Italianissimo: Beginners Cassette Pack 1, Pt. (Italianissimo)

The quality of recordings vary considerably but in some places they are awful. Trying to understand a new language and having cars and lorries thundering by in the background is a joke. I don't care if it is supposed to be realistic. I am not trying to learn "How not understand someone due to background noise". We need to hear the words being spoken and we need to hear them clearly.

I took this course as part of an evening class and most of the benefit gained came from using the BBC's other course for beginners "Buongiorno Italia". In the end I gave up using "Italianissimo". I find the the BBC's older course and the Michel Thomas CDs (recommended by a Cambridge language teacher) far more useful.


Perfect quality and structure. Best language course.   October 30, 2003
I find the quality of the recordings absolutely perfect. All the recordings are made in real situations, sometimes with background noise, sometimes faster or slowly - just like people speak in different situations. In addition, you would have full transcriptions for them in the course student book. Very useful exercises are provided on these tapes (CDs) with necessary pauses. One more advantage is that 4 cassettes for each level (beginners and intermediate) are rather extensive sets providing you with enough listening material for successful studying either self- or in-class.


Perfect quality and structure. Best language course.   October 30, 2003
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I find the quality of the recordings absolutely perfect. All the recordings are made in real situations, sometimes with background noise, sometimes faster or slowly - just like people speak in different situations. In addition, you would have full transcriptions for them in the course student book. Very useful exercises are provided on these tapes (CDs) with necessary pauses. One more advantage is that 4 cassettes for each level (beginners and intermediate) are rather extensive sets providing you with enough listening material for successful studying either self- or in-class.


Great for just listening and learning   March 26, 2003
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

In quick response to an earlier reviewer, I found the quality of the recordings to be remarkably good. The conversations can have a certain amount of background noise and the speaking be rather quick but that's just realistic.

The situations on the tape are varied and interesting and the two native-speaker hosts are well enunciated in both languages when explaining and reinforcing words and phrases. The conversations are thoroughly worked through and all new phrases explained and put into context (during explanations the background noise is removed to make it all clearer).

The only issue some may have is that the standard of conversation does get quite high quite quickly, but if you like a challenge then the knowledge does come quickly. I don't use these tapes once or twice but have listened to them over and over on the 30 min walk to work. After a few times the words really do become clearer (and not just because you know what's coming) and progress has been good. Highly recommended.


very poor audio quality   June 17, 2001
 19 out of 21 found this review helpful

the listening quality of these tapes is so poor that I now wish I had returned them as simply unsatisfactory. Although BBC published advice is that CD tapes are available seperately I haven't found any source that will provide this. Also recommended way to use tapes is to frequently backtrack and relisten which further stresses poor quality of tape.