This is a relevant review received on amazon.com when the content was on CDs:

"I have tried many Italian programs in order to get a good grasp of Italian for beginners and to perhaps be able to speak it a little. Some are quite good but the truth is that in order to really get a good understanding and feel for the language you need to hear it being spoken, regularly, by Italian people.

This is the first language program that I have ever purchased that enables you to listen to considerable extracts of real conversations and to learn the pronunciation, the flow of the language and the meaning of what is being said, at a reasonable and manageable pace.

I have to say I found this the most helpful and instructive method I have ever tried in getting to know the Italian language. The instructor's diction and clarity are excellent and I found I was able to master a lot of pronunciation that I had previously found difficult (if not impossible).The inclusion of the conversations by the actual people interviewed is, of course, the other crucial element of these CD's.

At first, I found it very difficult to understand because some of the people interviewed spoke incredibly fast but having gone through each of the steps with the instructor I understood far more of a "real time" conversation than I would have thought possible. A chef being interviewed (I think while actually cooking something) deserves a special mention. He wins the prize for fastest talker and I'd love to try what he is cooking!! This is the first time for me that going back and progressing a bit more with each repetition will not seem like a chore.

Note: I would recommend that anyone starting this program should also purchase the SmartItalian Course #1, Introduction to Italian. They explain the conjugation and tenses of the most commonly used Italian verbs and also provide basic lessons regarding gender use and basic language construction (a lot of which you will then hear in Course #3."