| I tried this third level course after completing the Michel Thomas 8-hour course. It is very different and quite challenging. This pace is faster, and clearly the first and second level courses had covered more material than the Thomas course had. It would probably have been better to start with the second level rather than the third. The method is quite different from Thomas: it's quite impersonal and monotonous. However, you do spend a lot of time actually speaking Italian rather than listening to the tutor waffling on. Also, the speaker is a native Italian, so things like intonation are more authentic. There is a booklet with a transcription and some basic explanations; however, a more thorough grammar book would probably be useful as well. You probably wouldn't want to use this as your only source of Italian instruction, but for additional practice it's good value. |
