101 American English Idioms: Understanding and Speaking English Like an American Review

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(More customer reviews)The appearance of the book is excellent: both the graphics and the audiotape are excellent ways to help you learn the expressions. However, during my stay in the US, I found that most of the idioms are rarely used.
If you are a foreigner, and want to learn how to speak American English, get 'Street Talk 1' instead.

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Everyday Idioms for Reference and Practice (Everyday Idioms for Reference & Practice) (bk. 1) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've found that quite a few books contain idioms that are only used in parts of the U.S., or are out-of-date or unusual. One of my international graduate students commented that she constantly saw the idioms she had learned in print- these are really the idioms that are popular and taken for granted. I only wish that there had been more information about how to use the idioms correctly in context; more definition of the socio-linguistic limits.

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Everyday Idioms One and Two bring the challenge of learning typical American English expressions within any student's reach. Each book presents over 1,200 idioms within tightly organized semantic categories. No other idiom texts give as comprehensive coverage of essential American idioms or make them as accessible to students.

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Street Talk-1: How to Speak and Understand American Slang (v. 1) Review

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(More customer reviews)'Street Talk 1' is my favorite book on the topic. Although I have a decent collection of slang dictionaries, I found this one to stand out for several reasons:
First of all, it is full of terms that are ACTUALLY USED in the US today. No big deal, you might say, but most of the other books available on US slang would only be useful if the professors writing them could first convince Americans to learn and use the expressions contained in them ;)
Secondly, the EXERCISES at the end of the chapters are VERY HELPFUL to learn the expressions.
I recommend this book to every foreigner trying to learn how to communicate with Americans.

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Street Talk 1 contains more than 1,150 commonly used American slang terms and expressions...the words and phrases heard everyday that don't always make sense. If you are confused by American English and would like to speak and understand like a native, you need to read this book! Street Talk 1 is the first self-teaching book on American slang that is written for the non-native speaker. Readers will learn the "inside" language that is heard in everyday conversations, at the movies, on the radio, and seen in books, magazines, and advertisements. This often mysterious language of slang and idioms is clearly explained through dialogues, pronunciation tips, word games, and illustrations.

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Dirty Spanish: Everyday Slang from "What's Up?" to "F*%# Off" (Dirty Everyday Slang) Review

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(More customer reviews)They never teach you slang in those high school foreign language classes. At least they never did in mine. But of course, we all wanted to learn how to swear in the language we were learning. I became better acquainted with the intricacies of another language when Maria, a foreign exchange student from Colombia, and I became friends. I mispronounced something that caused her (1) face to turn tomato red, and (2) to break out in hysterical laughter. Although I knew I'd just committed some major faux pas, she would never tell me what I'd actually said. That alerted me to the fact that I'd better be careful what I say when I try to speak someone else's language.
A little book like Dirty Spanish is a great tool. Not only will it help you to not sound as if you've just wandered out of Spanish 101 in high school, you'll learn that harmless slang in Mexico might get you a fist in the nose in Spain. Divided into chapters such as Howdy Spanish, Friendly Spanish, Party Spanish, Body Spanish, Angry Spanish and Hungry Spanish (among others), the author also tells you which Spanish-speaking country uses the particular phrase. There's lots to learn in these 126 pages, and you'll laugh along the way.
Dirty Spanish is indispensable for any trip you're planning to a Spanish-speaking country, or if you just want to understand what Spanish-speaking employees are saying as they walk past. (I'd received a compliment and didn't even know it!)
[...]

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GET D!RTYNext time you're traveling or just chattin' in Spanish with your friends, drop the textbook formality and bust out with expressions they never teach you in school, including:•Cool slang•Funny insults•Explicit sex terms•Raw swear wordsDirty Spanish teaches the casual expressions heard every day on the streets of Spain and Latin America:•What's up?¿Qué tal?•I'm wastedEstoy fumigado.•Your mom's a ten.Tu vieja es un cuero.•I gotta take a piss.Necesito mear.•I wanna nail that ass.Quiero clavar ese culo.•What a sunnuvabitch!¡Qué 'jueputa!•Goooooaaalll!¡Gooooooolllll!

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Street Italian 1: The Best of Italian Slang (Street Language) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you're learing Italian, even if you're not planning to go to Italy - you may benefit from watching Italian movies. You can learn slang from the movies, too, but having a book which some common expressions spelled out may help you, too. It will also help you if you're socializing with Italian crowd in your neighborhood. It will spice up your interaction and you can enjoy the pleasure of understanding what they're talking about when they use slang.
The previous reviewer pointed out that Italian language has been standardized - all that this means is that everyone is learning in school the same Italian. People from different regions at home may still use the dialect from their own region, so for example, a Calabrese will speak the standardized Italian, but he may also use Calabrese dialect.


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Francesca ha una cotta per Giovanni! (trans.): Francesca has a crush on Giovanni! (lit.): Francesca has a baking for Giovanni! Ho mangeato in un ristorante caro, dove mi hanno spennato! (trans.): I ate at an expensive restaurant and got fleeced! (lit.): l ate at an expensive restaurant and got plucked! Mamma mia! Even after years of trying to learn Italian, you still have trouble conversing with a native speaker. Why? Because everyday Italian is filled with slang and colloquialisms. Street Italian 1 is the first in a series of slang/idiom books that teach you how to speak and understand the real language used daily on the street, in homes, offices, stores, and among family and friends. Entertaining dialogues, word games and drills, crossword puzzles, word searches, and "inside" tips will have you sounding like a native in no time at all.

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