Short Stories In Italian For Beginners, Volume 2

by Olly Richards

Olly's top-notch language-learning insights are right in line with the best of what we know from neuroscience and cognitive psychology about how to learn effectively. I love his work - and you will too!
- Barbara Oakley, PhD, Author of New York Times bestseller A Mind for Numbers

This second volume of the bestselling Teach Yourself Graded Readers series features 8 compelling new stories in a variety of genres, from science fiction and crime to history and thriller, so you'll have fun reading , while learning a wide range of new vocabulary and rapidly improving your Italian comprehension !

Short Stories in Italian for Beginners, Volume 2 is written for students from high-beginner to intermediate level. The eight captivating stories are designed to give you a sense of achievement and a feeling of progress when reading. You'll enjoy reading in Italian, grow your vocabulary in a natural way, and improve your comprehension at the same time. Based on extensive research into how people most enjoy and benefit from reading in a new language, this book eliminates the frustrations you experience when trying to read in Italian.

Stories are broken down into manageable chapters, so you make progress with the story and feel a sense of achievement. Realistic amounts of new vocabulary are introduced so that you're not deterred by complex words. Instead of pausing to look up every word, you'll absorb new vocabulary from the context of the story, and have the satisfaction of that moment when you "I totally understood that sentence!"

This book
- Accessible grammar for high-beginner and low-intermediate level learners (CEFR A2-B2)
- Natural dialogues in each story, so that you can learn conversational Italian and improve your speaking ability!
- Controlled language at your level, including the most frequent words, to help you progress confidently
- Pleasure! It's much easier to learn a new language when you're having fun.

Carefully curated to make learning a new language easy, these stories include key features that will support and consolidate your progress,

· A glossary for bolded words in each text
· A bilingual word list
· Full plot summary
· Comprehension questions after each chapter.

As a result, you will be able to focus on enjoying reading, delighting in your improved range of vocabulary and grasp of the language, without ever feeling overwhelmed or frustrated. The stories are levelled from A2-B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference and from Novice High to Low-Mid Intermediate ACTFL Receptive Proficiency.

Use the code inside the book and ebook to access the free bonus story and the discounted audiobook edition on our Language Readers Library site (readers.teachyourself.com) or from the Readers app.

Genres: Italian Literature, Fiction, Language, Italy, Reference

200 pages, Paperback

Published October 25, 2022

Reviews

[Jvermeersch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm still at level A1, but already wanted to start reading these stories so as to push my learning curve even more. And I managed to understand the gist of these stories (especially when reading them twice as prescribed in the intro). I felt empowered, and did notice my vocabulary expanding. So, mission accomplished, I would say.

The stories are executed well, being split into chapters and with short summaries, vocab lists, and multiple choice questions in between.
In my opinion they were okay content-wise. Would not reread.
Different genres in the sense of different settings. But always the same plot: things are not really as they seem. Would classify these as detective story, folk tale, science fiction, contemporary fiction, ...
Was actually hoping to also get some young adult, (forbidden) romance, magical fantasy, fairytale.
Or other more creative format or storytelling register.

The highlighted vocabulary in general contained neither particularly useful words nor key words to understand the story. This felt very random at times.
Still, a good way to challenge yourself and build confidence.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

While learning Italian, I have come to be a huge fan of learning through comprehensible input. So the learning approach of Olly Richards is definitively super intriguing and has helped me immensely.

Unfortunately, the stories in this book are rather stupid and uninteresting, which spoils the whole concept of comprehensible input. The author recommends reading each chapter twice, which I was able to follow for the first half of this book, before I put it aside out of pure demotivation. I have to say, that once through each chapter is hard enough.

So in sum, the book is conceptually really strong and I like the layout with the glossaries for each chapter; but the stories definitely were not for me.

[Shacoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was definitely better than Volume 1. The stories were more interesting and made much more sense. They were less outrageous and far more normal. One thing that I noticed is that the paperback version and the audiobook version of this book don't always match, specifically when it comes to the questions at the end of each chapter. The audiobook sometimes just has A and B as answer choices, but the paperback has A-D. It's a bit odd. But other than that, I found the book to be enjoyable.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great way to learn a language! The chapters are interesting enough so that you aren't bored whilst reading and i loved the chapter reviews, vocab lists, and multiple-choice questions at the end help to test your knowledge and keep you engaged. Not to mention the guides at the front of the book to help you get the absolute most out of it. I'm so glad I stumbled across these, I'll be getting the entire series!

[Gary Conachan III · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second Olly Richards book I’ve read for learning Italian, and I really enjoy his approach as well as how the book is set up. The stories are very appropriate for the described learning level, vocabulary lists help comprehension, and the summaries and quizzes keep you in check.

[paulína · Rating 4 out of 5]

niektorým príbehom som pochopila až keď som si prečítala sumarizáciu, ale ináč veľmi pekne spracované. oceňujem zoznam “nových” slovíčok na konci kapitol a taktiež malý slovníček na konci knihy. možno predsa len zmaturujem z taliančiny.

[Aura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this very good for revising my reading and grammar in preparation for my upcoming entrance exams. The language is easy to follow but not dumbed down, and though the stories are simple I still found them fun and engaging.

[Tabitha Ormiston-Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Queste storie sono molto annoiose.

[Mary Del Balzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is very helpful for learning to read in Italian!

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great material for A2 beginners