The main objective of ADESSO.t， A Functional Approach to Italian is to allow<br > beginning students of Italian the opportunity to learn how to understand and use<br > the language in different situations. For this reason， the structure and content of<br > each chapter are shaped by functional notions. In addition， each chapter in the text，<br > as well as the corresponding chapter in the workbook， provides ample opportunity<br > for the student to develop formal skills through the grammar presentations and<br > activities.<br > The term functional in this book has two meanings. First of all， it expresses the<br > view that students need to know language forms and communicative notions in<br >order to carry out certain functions， i.e.， routines encountered in everyday life.<br >Thus， for example， if one were to order a coffee at a bar， the functional approach<br >would determine the structures and communicative tasks required to carry out this<br >particular social scenario.<br > Secondly， most of the activities in which students practice what has been intro-<br >duced in a specific section of a chapter are designed as functional， i.e.， they involve<br >the student in some activity based on that particular function， such as ordering<br >coffee.<br > This book is the product of over twenty years of teaching beginning Italian at all<br >levels of education， from the elementary school to the university. It contains ideas<br >and material developed over these years that have been found to work well with a<br >wide range of student learning styles. Most of the material has been "tested out" in<br >various high school and university classrooms in the city of Toronto and its<br >surrounding regions. Only those features found to be successful year after year have<br >been incorporated into the framework of the text.<br > I would like to thank my students and colleagues， all of whom have given me<br >their precious feedback over the years. There are simply too many to mention by<br >name here. I would like to express my deep gratitude to the expert editorial staff at<br >Heinle & Heinle， and especially to Erika Skantz， Julianna Nielsen， Mary Root<br >Taucher， and Stan Galek， for providing me with valuable insights， suggestions， and<br >most important of all， encouragement， during the long and laborious development<br >of this book. I would also like to thank the following people who reviewed the<br >manuscript:<br >Walter Blue， Hamline University<br >Brian O Connor， Boston College<br >Diane Musumeci， University of Illinois<br >Thomas Cravens， University of Wisconsin<br >Louis A. Bruno， Cranston High School<br >Thomas Cox， San Diego State University<br >Laura DiGregorio<br >Giovanna Miceli Jeffries， University of Wisconsin<br >Annamaria Moneti， Syracuse University<br >Marcello Scarsella， Snowden International High School<br >Beth Wellington， Simmons College<br > Finally， I express my appreciation to the designer， Jane Carey; the native<br >readers， Alessandra Crainz and Lucia Conti; the proofreaders， David Baker and<br >Grisel Lozano-Garcini; and to Nicole Baker for additional editorial help.<br > I truly hope that students and teachers alike will find this course to be a reward-<br >ing learning experience. Adesso， let s begin!<br >