The Icelandic Canadian - 01.10.2002, Page 42

84
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 57 #2
cassette so that the reader can follow the
dialogue in the book and hear the correct
pronunciation. The book is printed with a
little symbol of a cassette to let the reader
know that this part is covered in the tapes.
From time to time, the narrator on the tape
suggests alternative options for listening to
the tapes. She will suggest the listener take
the part of one of the characters in the nar-
rative or stop the tape and repeat the words
after each sentence or phrase. The people
playing out the various scenarios on the
tapes are native speakers of the language
and are clear and concise in their pronunci-
ation. This makes them easy to follow in
the text and to imitate in the speaking.
As a lay-teacher of colloquial Icelandic
classes in an informal setting, it has been
excellent for me to read the book from
cover to cover. Explanations of grammar
rules are what my students are constantly
requesting and these are the questions for
which I don’t always have an answer. For
someone who learned to speak Icelandic
outside of a school setting, the grammar is
instinctive, but the speaker doesn’t always
know why one says something one way or
another. The book goes a long way to
making Icelandic grammar less of a mys-
tery.
This kit is a great choice for someone
who is intent on learning to speak
Icelandic. The tapes are excellent, but they
are not relevant on their own. The kit is a
full package and the two components need
to be worked together. Flowever, after fol-
lowing the interactive book/tape lessons,
the students will have a fuller understand-
ing of the object of the lesson and they
could spend extra time with the tapes on
their own. They could give themselves
auxiliary practice on a portable cassette
while driving back and forth to work, or
walking the dog. After several months of
listening to his or her master, perhaps even
the family dog will be more conversant in
Icelandic!
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