How to Learn Italian- Free, Proven, Tips and Tricks

 After my first few trips to Italy, I began to develop my own “system” of learning the Italian language. It truly did more for me than any class or course I ever took part in. It is an easy, 4 pronged approach that allows you both expand vocabulary and speak more proficiently. Here are the steps:

1- “Point and Say” (vocabulary acquisition)

I know this sounds crazy, but just look around you. Can you name everything around you in English?Great. Now name them in Italian. Not as easy.

All you need to do is:

Point to an object (any object) in your home or office and name it in Italian. If you do not know the word,look it up. Thereafter, refer to the object by its Italian name. This allows you to learn Italian words for items you are surrounded by on a daily basis. This familiarity, in turn, keeps the new word fresh inyour mind.

Why does point and say work? Because your language classes in school went over the “most important”vocabulary to know- and left out a ton of “trivial” but equally important vocabulary. Point and say also works because it gives you a great deal of new information quickly and incorporates it into your personal surroundings.

If you want to get a jump start on Point and Say habits, follow us on Twitter. We'll be tweeting “point and say” items daily!

2- Reading the "common" language(sentence construction)

 This step is vital not only for vocabulary, but also to understand sentence construction. Italian differs greatly from English in terms of how sentences are composed. Seeing it written will clear up many questions- and let you know you didn't“mishear” something.

Where do you find the common language? Italian newspapers, magazines and blogs. For the first few weeks or months, I would avoid Italian books. Periodicals tend to use simpler, more concise language- whereas books tend to go into exacting detail. You want the basic before graduating to the more advanced.

3- Television/Radio/Movies/Youtube(pronunciation, vocabulary, sentence construction)

Here is where you get to create an Italian “bubble” in your home. For about 3 hours per day, listen to or watch something in Italian. If it is a movie, it can have subtitles- but try to avoid relying on them. Use them to double check your own translation of what happened. If its a song, look up the translation when you have the time to see if your translation was correct.

This allows you to hear pronunciation-and believe me, pronunciation is key to Italian. It varies greatly from English and needs close attention to detail. Here's a quick review of some of the hardest sounds to pronounce:

“Gli”- in English, this would be pronounced “glee,” which is wrong. In Italian, it is close to the English pronunciation of this: “L YEE”(spoken as one word)

“Gn”as in “gnocchi”- in English, I have heard people say“guh-no-key”- which is wrong. The “g” is not pronounced- butit effects the sounds of the “n.” In Italian, the pronunciation is a “nyuh” sound. This would make it “nyuho-key”

“Chi”- In English, I have heard people pronounce this as “Chee” as in the beginning of“Cheetah.” I have also heard people pronounce it as “Ch-i”,as in the first three letters of the country “China” In Italian,the C combines with the H and I to form a word that sounds exactly like the English “Key”. (see the above, phonetic spelling on gnocchi- it ends with “key”)

“Ci”- In English, I have heard people pronounce this as “see” or as “ Ch-i” as in“China.” In Italian, the proper pronunciation of C+I is “Chee”as in the first letters of the English word Cheetah.

4. “Parroting” (pronunciation)

Just as the term suggests, this step requires you to repeat what you've heard- just as you've heard it.This step allows you to pinpoint pronunciation and master key terms and phrases. You needn't do it for everything you hear- but take a few phrases you've heard either on the radio or TV and repeat them to yourself, just as they were said. This repetition allows you remember pronunciations of words and recurring sounds as well as absorb vocabulary and, more importantly- get accustomed to Italian euphemisms, turns of phrase and expressions.

5. Tutoring*

The above 4 steps are great, free tools and methods to learning Italian. However, at some point, you may want to consider getting a tutor to practice the language. This truly builds confidence like no other step above can. While the cost of tutoring can be expensive, ItalianAware has developed a program for New York City residents which is affordable for all. If you canafford private, 1:1 lessons we have a program for that. If you wishto learn in a group (and keep costs way down), we also have a plan for that :)

Tutoring is not essential to learning Italian- you can do it completely on your own. Just understand thatit takes time and you need to be patient. The results will come and you'll be proud. But, know that if you do wish to be tutored effectively- ItalianAware is here to help. (click to see our schedule)

 
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