TIPS ON ITALY by Tonya Clement
Tips for Learning the Italian Language
We know the best way to learn Italian is to immerse ourselves but that is easier said than done as we can’t just move to Italy for a month or two. I have been struggling with how to become more comfortable with learning and speaking Italian while living in the US. After five years, I think I have figured out a few ideas that will keep us all challenged and provide a few methods to the madness. It goes without saying that the key is to spend time every day learning and practicing.
Here are some ways to do just that.
- Jumpstart your language learning journey by enrolling in a class with the Dante Alighieri Society of Denver. Our program offers a variety of valuable resources—most notably, skilled instructors who will guide you through learning materials and help you refine your pronunciation. You'll also benefit from the structure of weekly classes, keeping you motivated and engaged. Plus, your instructor will be available to answer questions and support your progress between sessions.
- Meet with your fellow students outside of the classroom to practice. Not only can you meet up at fun Italian venues, but you can also simply meet just prior to class to review the lessons of the prior week. It is helpful to see where others excel and where they struggle. You will learn by helping others through their rough patches.
- There are now many AI applications that now allow to choose an Italian speaker to converse with about any topic you choose. You can speak or write to your chosen Italian partner and the machine will score and correct your responses. When you do not know how to respond, it will give you an appropriate response. The thing I like best about this is that I can simply listen and practice my comprehension. If the speaker is talking to fast, I can slow down his/her delivery or play it back multiple times until I grasp the dialogue. My favorite AI application is MYF (makes you fluent).
- Watch movies and tv programs either in Italian with English subtitles or in English with Italian subtitles. There are many options available via Netflix and Prime. This is a great way to learn because the movie provides context for what is being said which makes comprehension a bit easier. We are more likely to remember words if we can connect them to the specific situations we might use them in.
- While a bit more challenging to find, a pen pal in Italy is ideal. If you meet someone during your travels to Italy, ask them if they will stay in touch and be willing to correspond periodically. I found this to be really beneficial. I write to my pen pals in English which helps them improve and they write to me in Italian which helps me improve. I sometimes have to read their letters multiple times and when I really get stuck I use Google Translates to bail me out.
- Place a label on all artifacts in your home with the Italian word. Leave it up until you master it. For example as you walk into your kitchen you will have sticky stating ‘cucina.’ It will be annoying at first but in time, you will have mastered the Italian word for everything in your home.
- Listen to Italian music and podcasts. This will familiarize you with the tones and sounds and likely entice you to learn more.
- Purchase and read Italian children’s books. These books are typically full of illustrations and images that are tied to simple illustrations that make memory and recall easy.
- Subscribe to an Italian newspaper or publication. The biggest benefit of the news is that it is written in standardized way or delivered in a standard dialect which removes slang and colloquial language. Write down unfamiliar words and look them up. Soon your comprehension will improve and you will be picking up the gist of the message.
- Embrace and record all of your mistakes. We tend to learn more from what we do wrong verses what we do right. If you are not failing, you are not trying hard enough. If you use the wrong word, write down a phrase using the correct word and then create a new phrase using the word you mistakenly used incorrectly.
You now have new ways to practice the Italian language. If you can commit to doing one of the above daily even if only for 10-15 minutes, you will slowly get comfortable with the language and before you know it, you will be communicating in Italian with more ease and comfort.
Buona Fortuna!