Pimsleur Italian

When I first studied Italian back in 2009, I did 90 Pimsleur Italian lessons in less than three weeks. You are supposed to do one a day. I guess that is an indication of how much I loved them.

I would absolutely 100 percent recommend Pimsleur if you are going to be studying Italian. These are highly interactive and meticulously edited oral lessons that will give you way more practice speaking than you would get in your typical language class. You have to be your own stern teacher and make sure you pay attention, but if you do, you will learn a tremendous amount—and really refine your accent, too.

Using Pimsleur Italian, VocabuLearn Italian, and a pile of grammar books, in a few months I went from zero Italian skills to scoring very well on tests administered by a testing company. If you like grammar and have a good ear for language, I think this approach could work for you, too.

In 2012 Pimsleur launched a new multimedia product, Pimsleur Italian Unlimited, which includes not only the audio lessons but also flashcards, games, chat rooms, and more. I haven’t tried it out, but since it includes the audio lessons I adore and is priced comparably to the audio-only options, I would recommend it. 

Last week I was delighted to hear that another 30 Pimsleur Italian audio lessons just became available on February 26! The plan is to incorporate them into the Unlimited product as well, but in the meantime you can purchase them as MP3s.

To ensure that Pimsleur Italian is for you before you buy, try a sample audio lesson for free at the Pimsleur website. If you don’t want to commit to larger chunks of product, you can buy Pimsleur lessons five at a time, and for the truly commitmentphobic, there is even a one-lesson-at-a-time option on iTunes.

Since first using this product in 2009, I have redone many of the Italian Pimsleur lessons for reinforcement. It is a great way to revive your language skills should they go dormant.