Italian Language Learning Reviews

Score: (not yet rated)/10

Pros:
I haven’t yet acquired a copy to review fully – post your comments below, particularly if you’ve used this book before.

Cons:
As mentioned above, I haven’t yet purchased or found a copy to review. Please write a comment below if you have anything to add.

Soluzioni!: A Practical Guide to Italian Grammar by Denise de Rôme presents all the major topics of Italian grammar in an organized reference book. This guide includes explanations of each grammatical point, along with examples that illustrate each point (including real-life sample sentences from Italian literature & media). Many of the explanations focus on tougher or more intricate topics that help hone students’ grammar skills, making this a recommended resource for intermediate or more advanced learners. The author includes a number of exercises, allowing students to practice each topic.

Score: 8/10

Pros:
plentiful advanced readings in Italian; Italian language used for all instructions & examples; themed by region of Italy for a fuller picture of the country and the Italian language; plenty of exercises & activities related to the texts; can listen to “ascoltiamo!” sections online; grammar appendix does a great job of relating to readings & offering further exercises; uniquely, suggests further Italian internet resources in each chapter; glossary

Cons:
for later intermediate & advanced learners; primarily helps with reading & writing without making this focus clear; intended for classroom use (still mostly useful to individual learners); no index; price

Parola a te! presents itself as a journey through Italy’s multifarious regions in textbook form. At its heart, though, it’s an intermediate/advanced language reader, with reading comprehension selections along with questions and exercises that complement those readings.

In each chapter, you will learn about a different region of Italy. Readings – all in Italian – range from overviews of the society and culture of a region to perspectives on specific cities, people or aspects of Italian life (like cars). The depth of regional Italian culture gives the course a lot to draw from, but expect the readings to sound a bit “standard” (stale?) and newspaper/textbookish.

The interspersed exercises support students well as you read through the book. Some test your reading skills, others listening comprehension, some build vocabulary, and still others give you a sense of Italy’s immense diversity. From instructions to answers, these are all in Italian. Consistent prompts to work “in gruppi” suggest a classroom situation, whereas many of us are learning da solo.

An exceptional grammar appendix, the “appunti grammaticali”, links Italian grammar topics to each chapter, includes verb & pronoun tables, and offers additional exercises to test your understanding of each grammar point.

Unfortunately, you’ll find no index, but the table of contents is detailed enough to help you find specific readings. A short Italian-English vocabulary glossary will help with the readings, but you’re probably working with a good Italian dictionary at this point, right?

To be frank, the best way to learn (and conquer!) advanced Italian is to get out there, read and listen to things on your own. Still, for a structured, themed reading experience with activities and well-organized support, Parola a te! provides a good way to continue your Italian studies.

Score: 9/10

pros:
loads of usage examples show off modern Italian in context; grammar & explanations are descriptive and register sensitive; clear division between first half of the book, which discusses meaning, and second half, which discusses function; helps make sense of a complicated array of Italian words, phrases & expressions; examples really clarify grammar use; two great cross-referenced indexes make this book readily searchable

cons:
navigating the charts and info isn’t the most intuitive process; best if used by more advanced students; sometimes devolves into mere vocabulary lists

Kinder & Savini’s Using Italian: A Guide to Contemporary Usage noticeably separates itself from the majority of bookstore resources available to language learners. For starters, it’s aimed at late intermediate students, advanced students and teachers of Italian. Second, because it’s focused on use and function, it’s example heavy. In many ways, the book is a reference guide to Italian vocabulary and phrases, framed by explanations of their use, and topicalized based on meaning or function.

I read this book as if it has two parts. The first 200 pages discuss words and their meanings. There you’ll find lists of words including false friends, synonyms, idioms, proverbs, cities & countries, acronyms, names, political organizations, grammatical terms, numbers, weight and time. All lists are tabular, detailed and lengthy. They include Italian words in bold, English translations, and some indication of the function of each word or phrase. Take, for instance, this example from the “synonyms” section on page 128:

POLICEMAN

The list continues to give more general terms, specific terms for types of police, as well as derogatory terms. The R1-R3 allude to registers, which, as the introduction explains, rest on a scale of formal (R3) to familiar (R1) and even vulgar (R1*).

The second part of the book deals with language use as framed by grammar rather than meaning. Chapters and sections tackle topics like “pronouns and verbs”, “impersonal objects”, “noun and adjective” and loads of prepositions in Italian. You’ll read through more explanations in this part, but the authors still focus on sample Italian sentences and phrases.

The explanations in this grammar are descriptive, relating how Italian is used in Italy, and by modern Italians. The book ends with a list of interjections and filler words, and two great indices: an index of every Italian word discussed in the book, and an index of grammar topics.

Sophisticated and advanced language learners will find this Italian grammar refreshingly relevant. Linguists, even those with little knowledge of Italian, also stand to benefit. Using Italian puts so many examples of tricky Italian usage at your fingertips. It’s sound, pertinent, well organized, hard-hitting Italian. Highly recommended if you could use such a resource.