Complete Italian Learning Suite 9 is a good product, though I would not recommend it to a beginner. If however, you took some Italian in high school or college and you want to brush up, work at your own pace, and improve rapidly through a wide variety of learning approaches, this suite may just fit your need. Complete Italian Learning Suite is a convenient, complete package that includes enough elements to keep you busy for months. It is particularly good for those who would be put off by an “all communicative and in-the-foreign-language-only or no-English-at-all” approach. Yes, English is (extensively) used in this language learning package. All dialogs and communicative exercises conveniently display an English translation below each Italian phrase. Whatever is being spoken in Italian will appear as text in a “karaoke-style” dialog box (color coding will signal what word is being read at that moment, thus allowing you to follow and read along) and everything will also be translated into English at the same time.

Complete Italian Learning Suite 9 comes equipped with one DVD that contains the PC software, and four audio CDs containing the audio program. This solution is particularly good for those who, for example, commute to work every day. If you can spend only limited time at your computer practicing Italian and yet want to maximize your results, Complete Italian Learning Suite could be what you need.

User Interface Rating

What's Hot:

The graphic interface for Before You Know It and ItalianNow is fairly simple and easy to navigate, albeit decidedly more dated-looking than other competing products. If you are not that much of a technology geek, you will not be put off by the late-1990s audio-visual look of this software package.

The user interface of Lexicon and LinguaMatch appears even more dated, but you should still be able to figure it out after some experimentation.

Price to Value Rating

What's Hot:

At $119.95, Complete Italian Learning Suite is a competitively priced entry to the crowded market of Italian learning software. Considering everything that is included and offered, this is an attractive and nicely priced package. Users who own an iPod or similar device would welcome the option to extract individual dialogs and spoken exercises for transfer to their MP3 players, thus being able to listen and practice on the go.

Installation & Setup Rating

What's Hot:

Insert the DVD in your computer, select “Install Learn Language Now," and the two main components, Learn Language Now and Before You Know It Italian, will be installed. [see Image 5] You can then install Lexicon, LinguaMatch, and Global Writer at a later date, either all at the same time or individually, as is appropriate to your needs.

The DVD needs to be in the drive only for LinguaMatch; all other programs reside completely on your PC hard drive.

What's Not:

Up to four separate software installations are required if you want the complete suite on your PC. A more modern installer would give the user the option to install them at once, thus saving time and preventing confusion.

Product Features Rating

What's Hot:

LanguageNow is fairly easy to use. After a welcome screen, there’s a guided tour and a link to BYKI. [See Images 6 and 7] Once inside, you will find three tabs: Immersion Environments, Reference Tools, and Getting Started.

The four Environments are basically virtual opportunities for interaction with native speakers. [See Image 9] Opening up one of them presents the user with a video framed by a number of dialog boxes. Then four tabs appear at the top of the screen: Theater, Reading, Activities, and Pronunciation and Conversation. One begins from the Theater mode by viewing the video while reading Italian subtitles, find a translation, and a word reference. You can click any word at any time and a native will read that individual word. Reading appears to be just a “remix” of the Theater mode, with the text more prominently displayed. Subtitles in Italian and an English translation appear below the video; all the while you can click the text to get more information on grammar rules and learn about the meaning of individual words. [See Image 1] Activities feature word games such as puzzles and crosswords. There are three different pronunciation exercises, two of them in context and one focusing on single words. Conversation has you completing parts of dialogs, following the actors around Italy. Don’t be frightened, as cues for your lines will be given, and you will be guided in providing the correct answer. Fundamental Italian teaches you grammar and structure foundations. Survival Phrases is a nice inclusion, a sort of pocket phrasebook containing things to say in commonplace situations.

If you feel the need to rely on English, then the nicest feature is the translating provided for every conversation. You can skip forwards and backwards, repeat sections of the passage, concentrate on the meanings of individual words or phrases, and so on.

Each video dialog is based on commonplace situations. This is probably overall the most useful feature of the program. Another nice little feature is the inclusion of language games for each section.

What's Not:

While it is a good that Complete Italian Learning Suite offers a variety of learning styles, it feels as if the various elements don’t really interconnect with one another. I’m also concerned about the level of the language and its progression. The Before You Know It program is fairly good. However, do you truly see yourself playing around with flash cards as an adult? Since, according to the manufacturer, you’re supposed to “master” the flash cards program before moving on to ItalianNow, if your answer is “no,” then I would consider buying another product.

The video dialogs are fairly complex and there is no sense of “building up skills.” I don’t know how a beginner would be able to acquire simple structures without feeling completely overwhelmed by the initial complexity and pace of the dialogs. When I was using the video program in my college courses, it simply would not work for beginners. They found it stressful and difficult to follow. Another issue is the “second-rate” acting job. Present-day theory about teaching languages holds that interaction in a foreign language sho
Performance Rating

What's Hot:

Complete Italian Learning Suite doesn’t require a fast or powerful computer. It performs well even on older PCs. It requires Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows Vista, or higher, and a DVD drive. It works well on my older (five-year-old) PC.

What's Not:

Voice recognition is good, but still at times imperfect. Like similar packages, the program can be a bit “unforgiving,” and you should pay little attention to the voice recognition graphs, because they are simply not accurate.

Also, a microphone is not included. While this keeps the price low, you will need to purchase one.

Help & Support Rating

What's Hot:

The best thing about Transparent Language products is the variety of extra activities, information, and support offered on their website. Visit transparent.com and you can get a Free Word of the Day, your daily chance to expand on your vocabulary and learn more about real Italian culture. You can also get language tests and activities online for free. From their sister site BYKI.com, you can download free word lists for your virtual flash card program.

In case you were to experience technical issues with your software, you can count on excellent, fast consumer service response from Transparent Language. A call to their technical support line (603-262-6300) was answered within two minutes on a busy, pre-holiday Tuesday afternoon. Unfortunately, they don’t provide a toll-free number and are only available between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern time. However, they can also be reached via email at support@transparent.com, or you can go to www.transparent.com and click "Technical Support."

The Five Programs Rating

What's Hot:

Complete Italian Learning Suite 9 contains five premium products: Before You Know It Deluxe, Learn Italian Now, the Everywhere Italian audio course, the Lexicon Translation Dictionary (LinguaMatch Panoramic Phrasebook), and Global Writer. The company values this suite at $200, for just $119.95.

But does the suite deliver? In this section we'll look at each individual program, how they work as a whole, and whether they are hot, or not:

Before You Know It is an interactive flash-card program. Each item is organized by themes (adjectives, nouns). You can hear each item pronounced by native speakers and play a variety of association, connection, and memory games.

Learn Italian Now/LanguageNow is an interactive video program. The first two parts follow the adventures of 40-something Piero and Gabriella, who decide to write a travel guide for Italy. [See Image 3] You’re not expecting great acting from a language learning software package, right? Good, because you will not find any here. However, the interactive video program is moderately funny and should keep your interest. I’m familiar with this, as the infamous adventures of Piero and Gabriella came as a supplement to a couple of popular college textbooks I have used in my courses. The interaction is cheesy, but the premise of the video program is good, and so is the chance for a virtual guide of Italy. Well, maybe not all of it, just some key locations--they must have overrun their budget as they never made it to Sicily, for instance.

Everywhere Audio is a progressive, theme-based audio program. Although “old-school” in its premise, it’s exactly like those language learning records (yes, vinyl) that I would listen to as a kid in the 1970s. The program performs well for its created purpose of listening to key words, sentences, and phrases on a given topic. Word and phrases are first given in English and then translated into Italian. Then it is up to you to repeat along with the speaker. This system is designed with long commutes, workouts at the gym, or jogging in the park in mind. Anybody with an iPod or similar device should be able to digitize this program and listen to the audio files on the go. It features all native speakers with a variety of regional accents who speak clearly and are easy to follow. As simple and “mechanical” as it may sound, it works well within the context of learning without written text or visual clues. Grammar notes are provided in a plain, clear, and accessible English form. With a bit of self-discipline and effort, you could effectively expand your vocabulary and improve your pronunciation. Repetita juvant, as the Romans would say; that is, “repeating is good for you!”

Global Writer is a dedicated word processor that supports Italian and can help you with your spelling and phrasing in Italian. It will point out spelling issues and guide you in improving your writing skills. However, it is quite dated and not as flexible as other present-day word processors.

What's Not:

Of the five programs, I found the most fault with LinguaMatch.

LinguaMatch/Lexicon is a multilingual, interactive dictionary. However, while it translates words from English, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish to any other language from the list, it’s limited to one meaning for each translated word. And the words are provided out of context (no examples are given, just the bare word itself). This can create a number of problems. For example, if I want to translate “to play” from English to Italian, the only translation you get is giocare (to play with toys or games), while other words such as suonare (to play an instrument) are nowhere to be found. If one types “libreria,” a fairly common everyday word with multiple meanings, the only translation provided is the most uncommon one (“bookshelf”).

Suggested Features

I would like to see more of an effort made to integrate the various components into one simpler, more cohesive package. It’s time to ditch the terrible acting of Gabriella and Piero and look for alternatives. It is also time to update the individual software components, along with the video program. It’s beginning to look and feel dated.

Conclusion

Complete Italian Learning Suite Premium is a fine product but I would not recommend it for true beginners to the language. There are other offerings on the market, although more expensive and maybe not as complete, that are actually more intuitive and easier to follow for beginners, as they do a better job of integrating different learning styles into a single interface. As usual with this type of software, there were a few frustrating moments with Speech Recognition.

If you took some Italian in the past, then it would be fairly easy to pick up more Italian and use this method in the way that best reflects your interests and needs. The person who gets this product will learn about real, authentic Italian culture, including traditions, idioms, and cultural differences.