Joelle's Bibliofile

The Touri Language Learning Company released a new version of their Italian Short Stories for Beginners in June 2019.  This helpful workbook contains ten concise and often witty tales that help to expand vocabulary and reading fluency for those just starting in their study of the Italian language. The full stories are presented in Italian with bold vocabulary words that are listed at the end of each with their definitions.  Following this are two summaries, one in Italian and the other in English.  At the end of each tale is a small number of multiple-choice questions that test comprehension.  The stories are engaging, and the content would appropriate for young learners but would not be too childish for adult readers.  Italian Short Stories for Beginners places an emphasis on context over construction and dry grammar drills, providing a challenging translation practice that is fun and not too difficult or frustrating.  This book would be an extremely useful tool to add to any basic language course, supplementing an existing curriculum with a method that is both effective and entertaining.

Thanks to Library Thing and Touri Language Learning for an ARC of this book in exchange for an objective review.