Diario della Studentessa Jean, Second Edition (Italian Edition)

List Price: $12.95 Discount Price: $7.22

Customer Reviews:

Diario della studentessa Jean [Posted on 2004-08-20]
This book should be required reading for anyone completing beginner level Italian or in intermediate level learning. Textbooks are necessary to learn the mechanics of a language, but a student can only progress by actually practicing and using a language. Unfortunately, the number of sources for students at the beginner/intermediate level are very limited. Italian newspapers and magazines are too advanced for this purpose. Learning occurs best when there is an ideal level of challenge, difficult enough to maintain interest but easy enough so as not to be overly frustrating. Diario della studentessa Jean fits this bill nicely. It is a nice feeling of satisfaction for students to first realize that they can read a short book in Italian.

Beginner Level [Posted on 2005-04-26]
This book provides a good review of basic vocabulary and Italian grammar. At first I thought that I had ordered the wrong book, given its length and content; however, judging from the stories themselves, I believe this book was designed for adults. As such, the stories were not stimulating and a little dry. I was quite disappointed by the lenght of it - 40 pages with sometimes nothing more than a paragraph on a page. All in all, I would recommend this book to someone in truly the beginning stage of studying Italian as it provides a good foundation for practicing the present tense and basic vocabulary. Anyone at the intermediate level and above should look elsewhere.

Diario della studentessa Jean [Posted on 2005-08-31]
Diaro della studenteessa Jean is an ideal tool for students of Italian wishing to gain confidence in their reading and writing skills. The slim volume is well worth the modest price and is a much-needed accompaniment to standard beginning texts that focus on grammar and cultural readings written in more sophisticated Italian. A workbook (Eserciziario per Diario della studentessa Jean) is also available and provides valuable, structured exercises for developing competency in the language. I highly recommend Diario for its straightforward style that encourages beginning students to write and speak with greater ease about everyday experiences.

Great Introductory Text [Posted on 2006-05-16]
This book is great for the absolute beginner, for those who are reading passages in Italian for the first time. I started on this book after about 4 months of studying Italian and I went through the entire book in about 2 or 3 weeks without much effort. The passages aren't particularly memorable, but I guess the language use is restricted to beginner level constructs. The book is superb to begin reading with, but if you have been studying Italian for a longer period of time I would think the book will bore you to tears.

Quick read, but a little flimsy [Posted on 2008-02-19]
For someone who is starting to learn Italian it is a nice practice story, but it isn't very substantial. It's a very short story and it doesn't include any exercises. You are much better off spending your money on something like "Better Reading Italian".

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