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Oxford Take Off In Italian ( Take Off in Language Learning Kits) | 
 enlarge | Author: Oxford Dictionaries
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Category: Book
List Price: $45.00
Buy New: $25.25
You Save: $19.75 (44%)
New (31) Used (6) from $25.25
Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 308935
Media: CD-ROM
Edition: 3
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.4 x 1.6
ISBN: 0199534314
Dewey Decimal Number: 458
EAN: 9780199534319
ASIN: 0199534314
Publication Date: May 11, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW
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Product Description
Take Off In Italian makes learning or brushing up on the language quick, easy, and fun. Follow an integrated course including activities and dialogues with native speakers so you can feel confident in day-to-day conversation. The course offers expert help when you are travelling with a handy phrase book and mp3 audio download for practice while on the move.
This complete language learning kit contains everything you need to speak, read, write and understand Italian, and gives you flexibility when learning. The pack includes a clear, easy-to-use coursebook, full mp3 audio available to download, 5 audio CDs, including an extra practice CD, a handy travel dictionary and phrasebook, and [online activities and dialogues to support you as you pick up your new language.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 Adequate Interactive Learning for Beginners to Intermediates September 23, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
My first impression of the "Oxford Take Off in Italian: the Complete Language Learning Kit" is that it pretty much resembles other such interactive programs.
Consisting of 5 audio CDs, a 248 page exercise booklet, and an easy-to-tote travel dictionary and phrasebook, the course follows a four stage intuitive initiative consisting of fourteen key units. By implementing the book, the user:
*reads the sub-unit lesson dialogue,
*sees the associated vocabulary highlights and
*becomes familiar with grammar fundamentals in print.
Upon completion of this, the student switches to the audio portion of the kit where he/she:
*listens to a dialogue where key phrases and sentences are given ample repeat time,
*pauses the CD to complete simple activities in the book
*performs additional listening/repeating activities with the recording.
When all sub-units in a unit are mastered, the student attempts a final written test that summarizes the main points covered in the unit. He/she is then asked to test his/her recall in Italian, by translating such things as "Ask a friend what he does for a living" and other basic learned phrases gleaned from the work accomplished in the unit, the answers to which are supplied in the `Summary' portion at the end of each unit on the audio CD. "Take Off in Italian" provides ample suggestions when the student's recall requires a little more study before moving to the next unit.
The units cover typical travel-related conversational subjects like:
*Meeting People
*What Job Do You Do?
*Do you have any children?
*I'd like a Coffee
*The Car Park is 100 meters
*Every Thursday I go to the Gym
*I Haven't Been to the Lakes Yet
*Let's Make it Tonight at 8
*I'd Like a Less Expensive One
*Have a Nice Meal
*When I was Little
*What a Beautiful House
*How are you feeling?
*I'd like to be a Painter
And usually contain 5 sub-units, four of which interact with the audio CD and one that consists of a written exercise in the book. At the end of each audio CD, a three to four track review tests the student.
As a former student of Italian, I found this course to be a good introduction and review of vocabulary, grammar and common phrases that would prove useful when traveling and attempting conversation in Italy. However, this is no walk in the park. If you are planning on simply using the audio CDs to facilitate your learning, you will be disappointed. The integrated nature of this program simply makes a listening only strategy inadequate; so if you were planning on having the audio portion of this course play during a long drive, you will not be able to get that much out of it even though the course boasts an MP3 download. Instead prepare to don your headphones while keeping one eye on the course book. Following an interactive plan of listening when required and then reading vocabulary and grammar rules and performing exercises in the step-by-step fashion outlined by the program will insure greater success. However, I think further reading material will be required to supplement learning especially in the area of the tenses.
If the student is 100% committed to learning the Italian language, I would recommend some supplementary books that will help facilitate ultimate success, although my first and foremost suggestion would be to actually take an adult education course with the ability to sit in on actual conversation sessions. Of course, the epitome of the best learning environment would be to actually take a course in one of the many capable learning academies in Italy itself. Choose the city of your choice and while you revel in the Renaissance environment, learn the language of Dante and DaVinci--these schools are more than willing to tailor a course specifically for your learning requirements. Email me and I will be glad to make recommendations with regard to books and courses based on my own experience.
Bottom Line? `Take Off in Italian' is recommended with the following caveat: Don't expect to be an expert speaker without fully engaging in the program as it is intended to be used.
Do supplement your learning with other books and Italian films with English sub-titles to coax the development of an "Italian ear."
Diana Faillace Von Behren
"reneofc"
Probably not the best program, but it couldn't hurt. September 18, 2008
The package comes with audio-only CDs, a lesson book, and a phrasebook. The fact that the CDs are audio-only surprised me, but I suppose they would be best for people who want to put everything on an iPod. I've only listened to a few of the lessons so far; here's what I think of them:
- they move rather quickly, and generally do not give enough time to think and respond. In my small experience, by the time I thought of the word or phrase to say, something else was already starting.
- You'll likely need to listen to each lesson a few times in order for it to sink in.
- It doesn't seem like these CDs will come close to replacing an actual course in Italian, but the truly devoted individual might try to mimic, say, a college-level language course by purchasing a textbook or two.
- none of the CD tracks are actually labeled (i.e. "lesson 1: greetings," etc.) This might make iPod playback a bit annoying.
I think I'll stick with the opinion that traditional language-learning courses are the best bet: the pace, although not individuated, is more regular, and you get actual, human feedback. However, if someone is financially strapped, or needs to learn on the go (hence the "take off in" title), this program might work. It probably won't hurt, anyway.
 Improvement on Earlier Versions... useful for traveller. September 17, 2008
This latest Oxford "Take Off in Italian" offers a variety of media to learn to speak Italian. I had an earlier version, in a clunky big blue box, that was pretty useful.. this is better, sleeker, and more attuned to real italian speakers, and conversation. As a prep for a trip to Italy, you could not do better.
Recommended by someone who speaks Italian! (not me) September 17, 2008
While I was hard at work trying to study the Oxford Take Off Spanish, I gave this to a friend who already speaks Italian passibly (4 years in college, so she's more of an expert than I) to get her input on how it compared to both how she learned at the University level, and her opinion on how well a language-challenged person such as myself would get along with this course.
The verdict is that her experience with the Oxford Take Off in Italian mirrors how I felt about the Latin American Spanish version: It's a decent way to get the basics covered, along with laying the groundwork for learning more Italian. The materials themselves consists of a phrasebook and 5 CDs, which is pretty standard across most of the language learning kits that I've seen, but they all vary on how well they pronounce the words and how much time to give you to repeat the phrase. I tried another competitor's Italian product a few years ago, and I got more frustrated because it wasn't clearly enunciated and I had what seemed like half a second to repeat it.
So, my friend gives this an excellent review and I trust her judgement and will start working on this after I master Spanish, or at least master the art of making a fool out of myself in Spanish.
Cool, sweet, and satisfying like a gelato! September 13, 2008
What a wonderful, educational, language kit from the beautiful design of the box, booklet and CDs to the ease of the lessons and ability to REMEMBER them!
If you have ever been in a foreign country where you don't speak the language, you know how frustrating it can be to get around. If you devote just a good half hour to a lesson or two a day, you will be able to have a basic tourist fluency that will make you want to learn even more.
Italian is such a beautiful language and I have always wanted to learn it; now I have more confidence to take that desire to the next level. If you are fortunate enough to be going to Italy and want to navigate the canals and piazzas with impunity (LOL), this is definitely the guide to take!
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