Italian

Benefits Of Using An Italian Textbook

There are lots of ways to study Italian and these keep increasing as technology improves and we have more options. However, regardless of the advances in technology, people seem to still enjoy using Italian textbooks to study.

Some people question ‘should I use an Italian textbook?‘ or ‘should I be using a more hands on approach. Yet regardless of where they stand, Italian textbooks continue to be one of the most popular ways of learning. Obviously not the only way, but they are often included in people’s methods of studying.

So what are some of the benefits of using an Italian textbook?

You Can Check Your Italian Progress

Unless you were very unfortunate in the textbook you chose, you should be able to check your progress as you go. That’s because the vast majority of Italian textbooks come with exercises that you can complete as you go. Then once you’ve completed these exercises you can check your answers in the back of the book and see how you’re doing.

You Can Work At Your Own Pace

A lot of people find Italian classes quite slow. They only go once a week for one or two hours and don’t find themselves progressing that quickly. One of the benefits of using an Italian textbook is that you can work through the material at your own pace. Whether you’re a fast learner who wants to work their way through the material as quickly as possible or if you like to take your time, an Italian textbook is perfect as you can choose the pace that you work through the material rather than a teacher

It Teaches You Things In A Logical Manner

Textbooks have been produced for years to teach people Italian. The creators of textbooks know which order it’s most useful to learn different material in and set these out in the book accordingly. Maybe you’re going to find some of the material a bit dull to start with but the textbook will take you through the information in the most logical order to help with your learning.

Obviously a class should do this as well but if you’re self studying and jumping around using different tools a textbook can be the perfect way to teach you the material you need to learn at the different stages of your Italian journey.

They’re Portable And Easy To Carry Around

Unless you buy an incredibly heavy duty textbook, most Italian textbooks are portable and pretty easy to carry around with you. Which means you can study Italian on the go. You can take the textbook to work with you and brush up on your Italian there or if you’re meeting friends for a coffee you can arrive half an hour early and whip out your textbook for some quick studying.

No matter what other methods of learning Italian you’ve chosen, we would highly recommend an Italian textbook to help with your learning. Our only tip would be don’t spend a lot of money buying several books, buy one and work your way through it before you move on. That way you’ll be much more likely to complete the textbook and see the benefits.

So you’ve decided to learn Italian which is great news! And now you just need to find an Italian textbook to help you with your learning. Well you’re in luck because we’ve compiled a list of some of the best places where you can buy an Italian textbook from.

Where you can buy Italian textbooks will depend on where you live, but here are some great online stores where you should be able to find an Italian textbook that matches your needs.

Remember that using an Italian textbook alone won’t teach you Italian, you need to do other things to supplement your Italian textbook in order to make sure that you’re practising all of your skills and not just working your way through grammar and vocabulary.

Amazon

The number one place you can find Italian textbooks is Amazon. Amazon has a large selection of Italian textbooks and it can ship to pretty much anywhere in the world.

But remember that Amazon doesn’t have everything, and you might be able to find Italian textbooks cheaper elsewhere.

So with this in mind, make sure you keep reading and take a look at some of our other suggestions.

European Bookshop

The European Bookshop is a great resource where you can find textbooks and fiction books in various European languages, Italian included of course. The textbooks and fiction books available are suitable for learners of all levels so whether you’re a beginner or an upper intermediate there will be something there for you.

And if you’re interested in learning any other European languages they also have books in Spanish, French, Portuguese, German and Russian.

Blackwells

Blackwells is a fantastic bookshop based in the UK that serves as the main academic bookshop for UK universities.

As well as finding Blackwells online (if you’re not from the UK), you will find a store in all of the major cities near a university campus.

Blackwells has a section dedicated to foreign languages which includes Italian where you will not only be able to find Italian textbooks to help you study but also Italian fiction books if you’d like to improve your comprehension skills.

Italian Bookshop

Another great resource is the Italian bookshop itself. The Italian bookshop is an online store that specialises in Italian books. The Italian bookshop has a range of textbooks available for learners of different levels so you should be able to find one that matches your learning needs.

In addition to textbooks, the Italian bookshop also stock a range of fiction books so you can practise your reading skills and get immersed in some Italian literature. And don’t worry, you don’t have to wait until you’re fluent, they stock fiction books for beginners to so you can get started with your reading straight away.

These are just some of the places where you can buy Italian textbooks. Make sure you check out local bookstores where you’re from to see if they have anything. Unfortunately many local bookshops don’t stock these because the demand is low but is you live near a university be sure to check out their bookstore and you might be pleasantly surprised.

How To Supplement An Italian Textbook

Using an Italian textbook is a fantastic tool for learning Italian There are an enormous amounts of benefits of using an Italian textbook.

However using an Italian textbook isn’t going to help you learn Italian on it’s own. In order to learn Italian you need to be studying in other ways as well, so you can supplement your learning.

Here are some of our favourite ways you can study Italian alongside your textbook.

Italian Speaking Practise

One of the issues that Italian textbooks have is that they don’t give much of an opportunity to practise speaking, but this doesn’t mean that an Italian textbook isn’t useful, just that you have to find opportunities to practise speaking elsewhere.

If you are in Italy then obviously you are off to a huge advantage as you will be able to speak Italian every day in a variety of exchanges. However, if you’re learning from your own country which may be more likely then don’t worry, there are still things you can do to practise speaking.

Using websites like italki and Conversation Exchange, you can find languages partners. Simply schedule in a language exchange for once a week and you’re off.

If you’re a bit nervous speaking Italian with another person just yet then why not start narrating what you’re doing in the house and talking to yourself in Italian. You might feel a bit silly but it will help to make the sounds seem more natural in your mouth.

Find A Great Italian Series

Another thing you can do is to find a great Italian series. If you watch the series with the audio in Italian while reading Italian subtitles then you’ll be able to improve your listening skills and reading skills at the same time.

Another great thing about this method is that it enables you to listen to more colloquial language and come across natural speech patterns. This may be difficult for you to understand at first but as your Italian comprehension improves you’ll be happy that you chose to start watching them.

And the best thing is that you don’t even have to search that far. Netflix is getting better and better for foreign language series every day. There are a load of Italian series you can choose from on Netflix and work your way through.

Set The Language On Your Devices To Italian

This is one of our favourite tips for getting more exposure to a language. If you want to learn Italian then you want to see it written down often, you want to hear it often and you want to be exposed to it often. So a way to increase this exposure is to set the language on your mobile, tablet or laptop to Italian. Then you’ll be seeing it every single day and will start to pick up words that you might not otherwise have had exposure to.

The more you see the more natural it will seem to you and the more you’ll be able to pick up.

Should I Use An Italian Textbook?

The simple answer to this is of course your should! (If you’re learning Italian)

There is a lot of debate in the language learning community over textbooks. Some peopler think that textbooks are out dated and not useful anymore, others believe that they are everything. Here at Lingo Press Books we’re somewhere in between.

An Italian textbook is a great accompaniment to other methods of learning. 

We believe that an Italian textbook shouldn’t be the only way you study Italian as it wouldn’t give you any chance of getting speaking practise and limited listening practise. To get a fully rounded learning experience you need to be learning through lots of different mediums.

However, if you are doing other things like watching movies in Italian, talking to Italian people, reading books and so on, then an Italian textbook can be incredibly useful.

The textbooks are set up to take you through a natural progression to proficiency. You can follow the material in a similar way that you would do in a classroom setting. Then you can do the practise exercises to check your progress and to make sure you’re understanding everything as you go.

There are also certain ways to make the most out of an Italian textbook and ensure that your learning is being optimised.

Reasons Not To Use An Italian Textbook

There are some reasons that you might not want to get an Italian textbook but in our opinion they aren’t strong enough to not actually get one, just some of the reasons we’ve heard other people put forward that have put them off.

• You have to spend money on them
• They can be heavy to carry around
• They don’t give you a chance to practise speaking
• They require self motivation

Our responses to these reasons not get an Italian textbook would be:

• They’re not expensive and once you’ve bought one it can last you months. And it’s much cheaper than a course of classes
• Leave it at home and designate a specific time of the day to studying
• You can practise speaking in other ways, one resource isn’t going to match all of your learning needs
• This last reason is very true, they DO require self motivation and this can make a huge difference. If you’re someone who self motivates then a textbook can be a great option for you. If you’re not the kind of person who can self motivate then you may want to consider a class instead. Although even if you go to a class, a textbook can still be incredibly beneficial.

We hope we’ve managed to convince you that yes you should get an Italian textbook and if we haven’t then don’t worry, there are plenty of other resources that might be more suited to your personality. You might be someone who is more suited to an app, a podcast, learning through reading, but no matter what learning style, there will be Italian resources to help you get there.

How To Make The Most Out Of An Italian Textbook

An Italian textbook can be a fantastic resource to help with your Italian studying. There are lots of benefits of using an Italian textbook but there are certain things you can do to make sure you’re optimising your use of the textbook and making the most out of the resource.

Use Your Italian Textbook Every Day

To get the most out of your Italian textbook you really need to be using it every day. A great way to do this would be to set aside half an hour, either in the morning, on your lunch break or in the evening and make this the same time every day so that you build a habit.

Then sit down and complete one section. So if you learn one thing and then complete a set of exercises about it to test your understanding, this will set you off for success.

Do The Exercises

Make sure you’re not just reading the material in the textbook but engaging with it as well and a great way to do this is by doing the exercises in the book. Doing the exercises is a great way to not only practise what you’ve just learned but to also check your understanding.

So when you’re buying a textbook be sure to check that there are exercises for you to do along the way which leads us onto our next point…

Mark The Exercises As You Do Them

It’s very easy to do an exercise, shut your book and think you’ll mark it tomorrow but it would benefit you so much more if you picked your book up and marked the exercises as soon as you’ve done them. That way you can check your understanding and see what you need to work on.

Where as if you leave it for next time you might not remember why you answered a question in a particular way, you’ll just know that it’s incorrect.

Make A Note Of New Words

You’re going to come across new words as you work your way through the textbook. Make a note of these words as you go and then you can study this list later and learn the new vocabulary.

Acquiring new vocabulary can make a huge difference to how much you’re able to talk and communicate so each time you come across something new in your textbook make sure you look it up and see if you can find a way to commit it to memory.

Don’t Use It As Your Only Means Of Studying

A textbook is a fantastic learning resource but it shouldn’t be the only thing you use to study.  If you’re only learning a foreign language with a textbook then you’re not going to get very far. As well as using a textbook, ensure that you are practising your speaking and listening skills. It’s important not to let these fall behind because once they’re behind it’s harder to catch them all up again.

Now you know how to use one you just need to find out where to buy an Italian textbook.

Looking to improve your Italian with the best Italian textbooks currently available? Then you’ve come to the right place.

Regardless of if you’re a beginner who’s wanting to grasp the basics of Italian or if you’ve been learning for quite some time and are wanting to smooth out those pesky grammar problems then you’ve come to the right place.

A textbook can be a great study aid. It can be used to complement other learning methods and it can provide great examples for new ideas and concepts.

Different people learn in different ways and some people enjoy textbook use more than others do. But a textbook doesn’t need to be an answer to all your learning issues. You can learn in lots of different ways and a textbook can be a part of an overall bigger learning strategy.

Do let’s take a look the the textbooks that have been nominated our top recommended Italian textbooks.

Best Italian Textbooks

We have scoured the market and researched the textbooks available for Italian learners. After our extensive research we have come up with a list of the best Italian textbooks to help you with your language learning.

Here are the textbooks that made the selection: the best Italian textbooks in 2019 judged by Lingo Press Books.

1. Living Language Italian, Beginner Through Advanced Course
2. Ultimate Italian Coursebook – Beginner to Intermediate
3. Advanced Italian Step-By-Step 1st Edition
4. Complete Italian Grammar – Premium Second Edition – Marcel Danesi
5. Practice Makes Perfect Advanced Italian Grammar (Practice Makes Perfect Series)

Now read about them in more detail below to find out how they can help you.

Best Italian Textbooks For Beginners And Intermediates

These are the Italian textbooks that we’ve selected as the best textbooks for beginner and intermediate learners. Many of them are two in one and take you from a beginner level through to intermediate. But whatever your needs, I’m sure that there will be something perfect for you!

Living Language Italian, Complete Edition: Beginner through advanced course, including 3 coursebooks, 9 audio CDs, and free online learning  – Living Language

Average Price: $28.18

See here on AMAZON

Our top textbook for learning Italian is the Living Language Italian Complete Edition that takes you from a beginner just starting out to an advanced learner.

Living language use their 65+ years of educational experience, linguistic science and proven techniques to come up with the perfect learning resources to help you on your way to Italian mastery.

The techniques used aim to give you a rich understanding of the Italian language so that you’re able to fully express yourself rather than just repeating set sentences from a phrase book.

We couldn’t recommend this book more if you’re just starting out your Italian journey. Or even if you’ve already been learning for a while, you can jump right in at an intermediate level and start studying.

Ultimate Italian Coursebook – Beginner to Intermediate – Living Language

Average Price: $21

Use the Ultimate Italian Coursebook on the go by dipping into one of the 40 bitesize lessons. The lessons contain natural dialogue and even teach you idioms to help you speak more like a native than like someone who is learning Italian.

The textbook aims to help improve your Italian in terms of school, travel, work or simply for personal enjoyment.

With quizzes and reviews you can check your progress as you go so you know what you need to review and when you can just continue straight onto the next lesson.

See here on AMAZON

Best Italian Textbooks For Advanced Learners

If you’ve reached an advanced level then you not only know how much work goes into learning a foreign language but also how useful a textbook can be.

At an advanced level, a textbook can be the perfect supplement to carry your Italian all the way to proficient.

Advanced Italian Step-By-Step 1st Edition – Paola Nanni-Tate

Average Price: $20

See here on AMAZON

Now that you’re ready for advanced Italian, why not try out this textbook to take you step by step to the next level.

By taking you through your learning in stages, this looks to create building blocks to solidify your Italian learning. You will be exposed to clear explanations and natural phrases to give you a rich understanding as well as key verbs and vocabulary to ensure that your Italian is at the level it should be.

You can use one of the many exercises to mark your progress and to check how well you’ve understood the material so if you need to go back and revisit a lesson you can.

Best Italian Grammar Textbooks

Although we might not all be fans of grammar, it is a necessary part of learning a language. And if you want to progress with your Italian, then you’re going to need to take the time to learn some grammar points.

But don’t worry because we have the perfect recommendations to help you on your way.

Complete Italian Grammar – Premium Second Edition – Marcel Danesi

Average Price: $14.69

See here on AMAZON

Complete Italian Grammar is the perfect aid you need to improve your Italian grammar skills.

Each new grammar structure is explained clearly with example to back it up and to help you understand.

Not only that but after each explanation are practise exercises where you can make sure that you understand what you’ve just learnt and see what you need to review.

This is the perfect textbook to pick up when you have some free time, complete one of the grammar points and do the exercises and then get back to what you were doing. By fitting the book into your everyday life, you’ll notice your grammar picking up in no time.

The Complete Italian Grammar textbook is the perfect tool to help you stop making mistakes and start speaking more like a native.

Practice Makes Perfect Advanced Italian Grammar (Practice Makes Perfect Series) 1st Edition – Marcel Danesi

Average Price: $15.81

For those of you who already have a strong level of Italian and have covered the grammar basics, you may be ready to move onto Advanced Italian Grammar.

If you’re at the stage where you can communicate well and your Italian is relatively strong but you’re still having some problems with grammar then this is definitely the book you need.

Fixing those grammar issues can make the world of difference and can take you from a B2 level to a C1 level (intermediate to advanced).

This is definitely the textbook we would recommend for advanced learners to brush up on their grammar.

See here on Amazon

Features
Tackles tricky grammar like object pronouns
A focus on more sophisticated grammar structures
Help you to construct longer more complicated sentences

How To Choose An Italian Textbook

If you’re new to choosing textbooks and you still haven’t been able to decide after reading our reviews then don’t worry. There are still certain tips and tricks you can apply when choosing your Italian textbook, you just need to think about what you need.

Selecting Your Italian Level

The first thing you need to do when choosing the best Italian textbook is to be aware of what level you are. If you’re a beginner, intermediate or advanced Italian learner. Or you can even break it down further by using the CEFR and decide whether you’re at an A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 or C2 level. Once you know what level you’re at then you stand a better chance of selecting the right Italian textbook for you.

Which Italian Skill Do You Need To Improve?

When buying an Italian textbook you need to consider why you’re actually buying it. Do you need to improve your grammar skills? Do you want a general book to take you through all of the beginner material? Are you studying for an Italian exam? These are all important questions you need to ask yourself before you make your purchase. Because it doesn’t matter if you’ve found the best Italian textbook in the world if it isn’t helping you the way you need it to.

Price Checking Different Italian Textbooks

You don’t just want to buy from one place without looking at other options first. Different shops price their books very differently and now since have the internet you can price check more easily to help find a cost effective solution for your learning needs rather than buying the first Italian textbook you see and spending a fortune.

Does The Italian Textbook Have Exercises?

Make sure whichever textbook you end up buying has exercises. If you’re just reading and not practising you’re going to find it much more difficult to remember new grammar points. Whereas if you have a page of explanations followed by some activities to practise you should be able to remember a lot more.

Does The Italian Textbook Come With A CD?

If you’re not focusing on improving your listening skills then this might not be an important consideration for you. But if you’re looking to improve your Italian level in a variety of competencies then you should probably consider finding an Italian textbook that comes with a CD so you can improve your listening skills as well as your other skills.

Making The Most Out Of Your Italian Textbook

Once you’ve picked the perfect Italian textbook you need to make sure that you’re getting the most out of it. Because not everyone who buys a textbook for learning Italian will end up learning Italian.

So here are some steps that you can take to get the most out of your learning Italian textbook.

Break Your Italian Studying Into Chunks

You want your learning sessions to be broken down into bitesize chunks. Set yourself a target that’s either daily or weekly and is manageable so you will have the biggest chance of completing your tasks. That way you’ll be more likely to continue learning.

Buy One Italian Textbook And Stick To It

One of the biggest mistakes we see people make is that they buy a textbook then they get excited and buy another textbook. Before long they have several textbooks and they actually end up doing less than if they just had one textbook in the first place. If you buy one textbook and work your way through it you stand a greater chance of finishing it

Make Sure You Complete The Practise Exercises

If you’re using a good Italian textbook then it should come with practise exercises and they’re there for a good reason. Doing the practise exercises will not only help you commit what you’ve just learnt to memory but will also help you to see how you’re doing. So if you find an exercise more difficult than another one you know you need to back and revise that particular Italian topic.

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Learning Italian FAQ

Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about learning Italian.

Can I teach myself Italian?

Yes you can teach yourself Italian. In order to learn Italian you don’t need to find a teacher as it’s possible to learn yourself. However you will need the help of someone else as you will need to practise speaking Italian.

Is Italian hard to learn?

Like any language Italian can be difficult to learn however it is easier for a native speaker than many other languages.

Is Italian worth learning?

Yes Italian is definitely worth learning. Not only is it a beautiful language to learn but it is still a major European language.

Is Italian harder than French?

Whether or not you find Italian more difficult than French will depend on your strengths and your previous language learning experiences. However many people find Italian easier to learn than French.

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We hope you’re found our recommendations of best Italian textbooks useful. Let us know which textbook you find most helpful in the comments below.

We always think it’s fantastic when someone chooses to study Italian. Spanish and Chinese are commonly spoken languages, Arabic is incredibly useful for career options and Germany is an economic power house. But we know when someone chooses to study Italian it’s usually for a love of the place, the food and the culture. And although any reason to learn a language is a good one, that’s probably our favourite one.

Now you’ve got your Italian textbook selected, why not take a look at our recommendations of best Italian Graded Readers to help with your reading comprehension. And remember a textbook alone won’t help you to learn Italian, you need to immerse yourself in the language to get as much from it as possible.