Pimsleur Italian Levels 1 5

Pimsleur Italian Level 1:

In the first 10 lessons, youll cover the basics: saying hello, asking for or giving
information, scheduling a meal or a meeting, asking for or giving basic
directions, and much more. Youll be able to handle minimum courtesy
requirements, understand much of what you hear, and be understood at a
beginning level, but with near-native pronunciation skills.
In the next 10 lessons, youll build on what youve learned. Expand your menu,
increase your scheduling abilities from general to specific, start to deal with
currency and exchanging money, refine your conversations and add over a
hundred new vocabulary items. Youll understand more of what you hear, and be
able to participate with speech that is smoother and more confident.
In the final 10 lessons, youll be speaking and understanding at an intermediate
level. In this phase, more directions are given in the target language, which
moves your learning to a whole new plane. Lessons include shopping, visiting
friends, going to a restaurant, plans for the evening, car trips, and talking about
family. Youll be able to speak comfortably about things that happened in the
past and make plans for the future.
Reading Lessons begin in Lesson 9 to provide you with an introduction to reading
Italian. In addition, the combined Reading Lessons are included after Lesson 30.
These Reading Lessons, which total about one hour, are designed to teach you to
sound out words with correct pronunciation and accent.
Pimsleur Italian Level 2:
Builds upon skills taught in Pimsleurs Italian Level 1.
In the first 10 lessons youll begin using the past tense. Structures become more
complex and informal speech is introduced. Soon youll take part in
conversations about ordering meals, shopping, and local tourist attractions. As
you progress, your fluency will increase as your vocabulary expands.
The next 10 lessons will allow you to further combine and build upon known
elements, and produce longer and more complex sentences. Youll be discussing
business and social activities, expressing your interests, and talking about the
weather.
In the final 10 lessons youll double your vocabulary and have several hundred
structures to draw upon. Youll learn to express yourself with relative structures
faster, slower, etc. Youll be able to ask for assistance in many situations and to
ask for directions to various locations. Youll explore sports and leisure activities,
manage changing money and banking, and discuss travel plans. By the end of
the program, youll be speaking at a mid-intermediate level with near-native
pronunciation, and youll be comfortable meeting most social demands and
limited job requirements.

Reading Lessons are included at the end of Lesson 30. These lessons, which total
about one hour, are designed to give you practice reading Italian, and to provide
you with some insight into Italian culture with proverbs, common expressions,
and a broad look at things youll experience when visiting a Italian-speaking
country.

Pimsleur Italian Level 3:

Builds upon skills taught in Pimsleurs Italian Levels 1 and 2.
In the first 10 lessons, you will expand your vocabulary and increase your fluency
to an even higher level. Youll gain experience participating in many informal and
some formal discussions on practical, social, and semiprofessional topics. Youll
skillfully form longer, more complex sentences, and most importantly, youll find
yourself being understood, even by native speakers unused to dealing with
foreigners. Youll be able to join in conversations eagerly, confident of being
understood.
In the next 10 lessons, your skills will demonstrate ever-increasing mastery of
Italian. Speaking with grace and complete naturalness, youll enjoy fluid
conversations on many new subjects. Delving deeper into cultural norms and
situations, youll find yourself responding effortlessly, and able to choose from a
wide accumulation of vocabulary and structures.
In the final 10 lessons, youre nearing fluency with agile responses, and a natural
sounding, near-native accent. Youre able to utilize the language in subtle ways,
and speak using past, present, and future tenses. Self-confidence soars as you
no longer experience the language and culture as a foreigner, but as someone
with a deepening insight into the Italian-speaking world.
Reading Lessons are included at the end of Lesson 30. These lessons, which total
about one hour, are designed to give you practice reading Italian, to provide
vocabulary and improve pronunciation. Before you know it, youll be reading
Italian with the ease and flexibility of a native speaker.

Pimsleur Italian Level 4:

Thirty 30-minute lessons totaling 15 hours of spoken Italian language learning,
plus one hour of Reading Lessons. Builds upon skills taught in Pimsleurs Italian
Levels 1-3. Youll be speaking and understanding Italian with near-fluency and
with a broad range of conversational skills. In Level 4 the pace and conversation
moves more rapidly, accelerating exposure to new vocabulary and structures,
and approaching native speed and comprehension. Youll learn to speak about
your profession, needs, likes and dislikes, and to create complex sentences
discussing the past, present and future.
A few of the topics included in Italian Level 4:
- Accommodations: In addition to learning about accommodation options, youll

inquire about amenities and local activities and events, get help with luggage,
and ask about restaurant options and schedules.
- Activities: biking, horseback riding, visiting art galleries, describing abstract
qualities, seeing the opera, a theatrical performance or a concert in a variety of
venues, sightseeing and touring ruins, churches and palaces. Checking
schedules, buying tickets, taking a boat tour, a ferryboat or a cruise, visiting an
aquarium or a winery. Attending cultural events and visiting iconic locations.
- Shopping: trying on and buying various items of clothing, asking for colors and
sizes, buying gifts and souvenirs, describing qualities of items, finding an ATM,
going to an open-air market, haggling over prices, negotiating a discount,
discussing shipping options and methods of payment.
- Vacationing: visiting an agriturismo and participating in outdoor activities in a
variety of locations, going to the beach or swimming pool. Booking in high or low
season, dealing with crowds, getting around using a variety of transportation.
- Dealing with Unforeseen Events A trip to the emergency room, describing an
accident, getting assistance, losing or forgetting personal items, rescheduling an
engagement, finding the way on the map.
- Renting or Buying a Home: Learn to talk about desired location and
neighborhood, specifying requirements like furnished or unfurnished, describing
qualities, views and space requirements.
- Family and friends: conversing informally with and about friends and extended
family cousins, aunts, grandparents; meeting distant relatives, specifying
relationships, telling family stories, describing family history, and talking
informally about everyday situations.
- Recipes / Food: Trying new food, discussing preparation, expressing likes and
preferences, exploring regional specialties, tasting and describing qualities of
wine and food.
- Small talk: expressing opinions, wishes, and stating views; asking how someone
is feeling, telling stories about people or places.
Reading Lessons are included at the end of Lesson 30 and are designed to
expand your vocabulary, expose you to a variety of cultural events, and give you
practice reading and hearing Italian.

Pimsleur Italian Level 5:

Italian Level 5 is designed to be taken after Pimsleurs Italian Level 4. Thirty 30minute lessons totaling 15 hours of spoken Italian language learning, plus 90
minutes of reading practice. Italian Level 5 builds upon skills taught in Pimsleurs
Italian Levels 1-4. Youll be speaking and understanding Italian with near fluency
and with a broad range of conversational skills. In Level 5 the pace and
conversation moves quite rapidly, accelerating exposure to new vocabulary and
structures, approaching native speed and comprehension. Youll learn to speak
more in-depth about your personal life and emotional state, and be able to
create complex sentences using a mix of tenses and moods.
A few of the topics included in Italian Level 5:
- Travel and leisure: making vacation plans, famous landmarks, festivals, reading,
hiking, dining and movies, malls, delayed and canceled flights, lost luggage, car
trouble, filing a police report, getting a speeding ticket, driving dos and donts,

train travel
- Food and drink: restaurants, grocery shopping, organic food and wine, smells
and tastes, what to bring, traditional foods
- The environment: weather, alternative energy, trash and recycling, changing
landscapes, pollution
- Communication: staying in touch, charging laptops and cell phones, internet
service, bad reception, and texting
- Family and relationships: family traditions, marriage, looking for love, kissing,
falling in love, supporting each other, moving, cultural differences
- Money: making change, banking, credit cards, emergencies
- Health and wellness: catching a cold or the flu, gaining and losing weight,
exercising, hot springs treatments, yoga, meditation
- Personal life and emotions: empathy, regret, hope, worry, boredom, joy and
sadness, good and bad luck, beliefs and superstitions, good wishes
Reading Lessons in the form of a short story are included after Lesson 30.