Intermediate Italian Short Stories: 10 Captivating Short Stories to Learn Italian & Grow Your Vocabulary the Fun Way…

Lingo Mastery continues the mission to make Italian more accessible to a wider population. In the Introductory Note the goal is stated well: ‘Learning a foreign language is always a challenge. However, it doesn’t have to be as complicated as it may seem. Being constantly exposed to the language one aims to master is the best way to speed up the learning process. It’s not just by listening to a language that you get to learn it. Reading has also been proven to be a very effective was to learn a foreign language as it helps the student to become familiar with the proper grammar use, the rhythms, forms and rules of the language and according to research, it exposes the pupil to more sentences per minute than the average movie or TV show…The stories are fluid, continuous and filled with a variety of helpful vocabulary combined with a grammatical richness. Additionally, at the end of each story, a learning support section will help you whenever you need it by providing you with English definitions of words, a summary of the story and multiple-choice questions about important features of the story.’An example, in Story 1 Un San Valentino diverso dal solito - the story (translated for demo) ‘On February 14th, Valentine’s Day, the computer assistant Valentino decides to quit his job because it brings no satisfaction to him anymore. After sending an email to the human resources manager, he leaves his office and decides to stroll around the city, Rome. After lunch he meets Paolo, a friend he has known since the time he was at the university, who needs a reliable partner and a computer manger for a project he has started. So, he asks Valentino if he wants to work with him. Even if at the beginning Valentino was not sure about Paolo’s proposal, at the end he accepts.’ 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, June 19

I began with the beginner's version of Italian Short Stories and found it to be incredibly helpful in my reading, listening and comprehension of the Italian language. I can say that the intermediate version carries on the same high quality process and I have not been disappointed. The stories are short so one does not get bogged down with trying to remember what happened at the beginning while working through the vocabulary and comprehension. Another plus is that as one progresses, a story can be read and/or listened to in a short enough time that you can use this resource on a more frequent basis exposing yourself to the spoken and written word with little effort. I find the format of these books to be very useful and the fact that they are written in modern Italian makes them even more valuable.

Really enjoy reading this book. There certainly are many new vocabulary words to learn.There are only a couple of comments I would like to make about this book:1. The back cover says "...the stories are broken down into manageable chapters..." This is not correct. There are no chapters, just the 10 stories. Olly Richards breaks each of his stories into 3 chapters each. This is no big deal. This book's format is just fine. Just thought I would mention it, and2. Not all of the highlighted vocabulary words are found in the vocabulary list at the end of each story. Again, this is not a big deal.Also, I am confused with the mixture of Passato Prossimo, Imperfecto and Passato Romoto in the same paragraph and sometimes in the same sentence. This is something I will learn more about from an Italian teacher. Just a passing comment.Thank you for this book - I AM LEARNING!!!

Got it for free to see if I can use with my students. Perhaps too advanced for my first year learners, but my colleagues in the high school may enjoy using this resource with their students.

Delivers exactly what it aims to - engaging, interesting stories at an intermediate level so you can read along and enjoy the story while encountering just enough challenging vocabulary to advance your learning. Lots of dialogue to help your speaking become more natural and really charming stories. Highly recommend. Will be re-reading soon!

Love this book !! We bought the beginner one first and now buying this one. It is a great way to study Italian and offers a lot that other books don’t!

Captivating is definitely the wrong adjective but it's a huge improvement over the telephone book. I wish the new vocabulary lists were in the front of the chapters. Not user friendly for Kindle edition readers.

Very good and entertaining.

These stories are a great way to brush up on my Italian and improve my vocabulary! I take night classes in italian and we’re currently on summer break - the stories are pretty interesting and are a good way to keep my skills fresh without committing to a whole book which would be too challenging for me at this stage. I’m around B1 level just now and find I can understand the general meaning pretty well, but there’s enough interesting/new vocabulary to present a bit of a challenge. The summary and Q&A at the end of each story are great ways to check your comprehension too. Highly recommended for intermediate learners!

I've only read a couple but they have been entertaining, plus the language vocabulary and comprehension exercises at the end of each one are good too. Definitely for intermediate level.

I am learning Italian at night school and reading extra curricula stories is a good way to broaden my vocabulary. I found the stories interesting and occasionally a little challenging. Overall the stories were helpful but I found some unfamiliar words or phrases were not covered in the vocabulary and a few translations were a little odd. Having said that these did not spoil my enjoyment.

I really like this format - interesting stories that challenge but in a good way. These stories are a useful addition to my Italian resources and have increased my vocabulary and understanding of grammar in a way that is refreshingly entertaining.

I liked the glossary and the summary at the end of each chapter.I thought there was difficult vocabulary which was not in the glossary and easier words which were.Overall I really enjoyed reading these stories. very accessible.