FSI Italian Fast Course

With around 67 million native speakers in Europe and a total of 85 million speakers worldwide (including those who speak it as a second language), Italian is undeniably a major global language.

Famously easy on the ear and important in the spheres of art, music and literature – as well as being one of the easiest choices for speakers of English – Italian is also an extremely popular language to learn.

This means there is no shortage of coursebooks and other resources for students of Italian, but whatever you use to learn the language, this comprehensive free online Italian course can be an invaluable addition to your study materials, both linguistically and culturally.

Course Details

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)

Section	Audio
Introduction: Before We Begin	00a_01 Spelling - Pronunciation Features · 00a_05 Requests Plural · 00a_02 Tense Consonants · 00a_06 Expressions Singular or Plural · 00a_03 Accents · 00a_07 Questions · 00a_04 Requests Singular · 00a_08 Other Expressions
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	02_01 Dialogue for Listening · 02_06 Model 1 affirmative · 02_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 02_07 Model 1 negative · 02_03 Vocabulary · 02_08 Model 2 · 02_04 Additional Vocabulary · 02_09 Model 3 · 02_05 Pronunciation Practice · 02_10 Reading for Pronunciation
Lesson 3	03_01 Dialogue for Listening · 03_11 Model 5 · 03_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 03_12 Model 6 · 03_03 Vocabulary · 03_13 Model 7 · 03_04 Cardinal Numbers · 03_14 Model 8 · 03_05 Additional Vocabulary · 03_15 Model 9 · 03_06 Pronunciation Practice · 03_16 Model 10 · 03_07 Model 1 · 03_17 Model 11 · 03_08 Model 2 · 03_18 Model 12 · 03_09 Model 3 · 03_19 Listening Comprehension · 03_10 Model 4
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
Lesson 5	05_01 Dialogue for Listening · 05_07 Model 1b · 05_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 05_08 Model 2 · 05_03 Vocabulary · 05_09 Model 3 · 05_04 Additional Vocabulary · 05_10 Model 4 · 05_05 Pronunciation Practice · 05_11 Model 5 · 05_06 Model 1a · 05_12 Listening Comprehension
Lesson 6	06_01 Dialogue for Listening · 06_06 Model 1a · 06_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 06_07 Model 1b · 06_03 Vocabulary · 06_08 Model 1c · 06_04 Additional Vocabulary · 06_09 Model 2 · 06_05 Pronunciation Practice · 06_10 Model 3
Lesson 7	07_01 Dialogue for Listening · 07_08 Model 3 · 07_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 07_09 Model 4 · 07_03 Vocabulary · 07_10 Model 5 · 07_04 Additional Vocabulary · 07_11 Model 6 · 07_05 Pronunciation Practice · 07_12 Model 7 · 07_06 Model 1 · 07_13 Listening Comprehension · 07_07 Model 2
Lesson 8	08_01 Dialogue for Listening · 08_09 Model 4 · 08_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 08_10 Model 5 · 08_03 Vocabulary · 08_11 Model 6 · 08_04 Additional Vocabulary · 08_12 Model 7 · 08_05 Pronunciation Practice · 08_13 Model 8 · 08_06 Model 1 · 08_14 Model 9 · 08_07 Model 2 · 08_15 Model 10 · 08_08 Model 3 · 08_16 Reading for Pronunciation
Lesson 9	09_01 Dialogue for Listening · 09_07 Model 2 · 09_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 09_08 Model 3 · 09_03 Vocabulary · 09_09 Model 4 · 09_04 Additional Vocabulary · 09_10 Translate 5 · 09_05 Pronunciation Practice · 09_11 Translate 6 (Numbers) · 09_06 Model 1 · 09_12 Listening Comprehension
Lesson 10	10_01 Dialogue for Listening · 10_06 Model 1 · 10_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 10_07 Model 2 · 10_03 Vocabulary · 10_08 Model 3 · 10_04 Additional Vocabulary · 10_09 Model 4 · 10_05 Pronunciation Practice · 10_10 Model 5
Lesson 11	11_01 Dialogue for Listening · 11_10 Model 5 · 11_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 11_11 Model 6 · 11_03 Vocabulary · 11_12 Model 7 · 11_04 Additional Vocabulary · 11_13 Model 8 · 11_05 Pronunciation Practice · 11_14 Model 9 · 11_06 Model 1 · 11_15 Model 10 · 11_07 Model 2 · 11_16 Model 11 · 11_08 Model 3 · 11_17 Listening Comprehension · 11_09 Model 4
Lesson 12	12_01 Dialogue for Listening · 12_10 Model 5a · 12_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 12_11 Model 5b · 12_03 Vocabulary · 12_12 Model 6a · 12_04 Additional Vocabulary · 12_13 Model 6b · 12_05 Pronunciation Practice · 12_14 Model 7a · 12_06 Model 1 · 12_15 Model 7b · 12_07 Model 2 · 12_16 Model 8a · 12_08 Model 3 · 12_17 Model 8b · 12_09 Model 4 · 12_18 Model 9
Lesson 13	13_01 Dialogue for Listening · 13_09 Model 4 · 13_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 13_10 Model 5 · 13_03 Vocabulary · 13_11 Model 6 · 13_04 Additional Vocabulary · 13_12 Model 7 · 13_05 Pronunciation Practice · 13_13 Model 8 · 13_06 Model 1 · 13_14 Model 9 · 13_07 Model 2 · 13_15 Model 10 · 13_08 Model 3 · 13_16 Listening Comprehension
Lesson 14	14_01 Dialogue for Listening · 14_11 Model 6 · 14_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 14_12 Model 7 · 14_03 Vocabulary · 14_13 Model 8 · 14_04 Additional Vocabulary · 14_14 Model 9 · 14_05 Pronunciation Practice · 14_15 Model 10 · 14_06 Model 1 · 14_16 Model 11 · 14_07 Model 2 · 14_17 Model 12 · 14_08 Model 3 · 14_18 Model 13 · 14_09 Model 4 · 14_19 Reading for Pronunciation · 14_10 Model 5
Lesson 15	15_01 Dialogue for Listening · 15_08 Translate 3 · 15_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 15_09 Model 4 · 15_03 Vocabulary · 15_10 Model 5 · 15_04 Additional Vocabulary · 15_11 Model 6 · 15_05 Pronunciation Practice · 15_12 Model 7 · 15_06 Model 1 · 15_13 Listening Comprehension · 15_07 Model 2
Lesson 16	16_01 Dialogue for Listening · 16_07 Model 2 · 16_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 16_08 Model 3 · 16_03 Vocabulary · 16_09 Model 4 · 16_04 Additional Vocabulary · 16_10 Model 5 · 16_05 Pronunciation Practice · 16_11 Model 6 · 16_06 Model 1 · 16_12 Model 7
Lesson 17	17_01 Dialogue for Listening · 17_08 Model 3 · 17_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 17_09 Model 4 · 17_03 Vocabulary · 17_10 Model 5 · 17_04 Additional Vocabulary · 17_11 Model 6 · 17_05 Pronunciation Practice · 17_12 Model 7 · 17_06 Model 1 · 17_13 Translate 8 · 17_07 Model 2 · 17_14 Listening Comprehension

Volume 2

Student Text

Lesson	Audio
Lesson 18	18_01 Dialogue for Listening · 18_07 Model 2 · 18_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 18_08 Model 3 · 18_03 Vocabulary · 18_09 Model 4 · 18_04 Additional Vocabulary · 18_10 Model 5 · 18_05 Pronunciation Practice · 18_11 Translate 6 · 18_06 Model 1
Lesson 19	19_01 Dialogue for Listening · 19_09 Model 3 · 19_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 19_10 Model 4 · 19_03 Vocabulary · 19_11 Model 5 · 19_04 Alphabet · 19_12 Model 6 · 19_05 Additional Vocabulary · 19_13 Model 7 · 19_06 Pronunciation Practice · 19_14 Model 8 · 19_07 Model 1 · 19_15 Translate 9 · 19_08 Model 2 · 19_16 Listening Comprehension
Lesson 20	20_01 Dialogue for Listening · 20_09 Model 4 · 20_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 20_10 Model 5 · 20_03 Vocabulary · 20_11 Model 6 · 20_04 Additional Vocabulary · 20_12 Model 7 · 20_05 Pronunciation Practice · 20_13 Model 8 · 20_06 Model 1 · 20_14 Model 9 · 20_07 Model 2 · 20_15 Model 10 · 20_08 Model 3 · 20_16 Reading for Pronunciation
Lesson 21	21_01 Dialogue for Listening · 21_10 Model 5 · 21_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 21_11 Model 6 · 21_03 Vocabulary · 21_12 Model 7 · 21_04 Additional Vocabulary · 21_13 Model 8 · 21_05 Pronunciation Practice · 21_14 Model 9 · 21_06 Model 1 · 21_15 Model 10 · 21_07 Model 2 · 21_16 Model 11 · 21_08 Model 3 · 21_17 Model 12 · 21_09 Model 4 · 21_18 Listening Comprehension
Lesson 22	22_01 Dialogue for Listening · 22_10 Model 5 · 22_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 22_11 Model 6 · 22_03 Vocabulary · 22_12 Model 7 · 22_04 Additional Vocabulary · 22_13 Model 8 · 22_05 Pronunciation Practice · 22_14 Model 9 · 22_06 Model 1 · 22_15 Model 10 · 22_07 Model 2 · 22_16 Model 11 · 22_08 Model 3 · 22_17 Model 12 · 22_09 Model 4
Lesson 23	23_01 Dialogue for Listening · 23_09 Model 4 · 23_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 23_10 Model 5 · 23_03 Vocabulary · 23_11 Model 6 · 23_04 Additional Vocabulary · 23_12 Model 7 · 23_05 Pronunciation Practice · 23_13 Model 8 · 23_06 Model 1 · 23_14 Model 9 · 23_07 Model 2 · 23_15 Model 10 · 23_08 Model 3 · 23_16 Listening Comprehension
Lesson 24	24_01 Dialogue 1 for Listening · 24_08 Translate 1 · 24_02 Dialogue 1 for Repetition · 24_09 Model 2 · 24_03 Dialogue 2 for Listening · 24_10 Model 3 · 24_04 Dialogue 2 for Repetition · 24_11 Model 4 · 24_05 Vocabulary · 24_12 Model 5 · 24_06 Additional Vocabulary · 24_13 Model 6 · 24_07 Pronunciation Practice · 24_14 Model 7
Lesson 25	25_01 Dialogue 1 for Listening · 25_10 Model 3 · 25_02 Dialogue 1 for Repetition · 25_11 Model 4 · 25_03 Dialogue 2 for Listening · 25_12 Model 5 · 25_04 Dialogue 2 for Repetition · 25_13 Model 6 · 25_05 Vocabulary · 25_14 Model 7 · 25_06 Additional Vocabulary · 25_15 Model 8 · 25_07 Pronunciation Practice · 25_16 Model 9 · 25_08 Model 1 · 25_17 Listening Comprehension · 25_09 Model 2
Lesson 26	26_01 Dialogue for Listening · 26_08 Model 3 · 26_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 26_09 Model 4 · 26_03 Vocabulary · 26_10 Model 5 · 26_04 Additional Vocabulary · 26_11 Model 6 · 26_05 Pronunciation Practice · 26_12 Model 7 · 26_06 Model 1 · 26_13 Reading for Pronunciation · 26_07 Model 2
Lesson 27	27_01 Dialogue for Listening · 27_07 Model 2 · 27_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 27_08 Model 3 · 27_03 Vocabulary · 27_09 Model 4 · 27_04 Additional Vocabulary · 27_10 Model 5 · 27_05 Pronunciation Practice · 27_11 Listening Comprehension · 27_06 Model 1
Lesson 28	28_01 Dialogue for Listening · 28_08 Model 2 · 28_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 28_09 Model 3 · 28_03 Vocabulary · 28_10 Model 4 · 28_04 Additional Vocabulary · 28_11 Model 5 · 28_05 Pronunciation Practice · 28_12 Model 6 · 28_06 Model 1a · 28_13 Model 7 · 28_07 Model 1b
Lesson 29	29_01 Dialogue 1 for Listening · 29_09 Model 2 · 29_02 Dialogue 1 for Repetition · 29_10 Model 3 · 29_03 Dialogue 2 for Listening · 29_11 Model 4 · 29_04 Dialogue 2 for Repetition · 29_12 Model 5 · 29_05 Vocabulary · 29_13 Model 6 · 29_06 Additional Vocabulary · 29_14 Model 7 · 29_07 Pronunciation Practice · 29_15 Model 8 · 29_08 Model 1 · 29_16 Listening Comprehension
Lesson 30	30_01 Dialogue for Listening · 30_08 Model 3 · 30_02 Dialogue for Repetition · 30_09 Model 4 · 30_03 Vocabulary · 30_10 Model 5 · 30_04 Additional Vocabulary · 30_11 Model 6 · 30_05 Pronunciation Practice · 30_12 Model 7 · 30_06 Model 1 · 30_13 Model 8 · 30_07 Model 2