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Whether
you are a complete beginner or an advanced learner, the Teach Yourself
language books are a must. I used the Teach Yourself Italian Grammar
and Teach Yourself Italian Verbs books whilst studying for a GCSE
* Italian course last year. Although we had a text book as the main
learning tool for the course, I chose to buy these books as extra
aids for my studies. Even if you are not taking classes, the Teach
Yourself books' purpose is to do exactly that - Teach Yourself.
There are over
300 titles in the Teach Yourself range and they are advertised as
being extremely functional, simple and easy to use and cover languages
from Afrikaans to Zulu. Most of the language courses have CDs or
a cassette with them, but with the verb and grammar series, there
are no cassettes; just you, your Teach Yourself book and your interest
to learn.
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It's
just you, your Teach Yourself book and your interest to learn
...
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There are 22
units of functional grammar in the Teach Yourself Italian Grammar
book; functional in that each unit covers a basic communicative
function such as 'Ask someone else's opinion' or 'Talk about events
and actions in the past'. Each unit is laid out in a very clear
and non-technical way. There is, however, a Grammar Appendix which
lists any grammar points not explained in the book as well as a
list of the common irregular verbs. The Index also lists specific
grammar points.
Each unit begins
with a brief synopsis of what the unit contains highlighting the
particular language points covered. You are then introduced to a
few examples. These are explained with some individual points being
given additional coverage (this section is called Language Plus).
A particularly useful section of each unit is 'Language in Action'
which comprises of up to four exercises as revision based on what
has been covered in the unit. Exercises include: fill the gap exercises,
reading and writing exercises, translating and so on. I found this
useful not only for grammar revision but also for communicative
use as the exercises show you how to use the language and grammar
in the context of everyday life.
But it's not
all verbs, grammar and verb endings. There are some pictures, postcards,
maps, letters and written dialogues which all enhance the grammar
being covered giving you examples from spoken and written language.
I personally found it helpful to work through each unit only after
I had completely learnt and understood the previous one. You do
not have to have completed one unit to begin the next one, although
I did feel that this helped me with my own greater understanding
and fluency. You are given the choice of systematically working
through each unit like I did or work at the grammar points that
most interest you. It is entirely up to you.
One disadvantage
of this book is that the pronunciation of the Italian is not explained
as you might find in other language learning books. I feel that
this could lead to confusion for the complete beginner.
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It's
not all verbs, grammar and verb endings
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The Teach Yourself Italian Verbs book is a great book for learning
that aspect of language learning that we all love to hate…verb conjugations!
You can consult this book about any verb as each one is presented
in their full conjugation under each tense (including the conditional
and subjunctive tenses). Not all the verbs in the Teach Yourself
Italian Verbs are listed though. The book would be huge otherwise!
Instead, 200 of the most commonly used verbs are presented in the
verb tables and many more are catered for in the glossary at the
back of the book. Here you can find the verb that you want and the
glossary directs you to a verb in the book that behaves the same
way as the one that you want to use.
Each of the
200 verbs are set out one to a page and at the bottom of each page
is listed the basic uses of the verb with examples, and well known
phrases and expressions using that verb. Whilst taking the GCSE
course last year, I found this book really useful for learning verb
endings and verb uses. Each verb is set out clearly and with some
hard grafting and memorizing, you too will understand how the tenses
are formed and use the formulae for each new verb that you come
across in your language learning.
For the complete
beginner or advanced learner using this book for revision, the first
section of the book 'What are verbs and how do they work' clearly
explains the formation and tenses of verbs together with their grammatical
uses. It is a really useful book to use alongside the Teach Yourself
Italian Grammar book.
The only disadvantage
to this collection of books is that you do need a lot of self-discipline
to use them and be determined to complete the units (especially
those in the Grammar book). Depending on how self-motivated you
are you may find it difficult to continue using these books on a
regular basis. Unfortunately, grammar and verb conjugations of any
language can be the crux for fluent language learning and therefore
some attention does need to be made on these language points.
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Grammar
and verb conjugations can be the crux for fluent language
learning.
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I would
also say that the language learner would have to have learnt some
Italian in order to have a go at learning the verb conjugations
in the Teach Yourself Italian Verbs book as many of the verbs are
not looked at even at GCSE level. This could seem daunting for complete
beginners. However, the Teach Yourself Italian Grammar book states
that 'you need no knowledge of grammar terminology to use it' -
an advantageous point as grammar can be a very complex and boring
subject at any level and even for language enthusiasts!
As an independent
learner myself, self-motivation is the key to using these books.
It may be best to use these books in conjunction with your own tapes
and a course book (if you are taking classes) in order to hear the
correct pronunciation and get an all round Italian language learning
experience. Grammar and verbs and the way they are used are essential
to learning any language but cannot be used alone. The great thing
about these particular Teach Yourself Italian books is that they
give you the freedom to choose whatever grammar point or verb you
want to learn allowing you greater flexibility in your learning.
So give these Teach Yourself language books a try…..and see how
motivated and enthusiastic you really are!!!
Click
here for more information about all Teach
Yourself Verb and Grammar courses.
The Teach Yourself language series has Teach Yourself Instant language,
beginner courses and complete courses, as well as the Teach Yourself
Grammar and Teach Yourself Verb. On the cultural side, they also
have Teach Yourself books on World Cultures and also on Religion.
The range of languages covered in the Teach Yourself series is one
of the broadest of any publisher - from Afrikaans to Zulu.
Click
here for more information about all Teach
Yourself language courses.
Click here for more information about any other Italian
language course, or contact us
here.
*
GCSE is the UK exam usually taken at age 16 or afterwards as an
adult, normally involving two years of regular study.
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