Clara’s Verdict
Paul Noble’s language courses have built a loyal following on the straightforward promise of a method that actually works: no grammar drills, no rote memorisation, no failure. The beginner Italian course is widely loved, and Next Steps in Italian is the intermediate follow-up, designed for people who have completed the foundation course and want to build on it systematically. The honest caveat to lead with is this: the intermediate course is, in part, an audio version of Noble’s Unlocking Italian book, which means some listeners who have already encountered that material may find significant overlap. For those coming to it fresh from the beginner audio course, however, it is a natural and well-structured progression.
Expectations matter here more than with most language courses. Understand what this is – a consolidation and extension of the beginner method, not an advanced course – and you are likely to find it genuinely valuable.
About the Audiobook
Noble’s method rests on a key insight that sounds obvious when stated but is routinely ignored by conventional language instruction: most adults fail to learn languages not because they lack intelligence or aptitude, but because traditional instruction creates anxiety. Grammar tests, public correction, the constant threat of making embarrassing mistakes in front of others – these do not facilitate learning. They prevent it.
By removing all of those elements and replacing them with a conversational, deductive approach – where learners construct sentences by thinking through the logic of the language rather than retrieving memorised forms – Noble achieves genuinely impressive results. The method teaches Italian as a system of patterns that can be combined, not as a list of forms to be learned by heart.
The intermediate course runs at just over 7.5 hours (the publisher notes a 12-hour course including a downloadable booklet accessible via Collins’ website), and focuses on building confidence to construct sentences independently across a wider range of scenarios than the beginner material covered. It picks up directly where Learn Italian with Paul Noble for Beginners left off.
The Narration
Noble himself is the voice of these courses, and his approach – calm, unhurried, genuinely encouraging without being saccharine – is fundamental to why the method works as well in audio as it does in the classroom. He does not perform enthusiasm; he embodies patience. There is a consistent sense that he genuinely believes his students can succeed, and that confidence is contagious even through a recording.
The classroom format, in which two students participate in a live lesson and Noble coaches them through errors as well as successes, gives the listener a sense of active participation rather than passive reception. This is a more important design choice than it might initially appear: hearing another learner make a mistake and correct it is more instructive than simply hearing the correct form presented cleanly.
What Readers Say
Rated 4.2 out of 5 on Audible UK from 13 reviews. The range of opinions is instructive. Those who loved the beginner course and came to this one directly found it “an excellent learning aid” and appreciated the natural progression. Those expecting genuinely new material beyond the beginner level – particularly the imperfetto, present perfect, and more complex conjugation patterns – were somewhat disappointed, noting that the content overlaps substantially with Noble’s existing published material.
One critical reviewer described it as “not a good sequel,” wishing it had addressed the grammatical areas where intermediate learners typically struggle most when speaking with native Italians. The lesson is straightforward: this is not an advanced course. It is a consolidation and extension of the beginner method, and it performs that function well.
Who Should Listen?
Ideal for listeners who have completed Noble’s beginner Italian course and want to build on it in a structured way without switching methods. Also well-suited to self-described “false beginners” – those who have studied Italian before but never achieved conversational ease, and who want a low-stress, audio-friendly route back into the language. Less suitable for learners who are already comfortable with basic conversational Italian and need focused work on specific grammatical structures. Follow this with Noble’s Intermediate course for continued progression within the method.
Listen to Next Steps in Italian with Paul Noble on Audible UK
