See It and Say It in Italian

I've used many language help books but this one is my favorite. I felt like I could indeed self teach Italian. And when I went to Italy my cousins there did understand me (for the most part). It's a great book for slowly building to a conversational understanding of the language.

My husband and I review this book from cover to cover each year before we go back to Italy. We have been doing this for 20 years. I am about to order another paperback as I use it so much. This is a classic book. So easy to learn with pictures and words. For someone who knows no Italian, it is the perfect book to start with.

The author claims that the user will be "pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to learn Italian with the method used in this book." I must say that truer words were never written. This little book will somehow have you "thinking" basic Italian very quickly.I guess that the pictures help reinforce the learning process, but that's not what makes this book great. It's the grouping of the ideas on the page that makes it so comprehensible. Not only do the "lessons" logically progress, each one also stands on its own as a useful learning experience. This confirms the author's claim that each page is a lesson unto itself.The book has a pronunciation guide, a limited but useful index, and a small Italian to English dictionary. There are also a number of "Everyday Expressions," that are just what the doctor ordered.This is a "must have" book. Yes, you may quickly outgrow it, but you will find yourself referring to it often as you continue your studies.

I like the pictures, I like how each page provides a dictionary for any words used on that page. It is simple, well explained process. It does not inundate you with details and conjugations. It just gives you what you will need to communicate in basic Italian.

A friend from Italy introduced me to this book in 1973. It's excellent for any beginner. If you study the letter sounds at the beginning, you can speak Italian with no trace of accent. Since so many words in English & Italian are both based upon Latin or Greek, most words are easily translated. This should be your 1st Italian book. You can also skip around. You don't have to start at the beginning and go to the end. The grouped sections in the back are GREAT! This book is usually hard to find in bookstores.