FSI Italian Fast Course
What are FSI FAST courses?
The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) is a branch of the US government that provides training for diplomatic staff preparing for postings abroad – and a major part of this is language instruction.
While the core of FSI teaching consists of what are known as Basic courses, not everybody can dedicate the time required to complete one of these extensive programs.
As a result, FSI also developed FAST courses for those with more limited time for study. FAST stands for “Familiarization And Short-Term Training”, and these courses were intended to provide the practical language needed for use in everyday situations as well as giving an introduction to the culture of the destination countries.
Since FAST courses were intended to be led by an instructor, they are less suitable for independent study. However, when used to complement other coursebooks or study materials, the dialogs and recordings they contain can help reinforce and deepen your knowledge of the target language.
What is FSI Italian FAST?
FSI Italian FAST was first published in 1992, making it a relatively recent course. It consists of 30 lessons containing dialogs and notes as well as audio recordings to go with each section. Each lesson also introduces you to a new Italian region, giving you some basic information about the country as well as a grounding in the language.
The emphasis is on learning practical language so that when you arrive in Italy, you will have the linguistic and cultural tools to function in the kinds of situation most people will experience while living, working or traveling there.
***NOTE: Although this course is labelled as the “new” version, the materials contained are exactly the same as in the “original” course. Furthermore, the “original” course also includes the second half of the Student Text with Units 18-30, so for the full course, using the “original” version is the recommended option.***
How can you use FSI Italian FAST?
Since this FSI Italian course was not designed for autonomous study, you probably won’t find it useful to use as a primary coursebook.
On the other hand, by incorporating elements of it into your study and using the texts and recordings to supplement your learning, you will still be able to benefit greatly from the material contained in this course.
Ultimately it is up to you how you use this free Italian course, but by being creative and working out the ways that work best for you, this collection of lessons dealing with a range of practical everyday situations will boost your learning and help prepare you for an upcoming trip to Italy.
Taking it further
No matter how good your study materials, you will never be able to learn a foreign language without practicing it.
This means at the earliest opportunity, you should take your new Italian skills out into the “real world” and put them to use. Look for native speakers to talk to and try to make using Italian a part of your daily life – because when you do this, you will soon realize how quickly your Italian language ability is progressing.
Volume 1
Student Text
Download Vol. I complete (all MP3's in one zip file, 168 MB)
Introduction: Before We Begin
Preliminary Lesson
00b_01 Dialogue for Listening | 00b_04 Pronunciation Practice |
00b_02 Dialogue for Repetition | 00b_05 Model 1 |
00b_03 Vocabulary | 00b_06 Model 2 |
Lesson 1
01_01 Dialogue for Listening | 01_05 Pronunciation Practice |
01_02 Dialogue for Repetition | 01_06 Model 1 |
01_03 Vocabulary | 01_07 Listening Comprehension |
01_04 Additional Vocabulary |
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Lesson 4
04_01 Dialogue for Listening | 04_06 Model 2 |
04_02 Dialogue for Repetition | 04_07 Model 3 |
04_03 Vocabulary | 04_08 Model 4 |
04_04 Pronunciation Practice | 04_09 Model 5 |
04_05 Model 1 | 04_10 Telling Time |