Italian for Everyone runs only under Windows and requires a 80486 66MHz computer or better, Windows 3.1 or later (including 95 and 98), minimum 8MB RAM for the Windows 3.1 configuration (16MB recommended), 256‐color SVGA, 16‐bit SoundBlaster‐compatible audio board with speakers, 300 Kbps multimedia‐compliant CD‐ROM drive, and a hard drive with at least 125MB of free space (75 for the program, the remaining for the uncompressed installation files). Installation instructions are clear and easy to follow, requiring no particular technical skills.
Italian for Everyone is an Italian tutorial for travelers. It is intended for ages 14 and higher; and it takes a situational approach by using video‐clips and dialogs taken from common situations that may occur to a traveler in Italy. The product attempts to create a virtual learning environment with the use of interactive video and text. Several characters played by English and Italian mother tongue actors interact in different situations of normal life. The program contains six sections that correspond to six different activities. The first three sections rely on sensory input and include: the Travel Lab, the Language Studio, and the Game Room. Access to these sections is through doors in the lobby, as is the exit from the “rooms”. The second group of sections is dedicated to more conscious activities; and books on shelves are the metaphor. The books are entitled Grammar, Dictionary, and Help.
The first group of activities requires signing in as user, while the second does not. New users can be created easily. The Travel Lab is a series of four videos dedicated to different aspects of Italy and being Italian. The videos can be browsed.
The Language Studio is the location where most of the learning will occur. It focuses on various situations including:
•arrival;
•getting around;
•lodging;
•meeting people;
•touring;
•eating out;
•shopping; and
•unexpected events.
Each of these situations has a corresponding section containing several subsections. Each subsection includes learning activities including:
•vocabulary building;
•listening comprehension;
•single word visual association;
•whole sentence visual association;
•picture vocal association (this involves speech recognition);
•question and answer (this also involves speech recognition).
Each of the drills allows for hints or eases the conditions after the first missed answer.
The Game Room offers two options. Conquest is a board game based on listening comprehension. The Video Match is based on listening comprehension and requires the learner to match complementary parts of a dialog. These games can be played individually (against the computer) or with two players (one against the other). A jukebox gives access to some songs that the learner can play. The song options include text, translation, and voice on or off. The grammar section includes a browser for selected grammar and sentence structures. The dictionary can be set on Italian‐English or English‐Italian; it includes a selected number of terms that can be consulted through a search engine, by topic, or by combining the two methods. The search yields the translation and the sound of the pronunciation. Help uses the Windows Help interface and gives a comprehensive reference for all the topics related to the software, its setup and functions.
Access to Help is also present at every level of the program. At every point in the tutorial, the user has the option of printing the contents of the screen. Conversation‐branching technology lets the user interact face‐to‐face with on‐screen speakers. Speech‐recognition technology understands and evaluates the user’s pronunciation. The reviewer is a native speaker; but the program failed to recognize his sentence on a few occasions. Some of the failures were due to the quality of the microphone input. In at least two cases, though, any adjustment made did not remedy the problem. The percentage of successful recognition was indeed quite high and ranged 80‐85 per cent.
The choice to use non‐native speakers for many of the audio and video clips is questionable for a program that shows a high degree of sophistication in its engineering and design. Moreover, the program is distributed on three CDs. Swapping CDs is detrimental to the dimension of virtual immersion that the program strives to achieve. Moreover, the size of the data files and their distribution on multiple CDs make it impractical, if not impossible to deliver the tutorial over a local area network, thus preventing a very important option for educational delivery.
One very important feature of Italian for Everyone is the speech‐recognition engine that installs with the program and seems to achieve a high degree of effectiveness and accuracy. However, there is no built‐in or external setup that allows one to choose or to modify the parameters of the speech recognition engine. This contributes to the user‐friendliness of the program but, at the same time, prevents a more accurate calibration of the tool.
Italian for Everyone comes without technical documentation; and the technical requirements are even hidden in fine print on the box. Information via the Web may be slightly more helpful. But the built‐in help menu is satisfactory and allows the user to troubleshoot, or to inquire about, almost every possible issue related to the use of this product. Customer service and technical support can also be contacted via a toll‐free number or via a fax‐on‐demand number or else via a bulletin board.
Italian for Everyone is aimed at travelers, particularly beginners planning or dreaming of a trip to Italy. It deals with the Italian language and culture and offers a well‐designed and effective tool for acquiring vocabulary and sentences in order to achieve basic proficiency in communication. It is one of the best programs on the market, effectively incorporating speech recognition and listening comprehension based on association.
The program comes without documentation because the intent of the authors is to bring down the functional learning curve. They achieve their goal. Indeed, the reviewer did not experience the need for a more hardbound manual or for instructions on how to use the program. It is a rare combination of high quality and low price, achieved by trying to address the needs of the mass market. In order to do so, it gives particular attention to the quality of the presentation, to the layout of the graphics, and to the music and sounds.
Italian for Everyone is suited for academic and non‐academic libraries, as well as departmental collections; but it is especially directed to individual users. It can be improved by introducing more native speakers among the actors but especially by making it networkable. The program is recommended.
