Oggi in Italia: A First Course in Italian

I always prefer classroom textbooks to a more casual phrasebook or language learning CD (usually geared toward the casual tourist). And in that regard, Oggi in Italia does not disappoint. I learn tons of vocabulary and grammer in an easy fashion. I highly recommend this book for any learner of Italian.

I'm sorry, but I just don't get the detractors to this text. With apologies to Pimsleur, learning a language is hard work. OK, if you want to learn how to say, "Hello," or, "Where is the bathroom," try one of the quickie methods, but if you want to be fluent in a conversation, live in Italy, or study there, there is no substitute for struggling with the pedagogy. Maybe there are some of us that can pick up a language effortlessly, but I'm not one of them. I was raised in an Italian family and heard it every day when I was a child, but when it came to really learning Italian, I had to sit down and work on it ... hard. This is a fine basic text, covering all the tenses, grammatical forms and basic vocabulary. It also nicely covers pronunciation and culture, which are often neglected in basic language texts. The material is presented in a traditional, logical manner. Yes, every now and then there is a word that is not in the glossary, but that is part of language ... sometimes someone says a word you just don't know. I guess that is what a dictionary is for. To use this text effectively, I would recommend buying a dictionary and a guide to common verbs, whoich are, frankly, necessary no matter what method you use. The workbook is recommended but not necessary. If you have someone around who is fluent, so much the better, but you can do almost as well by listening to the news at night from Italy on the Internet, buying an Italian movie or two, and struggling through an Italian novel a few sentances at a time. Work your way through this book and you will have passable conversational Italian, and be able to work your way through a newspaper as well. If you don't want to put in the sweat equity to learn Italian, sign up for a brain transplant, but otherwise, go out and buy a book like this one and plan on some hard work. Your effort will not dissapoint you if you do.

As a student of Italian for over 4 years, I returned to the language in college and used this textbook. The text was great...very current and up-to-date with everything Italian. Lab/video manual was a bit choppy but did the job for our listening assignments. Can't comment on the video component for this course set. This text is very similar to Parliamo Italiano! so either textbook would serve a new student well.

Oggi in Italia, Fourth Edition, is an excellent textbook. It is clear and concise and very well organized. The vocabulary and situations presented are everyday, realistic situations that anyone visiting the country would be faced with. I do wish this book was still in print! There are a lot of drills and that is really the best way to learn a language.

Well worth the wait. This edition is the best of the Oggi in Italia texts. In the later editions, Merlonghi changes the format to some extent, making the book less attractive and the exercises less enjoyable. In Oggi in Italia, the author puts together everything you ever need to know about reading and speaking italian. It contains dialogues at very realistic and helpful places, such as il mercato, l'aeroporto, e l'universita, and takes you through all tenses and voices of grammar -- even passato romoto, the historical past used in writing. A must for anyone going to the best country in the world or anyone else interested in learning the language.