Beginner? Con cavolo!

Yesterday I wrote about what beginners or near beginners should buy to boost their progress with Italian.

If you missed it, here’s the link: I’m a beginner (or nearly). What should I buy?

But hey, one day you’re a beginner, then time passes, and suddenly you’re not!

Like me with the Swedish.

Less than eighteen months ago, I was just starting out, with ‘Hej’ and ‘Jag heter Daniel. Vad heter du?’

And now?

Beginner? Con cavolo!

I’m a proud A2 (closing in on B1, I’d like to think.)

You too?

Che conincidenza!

Then you’ll be wanting to hear what we have in our online shop for YOUR level, right?

Yesterday I suggested Italian Workout! A1, useful now for revision, and The Tenses You Need To Speak Italian, which is good for students at any level.

Follow the links to download the free sample chapters for both of those.

In addition, though, I’d mention the next two levels of the Italian Workout! series.

Check out the free sample for each (the first quarter of the ebook) to get an idea of the contents and level of difficulty.

Some club members have worked through all five of these and find them very helpful…

Remember, the prices shown will be discounted by 20% if you use the coupon code at the end of this article:

Italian Workout! A2 £15.99 Download FREE sample
Italian Workout! B1 £15.99 Download FREE sample

E poi, there are the easy readers, my personal favorites!

The nine ‘normal’ stories linked to below should all be good for your level, though do verify that by listening/reading to the free sample chapters (the link for the online audio is usually at the top of Chapter 1).

I’ve left out the ones I didn’t like, so these should all be worth your time (and money – don’t forget the coupon code!)

Any one or two of these would help you feel more confident reading and listening to Italian.

But for the maximum benefit, work at creating a reading/listening habit.

Work through them gradually (from easiest to hardest, obviously) and within a month or two you’ll notice your skills improving.

What’s next?

At this level, movie fans can start with our ‘Book of the classic Italian film’ series.

People tell me they read/listen to our simplified version first, then find the original movie (sometimes free online) and watch that. This works well, apparently.

Here I’ve only included the ones I think you’ll like (so no Fellini!)

Il sorpasso (A2) £7.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf)
Ladri di biciclette (A2/B1) £7.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf)
Nuovo cinema paradiso (A2/B1) £7.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf)
Divorzio all’italiana (B1) £7.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf)
I soliti ignoti (B1) £7.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf)
Roma città aperta (B1) £7.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf)

Next, there are the Italian-English parallel texts, some of which are the same stories as in the ‘easy readers’ but with an English translation and no audio.

We seem to have fewer of these at this level, but if this sort of thing rings your bell, do take a look at the sample chapters.

Italian/English Parallel Text: Cielo libero (A2) £7.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf)
Italian/English Parallel Text: L’amore ai tempi del supermercato (A2) £7.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf)
Italian/English Parallel Text: La montagna (A2) £7.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf)
Italian/English Parallel Text: Il campo di papaveri (A2/B1) £7.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf)

And finally, what I said yesterday, about taking online lessons with a native speaker teacher?

It’s true at this level, too.

If you’re not already doing regular one-to-one speaking practice with a club teacher, it must be because:

You’re taking a class or have some other way of getting regular speaking practice
You are just TOO BUSY!
You’re down to your last few dollars

If none of these things are true, then it could be that what’s stopping you from taking lessons is simply the fear of trying something new.

Which I totally understand.

I’m a teacher, and I can assure you that it’s even harder for teachers (giving up control and so on).

But I really, really recommend that you get past that.

I did.

The difference between wowing your friends and family members with your ‘fluent’ Italian and, um, not, is simply practice.

The more lessons, the better.

And yes, that costs, but if you only buy lesson credits when there’s an offer on (like now), it’s less.

Online Italian lessons: 1 x 30-minute lesson £20.00 (with the coupon code £16)
Online Italian lessons: 5 x 30-minute lessons £90.00 (with the coupon code £72)
Online Italian lessons:10 x 30-minute lessons £150.00 (with the coupon code £120)

That’s it for today.

Tomorrow we’ll review options for those of you who’ve been studying Italian a little longer and need a challenge…

Easter Offer – Easter Monday Reminder!

The coupon code you need to save 20% on the prices of everything in our online shop is:

easter offer 2018

Click here to browse, or find materials for your level on the Catalog page.

Copy and paste the coupon code (above) into the box in your shopping cart, where it says ‘Apply coupon’, press the ‘Apply coupon’ button, then scroll down to check that the cart total has been discounted (BEFORE you pay…)

Coupon code easter offer 2018 gets you 20% off everything!
The sale ends at midnight on Sunday 8th of April 2018
There’s no minimum or maxium spend
So use the coupon as often as you wish, while the offer lasts
The code will work on items which are already discounted, such as ebook multipacks
Though it can’t be used together with other coupons
Choose from a range of payment options (Amazon, Paypal or bank transfer)

Shop | Catalog.

Beginner? Con cavolo!

Easter Offer – Easter Monday Reminder!

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