Enjoyable and effective read

Where does Italian Short Stories for Beginners rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I really enjoyed these short stories. I found they were the perfect length and level for me, and really helped in consolidating my existing knowledge of Italian. I would rank it high in the audiobook department, especially having the option of downloading the PDF to read as a parallel. The audiobook helped me hugely with pronunciation issues I was having, and with my overall listening practice as well.

What did you like best about this story?

I like that they were easy to follow yet introduced a lot of new vocabulary, grammar and phrases.

What does Eddie Pez and Jessica Muraca bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

The readers voices were fluent and they spoke with clarity and energy. They made it interesting and captivating which makes it a much more enjoyable experience listening to it.

Any additional comments?

I have learned Spanish and dabbled with French and German, so I understand how time consuming and challenging learning a new language can be. I found this audiobook really useful in consolidating and enhancing my somewhat basic knowledge of Italian. It has taught me new phrases, colloquialisms, grammar, and helped greatly with the Italian pronunciation which I find very difficult.

22 people found this helpful

Excellent tool to learn Italian on the go

What did you like most about Italian Short Stories for Beginners?

I liked the two different versions offered to listen. One for beginners where the vocabulary is also translated to help you understand the story; and other for more advanced learners. I also like the possibility of downloading the transcripts so you can follow while listening.

What other book might you compare Italian Short Stories for Beginners to, and why?

I've never listened to a similar audio book but this one was so good I can't wait for one for intermediate learners

What does Eddie Pez and Jessica Muraca bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

The language and vocabulary used are simple enough for beginners but the best about this book is that the stories also also amusing and entertaining. My favourite is 'Una bomba sul treno' I think it's hilarious.

The narrators sounds like a native speaker so there is nothing wrong with the performance of the narrator.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I couldn't listen to it in one sitting but the book is an excellent tool to learn Italian on the go. I have listened to it during my commute and I realised I have two extra hours each day to improve my Italian.

Any additional comments?

I really recommend this book for Italian language learners as it is an excellent way to improve your listening skills in a more relaxed way.

13 people found this helpful

Excellent way to expand your Italian vocabulary!

Bella Italia! The Italian language is widely considered as a passionate tongue, the one that by the sounds of it means to enchant and charm you, even by listening simple and plain topics.

The short stories included in this audiobook resulted to be very enjoyable and they are narrated in different male/female voices that are very pleasant to hear. Throughout the playlist, you encounter with plenty of useful day-to-day vocabulary that native Italians use. The stories are firstly told in Italian, and at the end of each story, the narrator translates the words to English; helpful to understand the context of the story.

Although I’m fluent in Italian, my girlfriend is currently learning it, and she used this audiobook as a complement for her Italian course. We listen to it together, and I was fascinated by the fact that the words used in it were actually the ones that you would hear when having a conversation with a native Italian (I had come across with other audiobooks where the vocabulary used was way too technical, and not actually teaching what you would hear in a normal conversation). Moreover, the fact that you can download a PDF transcript of the audiobook is a great plus, since you can read the stories so to visualise the words being said, a more powerful way to install those words in your brain!

12 people found this helpful

Improving your Italian listening skills

Where does Italian Short Stories for Beginners rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

For those wanting to improve their listening skills in Italian this is highly recommended. For beginners, listening while reading the text provided in the PDF is advised. The PDF contains the story together with translations of all the new vocabulary that is used. There is also a little multiple choice test at the end of each chapter which helps test your understanding. One of the diffulties in learning a new language is understanding native speakers. This is ideal in helping to become acquainted with the way real Italians speak. It also gives you the opportunity to expand your vocabulary and improve pronunciation. The topics of the stories are well chosen. They vary from applying for jobs to describing strange dreams.

What did you like best about this story?

As stated above, the topics of the stories are well chosen. They are preferable to children's stories that are very basic and do not stretch your vocabulary. My favourite story was about the strange dream.

Have you listened to any of Eddie Pez and Jessica Muraca ’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I haven't listened to any other of these audiobooks and so I cannot compare.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

This is not applicable to this audiobook.

12 people found this helpful

Great introduction for Italian learners

The clear and concise diction in the short stories make following what the narrators understandable for Italian beginner-intermediate learners and if your vocabulary is somewhat limited the word translation audio chapters are a very valuable learning tool. I was able to speed up my learning with this audiobook. Definitely recommended.

9 people found this helpful

Good listen

I thought this short story was a good listen. I love the Italian culture. Even though I've not studied the language i could follow the concept of the story.

8 people found this helpful

Paramount Listening for Italian Learners

These short stories are inspiring and essential for any lover of the Italian language. I have spent some time travelling and working in Italy and that stemmed from a lifelong love of the culture. For me this audiobook was the perfect length and difficulty to reintroduce me to the language after a long break. Practically speaking the accessibility of the file is paramount; you can download a PDF file to read along which, with the help of the narrators, helps cement basic Italian vocabulary and pronunciation. Everyday topics are discussed, from job applications to the discussing of dreams so you get a real life situation and plausible scenarios.

The great beauty of the Italian sound is difficult to master but what I would highlight is the immediate progress in fundamental interpretation skills from listening and reading to this short and enjoyable audiobook.

8 people found this helpful

Useful tool, not only for beginners!

This is a very useful audio-book, but to get the best out of it, you will need both the audio-book and the downloadable pdf. The short stories, 10 in all, are read twice by two different narrators and in two very different styles. Chapters 14-33 of the audio-book are read by a female narrator at a very slow pace and are aimed at true beginners: the stories are broken down into paragraphs and after each section the most important words are repeated and translated. The downloadable pdf is the perfect companion for this part of the audio-book, as it follows the same structure, with the glossaries interspersed throughout the text. Chapters 4-13 are read at a faster pace by a male narrator, with no interruptions. If you listen to them first, without the support of the pdf, you will find them quite challenging and they are obviously aimed at intermediate students who already have a wide vocabulary and a good command of the grammar. Overall a very useful resource that can be used by beginners and intermediate alike and by people with different learning styles.

6 people found this helpful

Engaging way of continuing my Italian learning

What did you like most about Italian Short Stories for Beginners?

The best thing about this audiobook is that the stories are written using real life language. What happens with many books for beginners is that the stories are written in a weird way, with fixed expressions that don’t feel real at all and you end up learning a ‘foreign’ version of the language. While using this book I felt that the stories and the dialogues in them were natural and not forced, therefore it motivated me to feel that I was finally learning useful vocabulary.

What about Eddie Pez and Jessica Muraca ’s performance did you like?

I would say that the fact that there is a slow version and a faster version of the stories increased my motivation so that after practising with the slow one I would be able to understand the faster one.

Any additional comments?

The vocabulary lists and the short summary at the end of each story are key to present the information in a way that it’s easy to memmorize and learn.

6 people found this helpful

A valubale learning opportunity.

A very useful resource for practicing listening skills in Italian. The addition of chapters dedicated to the review of specific vocabulary found in the story is extremely important as it makes the book a concrete opportunity for learning. Furthermore, the availability of questions is a great way to test the level of understanding of every user. In terms of content the narrative is catchy and pleasant to listen.

6 people found this helpful