Italian in 10 Minutes a Day (10 Minutes a Day Series)

Paperback - April, 2002 - Bilingual Books (WA)
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By: Kristine K Kershul and Kristine K Kershul
ISBN: 0944502334

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Reviews by readers

Great Fun and Good Learning Tool

I used this book in preparation for a trip to Italy last Spring and I found it very helpful. At first I wasn't expecting much from a work book, but they do a very good job at helping you understand the relationships between words, places, and things. I found it a good compliment to also listening to audio learning guides such as Pimsleur or Michel Thomas (you can borrow these from your local library!). I definitely used this book for more than 10 minutes at a time!

Just what I was looking for...

I've bought and used Italian tapes and they were OK. I still use them in the car. Something was missing, though. I really needed to see the words because some of the pronunciations on tapes made it tough for me to really understand the word.

I found this workbook and snapped it up. Why? It reminded me of the learning activities that I see every day in the primary grades in which I supervise student teachers. I asked a language teacher friend to tell me if these exercises would be effective and she said "YES!"

I like the pace of the book, with quick exercises that are each logically related to the exercises before and after it. You get to SAY a word or phrase, REPEAT it, WRITE the word several times. The repetition has helped me quite a bit.

This book has a feature that I find particularly enjoyable - paragraphs of instructions are sprinkled with Italian words and I find myself reading the Italian word and understanding it immediately. Wow! Reading in Italian. Not a lot, but Italian nevertheless. It's progress.

The coolest part of this workbook are the stickers - well, maybe not the coolest part, but very cool. Also, you get these little word labels that you stick on things around the house and you get little flash cards.

For me, this seems to be working. I think that if fits my learning style. It might just be what you need as well. Italy should be a little easier for me this summer.

Italian in 10 Minutes a Day

My wife and I have now spent a good month "learning" with
this book. In fact more than 10 minutes a day,
more like 30 minutes per session.
We both speak other languages, so we can compare.

GOOD, nice thematic picture groups,
and you need to learn the words associated with them.
(We did.)

BAD, again, and again Ms. Kershul introduces words,
and grammar which do not fit into the "just mastered"
scheme of things.

IRRITATING to the extreme:
Ms. Kershul gives her instructions in a mixture of English
and Italian in one sentence.
(We would have preferred one line of Italian ONLY,
followed by one line --say in italics--
providing the English translation, in many cases preferably,
with an explanations "how this compares to what was done yesterday".)

BAD:
In attempt to NOT introduce grammar, you are left high
and dry figuring out gender, declinations, and worse
conjugations by yourself.
(We have not yet seen satisfactory forms summarizing 'things',
and we are half way through the book).

In anger, we finally went to the local library
and got a 70 years old Italian grammar for High Schools.
That did solve our problem and left us convinced
that "new and improved" does not necessarily
provide a better learning experience.

Somewhat IRRITATING:
Ms Kershuls's choice of vocabulary seems to assume that
1. you wish to visit lots of relatives
(not an uncle, niece, grandson, cousin, grandparent, or daughter
is forgotten in the family tree),
2. you wish to order meals and "buy stuff" constantly
(we assure you, that is the one thing Italians
are very good at, understanding English when you want to
buy things or order a meal)
3. you wish to tell Italians that you are "American"
(as if our accents and clothing are not dead-give-aways)
4. you pray "catholic", "protestant", or "Hebrew".
(the Italians we know couldn't care less
-- how about instead "politics", "music", "movies", "soccer"
and the "bella ragazza" over there)

In summary, we are ready now to look for a book which
does not claim to be "easy, in 10 minutes a day",
but emphasizes grammar,
groups vocabulary (and discusses alternatives for each new
word),
provides clearer indication of emphasis in the pronounciation
(example: telEfono, versus incorrect tElefono)
Teaches Italian as a language of "constructed" full sentences, rather than "single catch words".
------------------

Our final test,
No, we would not recommend this book to a friend.

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