English is the primary language spoken in Australia, Canada, the Commonwealth Caribbean, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This course teaches Standard American English as spoken in the US. Instruction is in Italian.<P><B>Comprehensive ESL Italian I</B> includes 30 lessons of essential grammar and vocabulary -- 16 hours of real-life spoken practice sessions -- plus an introduction to reading. Upon completion of this Level I program, you will have functional spoken proficiency with the most-frequently-used vocabulary and grammatical structures. You will be able to: <UL><LI>initiate and maintain face-to-face conversations, <LI>deal with every day situations -- ask for information, directions, and give basic information about yourself and family, <LI>communicate basic information on informal topics and participate in casual conversations, <LI>avoid basic cultural errors and handle minimum courtesy and travel requirements, <LI>satisfy personal needs and limited social demands, <LI>establish rapport with strangers in foreign countries, <LI>begin reading and sounding out items with native-like pronunciation. </LI></UL>