Where Pinocchio (Pino for friends) realizes that his good friends, "il Gatto e la Volpe" (the Cat and the Fox), are not very good friends. But what is friendship after all?

Objectives:

In the Beginner level, you meet Pino and his friends, and you start to get involved with the Italian language and culture.
You learn how to greet someone, introduce your self or your family, express opinions, describe objects, places or situations, order at the restaurant, prepare a famous Italian dessert (Tiramisù), ask for directions, make a phone call, book a hotel room, go shopping, use the simple past, sing in Italian and much more!

What is Pinocchio doing on CyberItalian?

Program:

• Lesson 1 Ciao Pino!
  (Ciao Pino!)
  Learn how to greet someone and introduce yourself. Subject pronouns; "Essere" (to be).
  Activities:
  Practice your pronunciation: greetings - listen,test
  Get ready for Italian conversation: 3 steps - listen,test
  The puzzle of Italian regions - play
  Your Renaissance - read
  Memorization techniques - read,test
  

• Lesson 2 Chi sei?
  (Who are you?)
  Learn to describe and give information about yourself. Feminine and masculine nouns and agreements; description (part 1): nouns and adjectives (plus c'è and ci sono); indefinite articles.
  Activities:
  Practice your pronunciation: Introductions - listen,test
  Get ready for Italian conversation: 3 steps - listen,test
  What's in your fridge today? (c'è and ci sono) - read,test
  Practice your pronunciation: Italian words in other languages - listen,test
  Home: vocabulary and crossword puzzle - listen,play
  

• Lesson 3 Ecco i miei amici!
  (Here are my friends!)
  Learn to describe your friends and tell what your profession is. Nouns, adjectives, colors; description (part 2): singular/plural; definite articles; "Avere" (to have).
  Activities:
  My friends and I (adjectives) - listen,play
  Articles and agreements - test
  Avere o Essere? This is the question. (Verb Avere and nouns) - read,test
  Colors of the Italian flag and Italian colors - read,test
  Are you nervous? (Verb Essere and Adjectives) - read,test
  

• Lesson 4 Cosa Preferisci?
  (What do you prefer?)
  Learn to express preferences, ask questions and answer in a negative way. Present indicative of regular verbs; interrogative sentences; negative sentences; irregular verbs: "Preferire, Capire, Piacere".
  Activities:
  How scary can the grammar be?! (adjectives and verbs) - listen,write
  Can you say "no" in Italian? (Negative sentences - part 1) - read,test
  Trucchi per imparare i verbi (Tricks to learn verbs) - read,test
  I like, I don't like (verbs) - listen,play,test
  Il bar (essere, avere, and regular verbs) - read,test
  Basic use of the verb Piacere (to like) - read,test
  

• Lesson 5 Conta e canta!
  (Count and sing!)
  Learn to count in Italian, say your age and introduce your family. Numbers; possessive adjectives and pronouns; double meanings and false friends.
  Activities:
  Let's sing in Italian - sing
  

• Lesson 6 Al ristorante
  (At the restaurant.)
  Learn how to ask for something and order at the restaurant. "Vorrei" and other forms of courtesy; position of the adjectives, form of certain adjectives; "avere fame, avere sete"; irregular verbs: "Mangiare, Bere".
  Activities:
  Let's cook together! (with puzzle) - cook,play
  Il ristorante - read,test
  A carnival recipe - cook,read
  Three legends about Italian cuisine - cook,read
  

• Lesson 7 Quando ci vediamo?
  (When are we going to see each other?)
  Learn to make or postpone an appointment. Time, days, months; irregular verbs: "Dovere, Volere, Potere, Uscire, Venire"; weather.
  Activities:
  Weather and seasons - listen,play
  Memorization techniques - read,test
  

• Lesson 8 Dov'è la scuola?
  (Where is the school?)
  Learn to ask for and give directions, tell your address and say where you are from. Simple prepositions; irregular verbs: "Fare, Andare".
  Activities:
  Our body (vocabulary and crossword puzzle) - play
  Terrible prepositions (part 1) - read,test
  To stay or to go? (irregular verbs: andare, venire, restare) - read,test
  

• Lesson 9 Pronto chi parla?
  (Hello, who's speaking?)
  Learn to make a phone call and give your phone number. Combined prepositions; irregular verbs: "Sapere, Conoscere, Dire, Dare, Stare".
  Activities:
  Telephone call - play
  Terrible prepositions (part 2) - read,test
  

• Lesson 10 Hai fatto la spesa?
  (Did you go grocery shopping?)
  Go shopping. Learn to report a fact happened in the past. "Participio passato" and "passato prossimo"; irregular verbs: "Pagare". Difference between grocery shopping and shopping.
  Activities:
  Verbs: change words into actions - listen,play,test
  Vieni via con me (irregular verbs andare, venire, restare) - sing,test
  Vocabulary: Getting Dressed - listen,play
  Fare la spesa o fare shopping? - read,test
  

• Lesson 11 Viva le vacanze!!!
  (Three cheers for vacations!)
  Learn to make a reservation (restaurant, hotel). "C'è, ci sono"; review of interrogative expressions; negative expressions.
  Activities:
  August in Italy - read
  Invite your friends to your home! - cook,read
  Verbs: present, PAST and future - play,test
  L'aeroporto e i verbi italiani - read,test
  Alla stazione - read,test
  Che c'è? - read,test
  Recipes from cinema: meringues - cook,read
  

• Lesson 12 Buon viaggio!
  (Have a good trip!)
  Pack the suitcase for a trip to Italy, work on your listening skills and review the basic structures of the Beginner level. Verbs; basic structure of a sentence; use of description; partitives. Listening development.
  Activities:
  L'edicola - read,test
  Anagrammi e altri esercizi (Anagrams and other exercises) - play
  Word search: articles, prepositions, verbs - play
  Play with the Italian language - play
  A brief history of art - read,test
  

• Lesson 13 Ordinare al banco
  (Order at the counter)
  Experience a real Italian bar and brush up on the use of Italian verbs. Present conjugation of regular verbs. Irregular verbs: "Preferire, Capire, Agire, Reagire, Mangiare, Bere, Piacere".
  Activities:
  Practice your pronunciation: il caffè italiano - listen,test
  Granita a colazione - cook
  

• Lesson 14 Buon appetito!
  (Enjoy your meal!)
  Experience an Italian pizzeria and review the construction of an Italian sentence. Basic elements and basic structure of a sentence.
  Activities:
  The Bracciano lake - read,test
  Vignette (cartoons) - read
  

• Lesson 15 Il ritratto
  (The portrait)
  Analyze a Renaissance portrait and sharpen your inquisitive mind. Critical thinking development. Interrogative sentences. Position of the subject in a sentence.
  Activities:
  Flash cards - la casa - listen,write
  

• Lesson 16 Armonia
  (Grammar and harmony)
  Get to know a very famous Renaissance painting and reflect on harmony and balance. Harmony in a sentence: agreements. Use of the definite article.
  Activities:
  Is Grammar scaring you? (Structure of the Italian phrase) - test
  

• Lesson 17 Il negozio di scarpe
  (The shoe store)
  Reflect on buying shoes and on fashion, and practice how to memorize verbs. Review of regular verbs - present indicative. Review of irregular verbs - how to memorize them.
  Activities:
  Trucchi per imparare i verbi (Tricks to learn verbs) - read,test
  10 tips on watching movies in Italian - watch
  

• Lesson 18 Il negozio di vestiti
  (The clothing store)
  Experience clothes shopping and reflect on dressing. Review of simple prepositions. Position of prepositions with interrogative adverbs.
  Activities:
  Fare la spesa o fare shopping? - read,test
  The history of pizza - cook,read,test
  

• Lesson 19 Forma di cortesia e l'individuo
  (Form of courtesy and the individual)
  Review the formal approach and complete the review of prepositions. Use of Lei. Combined prepositions.
  Activities:
  To stay or to go? (irregular verbs: andare, venire, restare) - read,test
  

• Lesson 20 Passato, presente e futuro
  (Past, present and future)
  Reflect on present, past and future, and get an in-depth study of some aspects. Passato prossimo. Participio passato. Use of "tempo" and "volta".
  Activities:
  Verbs: present, PAST and future - play,test