Feynman at his Best, 01 Oct 2008
Richard Feynman was the prime moving force in promoting physics, in particular quantum electro dynamics, at Caltech in the 1960's. His lectures to the "none specialist" students were easily understood, being as well attended by the other lecturers as by students. His lecturing style was recorded photographically and on audio tape. The audio of his outstanding lecturing style and Brooklyn drawl are well represented on these CD's.

Feynman at his Best, 01 Oct 2008
Richard Feynman was the prime moving force in promoting physics, in particular quantum electro dynamics, at Caltech in the 1960's. His lectures to the "none specialist" students were easily understood, being as well attended by the other lecturers as by students. His lecturing style was recorded photographically and on audio tape. The audio of his outstanding lecturing style and Brooklyn drawl are well represented on these CD's.

Buy direct from the OU not here, 28 Nov 2008
This is an excellent course which consist of six work books and cds.
The whole course study pack (six books six cds, verb book ,dictionary, phonetic book) cost £61.05 plus postage.
You can make your own mind up about some of the prices some people are looking for.
Enjoy.

Feynman at his Best, 01 Oct 2008
Richard Feynman was the prime moving force in promoting physics, in particular quantum electro dynamics, at Caltech in the 1960's. His lectures to the "none specialist" students were easily understood, being as well attended by the other lecturers as by students. His lecturing style was recorded photographically and on audio tape. The audio of his outstanding lecturing style and Brooklyn drawl are well represented on these CD's.

Buy direct from the OU not here, 28 Nov 2008
This is an excellent course which consist of six work books and cds.
The whole course study pack (six books six cds, verb book ,dictionary, phonetic book) cost £61.05 plus postage.
You can make your own mind up about some of the prices some people are looking for.
Enjoy.

Well structured introduction, 01 Jan 2008
I've just worked through this book and I feel it has served as an excellent introductory guide to the language. Each chapter (there are 30) can be mastered in an hour, the choice of vocabulary seems practical and the order of grammatical points introduced seems logical. Each chapter has useful exercises and if worked through dilligently, this book should provide you with the confidence and knowledge to get by on your next trip to Italy.

SUPERB, 11 Jul 2007
I moved to Italy and took this book with me. I learned all the grammar from it quickly - it has a nice tone, is a pleasure to work through, and is thorough. Within a year I was approaching fluency. The book gave me immense confidence to do that.

Superb, 04 May 2003
There are many grammar books on the market that try to kid learners into believing a language can be learned by osmosis; Maria Valgimigli's book on the other hand is clear, simple and really helps the learner to acquire an independence with the language, The reading passages may be a bit dated and simplistic, but the lay-out and explanations are excellent and really useful and the book is ideal for self study and the classroom situation. It would be great if this book had a tape for each of the lessons. Otherwise a very wise buy.

Living Italian, 30 Jul 2002
This is one of the best language books that I've ever seen. It's extrememly simple and concise and supplies enough examples and explanations for those who need a "rule" to follow.
I found the verb table at the end of the book particularly helpful since the Italian verbs are slightly more complex than the English ones! I've recommended this book to a lot of people and am constantly buying myself a new copy as I often "lend" out my copy which reguarly doesn't get returned!

Very informative and easy to use., 01 Jul 2000
This book starts with the basics, proceeds with step-by-step vocabulary building exercises. By the end of your self-taught course you will have enough vocabulary and grammar for a week or two on holiday! Buona fortuna!

Feynman at his Best, 01 Oct 2008
Richard Feynman was the prime moving force in promoting physics, in particular quantum electro dynamics, at Caltech in the 1960's. His lectures to the "none specialist" students were easily understood, being as well attended by the other lecturers as by students. His lecturing style was recorded photographically and on audio tape. The audio of his outstanding lecturing style and Brooklyn drawl are well represented on these CD's.

Buy direct from the OU not here, 28 Nov 2008
This is an excellent course which consist of six work books and cds.
The whole course study pack (six books six cds, verb book ,dictionary, phonetic book) cost £61.05 plus postage.
You can make your own mind up about some of the prices some people are looking for.
Enjoy.

Well structured introduction, 01 Jan 2008
I've just worked through this book and I feel it has served as an excellent introductory guide to the language. Each chapter (there are 30) can be mastered in an hour, the choice of vocabulary seems practical and the order of grammatical points introduced seems logical. Each chapter has useful exercises and if worked through dilligently, this book should provide you with the confidence and knowledge to get by on your next trip to Italy.

SUPERB, 11 Jul 2007
I moved to Italy and took this book with me. I learned all the grammar from it quickly - it has a nice tone, is a pleasure to work through, and is thorough. Within a year I was approaching fluency. The book gave me immense confidence to do that.

Superb, 04 May 2003
There are many grammar books on the market that try to kid learners into believing a language can be learned by osmosis; Maria Valgimigli's book on the other hand is clear, simple and really helps the learner to acquire an independence with the language, The reading passages may be a bit dated and simplistic, but the lay-out and explanations are excellent and really useful and the book is ideal for self study and the classroom situation. It would be great if this book had a tape for each of the lessons. Otherwise a very wise buy.

Living Italian, 30 Jul 2002
This is one of the best language books that I've ever seen. It's extrememly simple and concise and supplies enough examples and explanations for those who need a "rule" to follow.
I found the verb table at the end of the book particularly helpful since the Italian verbs are slightly more complex than the English ones! I've recommended this book to a lot of people and am constantly buying myself a new copy as I often "lend" out my copy which reguarly doesn't get returned!

Very informative and easy to use., 01 Jul 2000
This book starts with the basics, proceeds with step-by-step vocabulary building exercises. By the end of your self-taught course you will have enough vocabulary and grammar for a week or two on holiday! Buona fortuna!

A very good course, with one huge drawback, 12 Feb 2008
This is a very good course. There is one huge drawback. The way the CDs are packaged is absolutely useless. They are supposed to be wedged into the moulded inner part of the plastic box. In fact they come loose from this, rattle around in the box during transit, and get so appalling scratched than in many cases they are unplayable. (One of the CDs in my Colloquial Urdu course was actually cracked!) Routledge - please please would you return to providing CDs in the usual double jewel-case so that they are protected in transit. The small financial saving with the new packaging method should be weighed carefully against the annoyance caused to customers by supplying CDs which arrive too damaged to use.
This course would have got five stars but the problem with the scratched CDs has forfeited three of those stars.

Excellent course, 21 Jan 2006
This is by far the best course available for beginners. I found the dialogues to be ver relevant, genuine and helpful for everyday conversation purposes. I appreciated the authors carefully provided a very balanced grammar review. Most coursebooks available abound in grammar details that are rarely useful, but mostly discouraging, for a beginner. The CDs are extremely helpful and essential to work on pronunciation. I hope the authors will write a follow up course as well.

very helpful, 20 Dec 2005
I found this book excellent for a begginer. It has very practical lessons on everyday topics and the grammar is well explained without much jargon. The short dictionary and the verb table at the end of the book are also very helpful for a beginner who wants to start learning this language.

Disappointing, 13 May 2004
In many ways this is a well laid-out package. The lesson plans are reasonably well thought-out and the accompanying CDs are great for pronunciation. However, the actual content is rather sloppily put together. One of the exercises contains a street plan designed to help you with directions, but it's so badly drawn that you can't work out what is what, making the exercise impossible to do. Also, there are grammatical points (plurals, adjectives, definite articles) that are only half-explained or not explained at all, which leaves you confused as to how the language works. The package is probably ok for picking up a basic grasp of the language, but if you want to understand the grammar and to be able to speak any way properly, I'd look elsewhere, personally speaking.

Feynman at his Best, 01 Oct 2008
Richard Feynman was the prime moving force in promoting physics, in particular quantum electro dynamics, at Caltech in the 1960's. His lectures to the "none specialist" students were easily understood, being as well attended by the other lecturers as by students. His lecturing style was recorded photographically and on audio tape. The audio of his outstanding lecturing style and Brooklyn drawl are well represented on these CD's.

Buy direct from the OU not here, 28 Nov 2008
This is an excellent course which consist of six work books and cds.
The whole course study pack (six books six cds, verb book ,dictionary, phonetic book) cost £61.05 plus postage.
You can make your own mind up about some of the prices some people are looking for.
Enjoy.

Well structured introduction, 01 Jan 2008
I've just worked through this book and I feel it has served as an excellent introductory guide to the language. Each chapter (there are 30) can be mastered in an hour, the choice of vocabulary seems practical and the order of grammatical points introduced seems logical. Each chapter has useful exercises and if worked through dilligently, this book should provide you with the confidence and knowledge to get by on your next trip to Italy.

SUPERB, 11 Jul 2007
I moved to Italy and took this book with me. I learned all the grammar from it quickly - it has a nice tone, is a pleasure to work through, and is thorough. Within a year I was approaching fluency. The book gave me immense confidence to do that.

Superb, 04 May 2003
There are many grammar books on the market that try to kid learners into believing a language can be learned by osmosis; Maria Valgimigli's book on the other hand is clear, simple and really helps the learner to acquire an independence with the language, The reading passages may be a bit dated and simplistic, but the lay-out and explanations are excellent and really useful and the book is ideal for self study and the classroom situation. It would be great if this book had a tape for each of the lessons. Otherwise a very wise buy.

Living Italian, 30 Jul 2002
This is one of the best language books that I've ever seen. It's extrememly simple and concise and supplies enough examples and explanations for those who need a "rule" to follow.
I found the verb table at the end of the book particularly helpful since the Italian verbs are slightly more complex than the English ones! I've recommended this book to a lot of people and am constantly buying myself a new copy as I often "lend" out my copy which reguarly doesn't get returned!

Very informative and easy to use., 01 Jul 2000
This book starts with the basics, proceeds with step-by-step vocabulary building exercises. By the end of your self-taught course you will have enough vocabulary and grammar for a week or two on holiday! Buona fortuna!

A very good course, with one huge drawback, 12 Feb 2008
This is a very good course. There is one huge drawback. The way the CDs are packaged is absolutely useless. They are supposed to be wedged into the moulded inner part of the plastic box. In fact they come loose from this, rattle around in the box during transit, and get so appalling scratched than in many cases they are unplayable. (One of the CDs in my Colloquial Urdu course was actually cracked!) Routledge - please please would you return to providing CDs in the usual double jewel-case so that they are protected in transit. The small financial saving with the new packaging method should be weighed carefully against the annoyance caused to customers by supplying CDs which arrive too damaged to use.
This course would have got five stars but the problem with the scratched CDs has forfeited three of those stars.

Excellent course, 21 Jan 2006
This is by far the best course available for beginners. I found the dialogues to be ver relevant, genuine and helpful for everyday conversation purposes. I appreciated the authors carefully provided a very balanced grammar review. Most coursebooks available abound in grammar details that are rarely useful, but mostly discouraging, for a beginner. The CDs are extremely helpful and essential to work on pronunciation. I hope the authors will write a follow up course as well.

very helpful, 20 Dec 2005
I found this book excellent for a begginer. It has very practical lessons on everyday topics and the grammar is well explained without much jargon. The short dictionary and the verb table at the end of the book are also very helpful for a beginner who wants to start learning this language.

Disappointing, 13 May 2004
In many ways this is a well laid-out package. The lesson plans are reasonably well thought-out and the accompanying CDs are great for pronunciation. However, the actual content is rather sloppily put together. One of the exercises contains a street plan designed to help you with directions, but it's so badly drawn that you can't work out what is what, making the exercise impossible to do. Also, there are grammatical points (plurals, adjectives, definite articles) that are only half-explained or not explained at all, which leaves you confused as to how the language works. The package is probably ok for picking up a basic grasp of the language, but if you want to understand the grammar and to be able to speak any way properly, I'd look elsewhere, personally speaking.

The thorough way to approach the First Certificate exam., 17 Jan 2001
As both a College EFL lecturer and private Cambridge exam coach, I find this book an excellent course in preparation for First Certificate. If a student knows all the grammar and vocabulary in this book, they'll have no problem passing the exam. The layout of the book is friendly and the material contained under each topic is comprehensive. As an EFL teacher of many years standing, I've tried other course books, but always return to Focus - it just has everything a student needs. I, personally, cannot recommend it highly enough.

Feynman at his Best, 01 Oct 2008
Richard Feynman was the prime moving force in promoting physics, in particular quantum electro dynamics, at Caltech in the 1960's. His lectures to the "none specialist" students were easily understood, being as well attended by the other lecturers as by students. His lecturing style was recorded photographically and on audio tape. The audio of his outstanding lecturing style and Brooklyn drawl are well represented on these CD's.

Buy direct from the OU not here, 28 Nov 2008
This is an excellent course which consist of six work books and cds.
The whole course study pack (six books six cds, verb book ,dictionary, phonetic book) cost £61.05 plus postage.
You can make your own mind up about some of the prices some people are looking for.
Enjoy.

Well structured introduction, 01 Jan 2008
I've just worked through this book and I feel it has served as an excellent introductory guide to the language. Each chapter (there are 30) can be mastered in an hour, the choice of vocabulary seems practical and the order of grammatical points introduced seems logical. Each chapter has useful exercises and if worked through dilligently, this book should provide you with the confidence and knowledge to get by on your next trip to Italy.

SUPERB, 11 Jul 2007
I moved to Italy and took this book with me. I learned all the grammar from it quickly - it has a nice tone, is a pleasure to work through, and is thorough. Within a year I was approaching fluency. The book gave me immense confidence to do that.

Superb, 04 May 2003
There are many grammar books on the market that try to kid learners into believing a language can be learned by osmosis; Maria Valgimigli's book on the other hand is clear, simple and really helps the learner to acquire an independence with the language, The reading passages may be a bit dated and simplistic, but the lay-out and explanations are excellent and really useful and the book is ideal for self study and the classroom situation. It would be great if this book had a tape for each of the lessons. Otherwise a very wise buy.

Living Italian, 30 Jul 2002
This is one of the best language books that I've ever seen. It's extrememly simple and concise and supplies enough examples and explanations for those who need a "rule" to follow.
I found the verb table at the end of the book particularly helpful since the Italian verbs are slightly more complex than the English ones! I've recommended this book to a lot of people and am constantly buying myself a new copy as I often "lend" out my copy which reguarly doesn't get returned!

Very informative and easy to use., 01 Jul 2000
This book starts with the basics, proceeds with step-by-step vocabulary building exercises. By the end of your self-taught course you will have enough vocabulary and grammar for a week or two on holiday! Buona fortuna!

A very good course, with one huge drawback, 12 Feb 2008
This is a very good course. There is one huge drawback. The way the CDs are packaged is absolutely useless. They are supposed to be wedged into the moulded inner part of the plastic box. In fact they come loose from this, rattle around in the box during transit, and get so appalling scratched than in many cases they are unplayable. (One of the CDs in my Colloquial Urdu course was actually cracked!) Routledge - please please would you return to providing CDs in the usual double jewel-case so that they are protected in transit. The small financial saving with the new packaging method should be weighed carefully against the annoyance caused to customers by supplying CDs which arrive too damaged to use.
This course would have got five stars but the problem with the scratched CDs has forfeited three of those stars.

Excellent course, 21 Jan 2006
This is by far the best course available for beginners. I found the dialogues to be ver relevant, genuine and helpful for everyday conversation purposes. I appreciated the authors carefully provided a very balanced grammar review. Most coursebooks available abound in grammar details that are rarely useful, but mostly discouraging, for a beginner. The CDs are extremely helpful and essential to work on pronunciation. I hope the authors will write a follow up course as well.

very helpful, 20 Dec 2005
I found this book excellent for a begginer. It has very practical lessons on everyday topics and the grammar is well explained without much jargon. The short dictionary and the verb table at the end of the book are also very helpful for a beginner who wants to start learning this language.

Disappointing, 13 May 2004
In many ways this is a well laid-out package. The lesson plans are reasonably well thought-out and the accompanying CDs are great for pronunciation. However, the actual content is rather sloppily put together. One of the exercises contains a street plan designed to help you with directions, but it's so badly drawn that you can't work out what is what, making the exercise impossible to do. Also, there are grammatical points (plurals, adjectives, definite articles) that are only half-explained or not explained at all, which leaves you confused as to how the language works. The package is probably ok for picking up a basic grasp of the language, but if you want to understand the grammar and to be able to speak any way properly, I'd look elsewhere, personally speaking.

The thorough way to approach the First Certificate exam., 17 Jan 2001
As both a College EFL lecturer and private Cambridge exam coach, I find this book an excellent course in preparation for First Certificate. If a student knows all the grammar and vocabulary in this book, they'll have no problem passing the exam. The layout of the book is friendly and the material contained under each topic is comprehensive. As an EFL teacher of many years standing, I've tried other course books, but always return to Focus - it just has everything a student needs. I, personally, cannot recommend it highly enough.

A very good book, involves excersise for all exam tasks, 05 Mar 2002
The book covers thoroughly all CAE activities, including Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. Each unit is like an exam in miniature.
The author pays attention to phrasal verbs, idiomatic expressions, as well as grammar rules and excersises.
Basically, having studied this book from beginnig to end, you get a good idea of what the future exam is like, not to say about practice itself.