Language Speedway has been online for a couple of weeks now and I'm eager to start hearing what everyone thinks about the Italian course so far. What do you like about it? What don't you like? Maybe you've finished all the lessons in one of the streams and you're waiting for the next one. If you let me know in this thread then I can take that into account when deciding what to work on next.
We don't have many members yet, so the members we do have are in a position to have a big say in what happens next. There's no chance of your suggestions getting lost among the crowd :)
Great job! I just discovered your course today and think it's fantastic. I've been wanting to learn Italian for some time but just have not found the right course that will fit my schedule. I am very excited and can't wait to get back to the lessons.
I like your common sense approach to teaching. At least it fits my learning style.
I'm glad you like the course so far. I notice that you didn't take advantage of the free lifetime membership offer that we have going at the moment (have a look at the welcome page). I've taken the liberty of correcting that, so if you check your "discounts" page you should see your 100% discount. The same applies to anyone else who didn't take up the offer when they signed up.
I have started learning Italian in a class 2 evenings a week. The teacher uses the comunicative method, speaks 99% percent Italian in class and there is very little grammar coverage so far.
To be honest, I have been getting more and more confused as the classes have continued.
I found this site and really like the rapid grammar section. Good explanations and lots of exercises to really drill it in. Excellent. Even though I am still on lesson 1 in the rapid grammar stream, I feel that it is already starting to clear some of my confusion.
I can't believe my luck! I found this site by accident, & have since registered & been given a lifetime membership. As a complete novice in Italian, I cannot believe the speed of development in using your learning system. I am able to advance at my own pace, but can revise at my leisure on any section that I am struggling with. I am travelling to Italy in about 3 weeks time & can't wait to try putting my new vocabulary into practice.
I wonder if in the vocabulary section, you could add the vocabulary, including verbs, for a story? For example, perhaps fairy tales that are in public domain. I've found an excellent website where the tales are read out loud. But I am constantly looking up the vocabulary for them. If I could practice the vocabulary in advance for the story, it would help me immensely.
I've been thinking about what other types of resources I can add to the course (besides the four current sections: Survival Italian, Pronunciation, Grammar and Vocabulary). I think a "Stories" section would be a great addition. It would work exactly as you suggested: first learn the vocabulary, then listen to and/or read the story.
It may be a while before I have time to do this, but I really like the idea so I'd say it's very likely that it will happen sooner or later.
I love the improvements! Keep up the good work with the development of the course. I try to work on my lessons at least thirty minutes a day and I can't believe how quickly I'm picking up the language.
Hi Steve, I was just wondering...what the liklihood would be for this site to include French? I am just guessing, but I think that Spanish would probably be the next language that you would add if any. Spanish is much more practical, my vote though, is for French because it sounds so pure.
I discovered your site yesterday and am really enjoying it. I know French and some Catalan and am planning a trip to Italy so your site is great preparation. I especially like the voice of the speaker and that it's possible to speak with the speaker to try to match pronunciation.