Tips and tricks for learning Italian easy way
Hello, I am Roberto and I teach Italian at Scuola Leonardo da Vinci Milan. My students often ask me for useful tips for self-learning and I am happy to share my answers with you all.
HAVE FUN
Learning a language is a difficult task, don’t make it harder by reading and listening to uninteresting stuff. Many of our students are art lovers and they crave Renaissance culture, but it’s not always the case! Italy is a country with a rich cultural heritage, but there’s a lot to find also in contemporary culture. What are your interests in life? I am sure you’ll find the Italian way to practice them.
That’s also why at Scuola Leonardo da Vinci we consider outdoor activities as important as the classes. We have a rich calendar of events to satisfy the needs of everybody because once you’ll find your Italian passion, learning the language will be much easier.
DON’T PUNCH OVER YOUR WEIGHT
Have patience. Don’t engage in too complicated tasks, they’ll just leave you with a sense of frustration and won’t help your learning.
Of course, probably the main skill of a good teacher is to select the right content for your level but here are a few tips to try on your own.
So, you want to read a book or watch a movie in Italian, of course! But what is your level? Engaging in these activities before level B1 is not recommended, unless you’re fluent in another Romance language. You might start with newspapers, but well, economics and politics are not the easiest subjects. My suggestion is: start with something you already know. Maybe read the same news twice: first in your language and then in Italian. There’s plenty of it on the internet!
Maybe even articles might be a little too long for your level and you look for something shorter. Are 280 characters short enough? Start by reading Twitter. Select Italian accounts you find interesting and start following their tweets. Many students told me it helped them a lot.
TALK THE TALK
So, you think you won’t speak Italian before you go through the whole Italian grammar system? Well, it’s more likely you won’t AFTER you went through the whole grammar system, without exercising your oral skills. There will be a lot of confusion in your head, you won’t have strategies to organize your speech, you will not be able to remember very simple words. Basically, you will be acting like that guy who wanted to learn how to swim on a book.
At Scuola Leonardo da Vinci, our students start talking on the very first day of school and they never stop. Are you shy, are you lacking confidence? Many students are, that’s why it is important for us to create a school environment that makes you comfortable. Mistakes are welcome because they help us to learn and the conversation is always appropriate to your level. A good teacher is like a good TV host, he has plenty of resources to help you speak.
But you need to speak as soon as you can, in order to develop strategies that help you be effective in communication and it takes time to develop these skills. Don’t waste it on another tiny grammar rule if you feel you can’t have a basic conversation.
Of course, in Italy, there are plenty of occasions to speak Italian, but what about your city?
Well, your city is connected to the internet. You can take an online course or find people with whom you can engage in oral conversations through Whatsapp or other social networks. Do it safely but, most importantly, keep in mind that you can’t progress unless you can understand and speak some Italian.
Well, thanks for reading and write us to let us know if these suggestions proved to be useful.
I will be waiting for you in Italy, whether they'll work or not!
USEFUL LINKS:
Read more about our tips and tricks for learning italian easy way:
- How can I learn Italian at home?
- What is the best and easiest way to learn Italian?
- Studying online is fun: the opinions of the students of our online Italian language courses
Scuola Leonardo da Vinci Milan
Thanks to its prestigious universities and academies, Milan is the elected place of education for numerous Italian and international students.
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