time on the
CD player but this is difficult if you are not able to do this!
I found that I had to repeat several areas … which is no bad thing
I suppose!
The Michel Thomas
Italian Language Builder begins with some easy words and phrases
and then jumps suddenly using idioms that I don't remember having
learnt at GCSE level. Verb endings and gender terms are quickly
introduced and then revised over and over but in different ways
throughout the course. The past, present, and future tenses are
all reviewed as well as the conditional (I would like to), gerund
(-ing) and adjectives. These grammatical terms are not explained
in great detail but are highlighted in shaded boxes in the booklet
to signify that you need to learn these well before moving onto
the next item.
Again, what
I found useful (and I found this also in the beginners French course)
is the way that Michel associates many Italian words with English
words. Throughout the whole course, he uses sound or cultural recognitions
to help us remember certain endings or words and some of these are
highlighted in the booklet. For example, 'comic' in English is 'comico'
in Italian; 'capable of' is 'capace' and so on. By highlighting
these comparisons between the languages you feel that you know a
lot more Italian than you thought you did. It's very self-motivating
and boosts your confidence!
|
What
I found useful is the way that Michel associates many Italian
words with English words. You feel that you know a lot more
Italian than you thought you did. It's very self-motivating
and boosts your confidence!
|
There
is the usual GSCE and introductory level content here: learning
how to ask for things, how to talk about yourself, how to complain
about things, how to ask for directions etc. But there is a lot
more everyday conversational content on this course too. I found
myself saying things like, 'I had much to do' (…avevo molto da fare),
'I don't have the time to do it' (non ho il tempo di farlo), 'I
can't bear the heat' (non posso sopportare il caldo), and my favourite
'Although, I'm sure that I will have many difficulties' (comunque
sono sicuro che avrò molti problemi)!
There is a lot
more grammar and more difficult phrases, but not enough to be confusing.
Certain phrases are repeated in different ways helping us to build
on what we have already learnt. That is the point to Michel's method
of teaching; that the learner works out and creates their own sentences
to build a whole conversation by themselves. This is a practical
and functional way of learning spoken Italian. By using the booklet
as well you can improve your spelling, reading and writing too.
I feel a lot more confident in what I know of the Italian language
and felt that I could really get stuck into a conversation with
a fiery Italian!! Si diverta!
|
I
feel a lot more confident in what I know of the Italian language
and felt that I could really get stuck into a conversation
with a fiery Italian!! Si diverta!
|
Click
here for more information about all Michel
Thomas Italian language courses.
Michel Thomas is the world-famous language guru, who has taught
the stars to speak another language in record time. He has taken
his ground-breaking audio-only technique and put it on CD and cassette
for us all to enjoy. There is a beginner
8-hour Michel Thomas language course available in French, German,
Italian and Spanish and then a follow-on intermediate
2-hour Michel Thomas Language Builder available in the same
languages. He has recently released Michel
Thomas Advanced language courses in French, German and Spanish.
Click here for more information about all Michel
Thomas language courses.
Click
here for more information about the best and most innovative Italian
language courses.
If
you require any further information, please contact
us.
|
