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By Anca Italian

Rocket Italian

Quick Review

3.8

Summary:

Rocket Italian is a good, comprehensive and easy-to-use course that’s ideal for beginners and lower-intermediate students. It’s an independent learning resource that can definitely teach you how to speak and write Italian on its own.

Quality

A well-designed and user-friendly platform with solid materials.

Thoroughness

There are lots of extra materials included in each lesson, but they’re too repetitive.

Value

It’s not cheap, but it’s still affordable for most.

I Like…

The logical and clear structure of the modules and the lessons

Downloadable materials

Plenty of exercises and explanations

It’s easy to keep track of your progress and check how good you are compared to other students

I DON’T LIKE…

Sometimes the recording feature doesn’t work

The exercises are very repetitive

The lessons are on the more boring side of things

Price

For a one-off payment, Level 1 costs $99.95, Levels 1&2 cost $249.90 and all three courses purchased as a package are $259.90.

Try a free trial of Rocket Italian

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By Anca Italian

Italianpod101

Quick Review

3.5

Summary:

This online tool is useful for people who already have a basis in Italian. It can be a great way to improve vocabulary and pronunciation, but beginners might want to look for alternative resources when it comes to learning grammar and the basics. ItalianPod101 comes in handy as a complementary tool to a more structured learning plan.

Quality

The platform is easy to use and well designed, but the structure of the modules is not the best.

Thoroughness

It covers vocabulary and pronunciation in depth, grammar less so. There are no exercises aside from a vocabulary quiz.

Value

It’s useful, but there are better resources out there for the money.

I Like…

Plenty of audio files to practice pronunciation and comprehension

Downloadable materials

Thematic conversations and vocabulary structure

Cultural elements explained in every lesson

I DON’T LIKE…

Lack of exercises

Not a sufficient stand-alone resource for beginners

Less than logical lesson progression

Lots of unnecessary talking in English at lower levels

Price

Free trial for 7 days. If you pay for one month at a time, the Basic plan costs $8/month, the Premium plan costs $25/month, and the Premium+ plan costs $47/month. There are varying durations with lower prices for longer commitments which extend up to two years.

Use the promo code “ALLLANGUAGERESOURCES” to save 25% on a subscription to ItalianPod101.

Try a free 7-day trial to ItalianPod101

An Honest Review of Italianpod101 With Image of Italian City

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By Anca Italian

20 Best Podcasts To Learn Italian In 2020

There are many good podcasts that you can use to improve your listening comprehension skills in Italian. Some resources I’ll mention are aimed specifically at language learners, others are simply podcasts in Italian.

For easier reference, I’ve divided them into free and paid resources for less advanced learners and Italian podcasts for more advanced language users.

You should also check out our post of the best apps for studying Italian.
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By Anca Italian

Best Italian Grammar Books for Beginner and Intermediate Students

In this article we will review four of the best grammar books used to learn Italian; we will see how they differ, who would most benefit from using them, and what they can actually offer to the students who are interested in learning more.

Modern Italian Grammar

Complete Italian Grammar

Schaum’s Outlines of Italian Grammar

Italian Grammar Drills

Modern Italian Grammar

Modern Italian Grammar is a suitable book for beginners and intermediate students who want to focus on learning more grammar and enrich their vocabulary.

This book is split into two main chapters – one for grammar and one for vocabulary.

Part A is called Structures, where the authors present grammar lessons and principles related to the noun, article, adjective and so on. (more…)

By Anca Italian

News in Slow Italian

Quick Review

4.5

Summary:

News in Slow Italian is an excellent learning resource; it’s very comprehensive and offers all the necessary tools to be able to practice all the aspects of the language. It’s also one of the most fun and original language learning tools I’ve seen and manages to be so without sacrificing on quality. This program is helpful for anyone who wants to learn Italian.

Quality

They really thought of everything when creating this program – audio lessons, pdf files, exercises, grammar and expressions catalogs, podcasts.

Thoroughness

Clear and explanatory grammar lessons, expressions and idioms included in every lesson, lots of vocabulary to practice and plenty of information to help you become fluent.

Value

News in Slow Italian is a great learning resource and students of all levels should try it.

I Like…

Comprehensive information in every lesson with various levels to fit different abilities

Downloadable materials

One of the few resources that really is fun to use

I DON’T LIKE…

Conversations are a bit too fast sometimes

Price

7-day free trial, then $17.90/month. You also have the option to prepay for any amount of months at a time, which doesn’t change the monthly price.

Visit News in Slow Italian

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By Anca Italian

LearnItalianPod

Quick Review

2.2

Summary:

LearnItalianPod isn’t a good resource in my opinion. There are some fun supplementary lessons, but I found the basic learning paths to be insufficient in all sorts of ways for someone who’s trying to learn Italian.

Quality

It’s a very limited tool. It can help you drill some phrases and useful expressions but, in my experience, you won’t learn to create your own sentences and speak.

Thoroughness

New structures and grammar units appear only in examples. There are virtually no explanations or rules. Apart from repetitions, there’s no practice.

Value

The tool isn’t expensive but I don’t think it’s worth the cost.

I Like…

The website is easy to use and has a pretty design with colors of the Italian flag.

Additional lessons contain some really useful vocabulary and facts about Italy.

I DON’T LIKE…

I really disliked the recorded lessons. The hosts speak excessively slow, especially at the beginner level, and I found the repetitions tedious.

There are almost no explanations of grammar concepts, which I found confusing and discouraging. I thought the provided practice was very limited.

The tool doesn’t remember your level so you have to choose your language path every time you log in.

The order of content doesn’t seem well thought out.

Price

LearnItalianPod has only one subscription plan. Their VIP membership can be purchased on a monthly basis at $14.95 per month or for the whole year at $149.50.

Visit LearnItalianPod

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