This fall we’re planning a very special trip. To celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary and my husband’s retirement, we’re taking a 10-day Mediterranean cruise, roundtrip from Rome, with our daughters and son-in-law. Following the cruise, Harry and I will be spending another week in Italy . . . where, we’re not just sure yet, but we’re thinking we’d like to rent a place and use it as our base for various daytrips into the countryside. I’d been toying with the idea of taking a basic Italian language course to give me more than the “buon giorno” and “arrivederci” I’ve mastered, but I hadn’t gotten around to checking to see what the local colleges might offer. Then one day I was proofing the copy for GT‘s July Technology column (you won’t be seeing it for a few more weeks yet) and was introduced to Mango Passport. A couple of details in the description of the courses grabbed me right away: unlike some mail order or online courses, the cost is a very reasonable $150 per course, and the focus is on conversational skills, with words and phrases a business or leisure traveler would find most useful. After checking out Mango’s website and trying a free sample of the first lesson, I decided to take the plunge. The course downloads to a desk- or laptop computer or even an MP3 player and is served up in chapters broken into lessons that require only about 10 minutes each. I’ve worked through the first chapter already, and there are several features I like. I’m a fairly visual learner, so I appreciate being able to see the words in both phonetic and actual spelling, with the English translation color-coded to match the Italian words in a sentence. I can hear the words spoken slowly, one at a time, by rolling over or clicking on each one; or I can click on an icon which produces the phrase in conversational flow. I can also record myself speaking a given term or phrase and then “voice-match” it to the instructor’s speech for a visual and audio test of how closely my pronunciation and inflection pair up to a native speaker’s. Interspersed with the word practice are explanations of basic grammar (which appeal to my English-teacher self) so that one can begin to see how to construct one’s own sentences. Even better are the cultural tips, which help a newcomer avoid social and cultural faux pas. I’ll keep you posted on my progress, but so far I can report I am enjoying wrapping my brain around a new language with the Mango program. They offer courses in 16 languages, from German and French to Chinese, Japanese and Greek. Ciao! — Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor