Italian Short Stories for Beginners: 20 Captivating Short Stories to Learn Italian & Grow Your Vocabulary the Fun Way…

Ok so this book is really awesome but it’s not for a complete beginner. I’ve been studying for 2 years at a casual pace, just recently finished the duolingo Italian course, took two short classes at a local adult school as well and this is perfect for my level. So if you have some general knowledge of the different tenses and a little bit of a foundation in vocabulary this is such an awesome book to have. I read the stories on my lunch break and they are the prefect length. They’re each about 6-8 kindle pages long but that takes me about 20-30 minutes to get through. Vocabulary lists from each story are a few pages away, just enough so you don’t always look unless you really need to. You can turn on the Italian English dictionary in kindle too and use that to look up other words as you read. I highly recommend this book if you are an advanced beginner and you are looking for a way to practice reading.

Lingo Mastery has embarked on a new mission – to make Italian more accessible to a wider population. In the Introductory Note the goal is stated well: ‘Probably Italian is not a "stranger" to you and you already know some words. Beginners will be relieved to know that if you know English, learning Italian will be less difficult than you think. About 30% of English words have Latin origins, and Italian is one of the languages that derives almost entirely from Latin. The phonetics of the language is easily understood by reading the written words, which is a great help for new learners. Learning vocabulary means accumulating and remembering individual items. These are stored in our memory, which is short-term or long-term - according to the number of words that can be stored and the sedimentation time - or working memory, where the information is held for 20 seconds, studied and then filed. The challenge of this book is to help students to move the vocabulary from their short-term memory to their long-term one to boost words retention. To do this, a learner needs to meet a word at least 6 times in one or more specific lexical sets. The organization of words in thematic groups - as in this book - is of great help for students to understand the context and recreate the same interconnections between words as in their first language acquisition. Each word will be presented in Italian and English in its lexical set. Sets are listed in alphabetical order even if the words are not. This is supported by the idea that learners don’t have to memorize just lists of words from A to Z but choose those more interesting or attractive and give them a meaning. One of the best ways to improve your vocabulary is to read and read often.’ The specifics of the language are outlined (especially the importance of masculine and feminine) and then the lessons begin.’Each of the twenty stories follows the pattern Summary of the story, Vocabulary Questions about the story, and Answers. Or as the authors state, ‘Each story will tell a different tale involving unique, deep characters with their own personalities and conflicts, while ensuring that you understand the objective of the particular language device in Italian. Verbs, Pronouns, Nouns, Directions, Time and Date; all of it will be covered in this Basic-level book for Beginners. At no point will we introduce concepts too difficult for you to grasp, and any complicated vocabulary will be studied at the end of each story.’An example, in Story 1 Come due gocce d’acqua - the story (translated for demo) ‘Elena and Caterina are two twin sisters who look very much alike and to distinguish them, their parents have given them two bracelets of different colours. Elena has been wearing a yellow bracelet and Caterina has been wearing a blue bracelet. Wherever they went, they were always very careful never to lose the bracelet. But the two sisters have a big secret. One day Elena would have to go out with her mother to buy a swimsuit, but she did not want to. Caterina reveals her trick to take off the bracelet that seemed to be too tight and from that day on they would often exchange their role, without ever revealing the secret to anyone.’ This is but one of the well-written stories with the summary in both Italian and English and the task of this tale is Vocabulary (very well defined) and a series of questions about the story written in Italian with the answers likewise in Italian.The stories vary, as do the lessons taught. This is a very fine introduction to Italian, appropriate for all age levels, and a book much needed at this time in our national status! Grady Harp, November 18

It's so difficult to find reading material to study when learning a new language. I was delighted with this book, because even though there are many words I haven't learned yet, it is easy to figure out the context of each story, and effectively "guess" the unfamiliar words. I'm really enjoying this book, and finding it very helpful.

This book serves as an excellent source of comprehensible input for advanced beginners or intermediate learners of Italian. The summaries, key vocabulary and comprehension questions for each story give readers the support needed for reading and working to understand the story, learning new words in context without providing all the answers. This enables true growth in learning naturally. The stories are varied, fun, and interesting and use several genres so that there is sure to be something engaging for any reader. The length is just long enough to be challenging but not so long as to be overwhelming. I highly recommend this book as a helpful resource for those who are serious about learning Italian and enjoying the process along the way; I truly believe that if you enjoy it, you’ll learn more effectively.

I was very happy to get hold of this book. Although I am not a beginner in Italian, I found it very fun and useful to read. It is a fantastic way to learn and practice Italian. You need to have some basic knowledge in Italian to be able to read the stories in this book because it is not really an ABC of the language. What a great idea to provide at the end of each story a summary of it in English! This helps the English-speaking readers check their reading comprehension in Italian. Even more useful is the vocabulary included for each story - a great way to learn new words and be reminded of those you already know but may have forgotten with time. I recommend this book to everyone and anyone who is learning Italian or knows it but wants to refresh vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. Five Stars!

I purchased this book because I'm trying to improve my conversational Italian. I have a strong knowledge of the basics but need to up my vocabulary. I would consider myself intermediate beginner, having taken 4 semesters of college courses, so thought this book would be a good tool, based on the reviews. But this book is not really for beginners. The vocabulary is very advanced. Though I can figure out some individual words by context, I've had to stop constantly to look up combinations to get the true meaning of the phrase. It's frustrating. I'm giving the book 3 stars for its content/lesson structure, but seriously the description is way off. This book is more for very advanced beginners or intermediate speakers. So, if you've only been studying for a short time, I would recommend looking for something else.

… reading continuous prose and becoming used to flowing language - EVEN if one doesn't understand all of it. Unconsciously, the brain begins to associate certain links and structures. It's true! I know this from experience.I am a beginner when it comes to learning the Italian language and, whilst this book is not for the "raw" beginner, it is good when one has covered verb conjugations, prepositions and adjectives - the rest is just vocabulary - which is covered at the end of every short story.In addition, it provides invaluable practice with reading (especially reading aloud) and pronunciation. I like, also, the questions at the end of each story which tells me just how much I have understood the finer points of it.I started reading the first story and, admittedly, there was at least one word in every sentence which I had to look up in the vocabulary list. Nevertheless, by the time I had read it through twice, I was remembering most of these words.I repeat, it's not for absolute beginners which its title suggests - hence the reason for my giving this book only four stars instead of five.However, in conclusion, it's good and I like it and it will definitely help me!Marianne

I love this book with it's quaint, charming short stories. I love that there is a simplified version after the story in case you don't get the full gist, and that the condensed version is translated into English (a sort of belt and braces scenario where you can't go wrong!!)It also has an excellent glossary at the end of each story that really boosts your vocabulary. I have only been studying Italian for about 3 months (although I already had a tiny bit of Italian) and am enjoying this book, rarely needing to check the English bits.

I really like these stories, they hold your interest and are not too long. I think the summary and the questions keep you more engaged to test your understanding. I do think, however, that the person who has written up the vocab lists is not the author of the stories, and also has not read the stories, as quite a lot of times, to me, the word given in English is out of context. In itself, the word is correct but there is a far more suitable equivalent. On checking a dictionary I find that my alternative (and more accurate) translation is there. Other than that, I have liked this book very much.

I started learning Italian 1 year ago and this book is pitched at just the right level for the amount of vocabulary I know. The stories are short and manageable and in general I can work out roughly what the story is about. At the end of each story is a summary in both Italian and English and a new vocabulary list.Charming stories that engage and entertain.

The book is great but although I have been studying Italian for a year or two it was way too difficult for me. Think I am just about Janet and John stage☺️This was mostly due to different tenses being used.I shall take it on holiday with me and persevere.