The Worst (and Best) Ways to Learn Italian

The Worst (and Best) Ways to Learn Italian

Today, we’ll explore the best and worst ways to learn Italian. Let’s explore the pitfalls that can lead to frustration and what you should avoid at all costs.

Italian is a beautiful language spoken by millions worldwide, making it a popular choice for language learners. Due to similarities in vocabulary and sentence structure, it’s also considered one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn.

However, like any language, Italian has its complexities, and mastering it requires patience and perseverance.

In this video, I’ll share my personal experiences, including the mistakes I made early on and the strategies that now help me on the path to fluency.

Whether you’re just beginning your journey or you’re stuck in a learning rut, this video offers valuable insights to help you avoid common errors and adopt more effective strategies.

Let’s embark on this journey together, supporting each other!

▶️ Common Misconceptions to Avoid:
• Sole Reliance on Immersion: While exposure to the language is important, it’s often insufficient without structured learning.
• Overemphasis on Formal Study: Rote memorization of vocabulary and grammar rules may hinder practical application.
• Passive Learning: Listening to Italian media without active engagement limits language acquisition.

▶️ Effective Strategies to Embrace:
• Immersion: Incorporate Italian into your daily life through media consumption, social media, and environmental changes.
• Formal Learning: Consider enrolling in language courses, utilizing online platforms, or participating in language exchange programs.
• Active Engagement: Practice speaking, writing, and reading Italian regularly. Use techniques like shadowing, parroting, and spaced repetition.
• Technology: Leverage language learning apps, translation tools, and online resources to supplement your studies.

▶️ Overcoming Language Learning Challenges:
• Perfectionism: Embrace mistakes as a natural part of the learning process. Focus on progress rather than perfection.
• Consistency: Dedicate regular time to practice, even if it’s in short bursts.
• Support: Connect with other learners or language communities for motivation and guidance.

Learning Italian can open the door to new cultural experiences and personal growth. With the right mindset, effective strategies, and a willingness to embrace the learning process, fluency is within your reach.

Remember, it’s about 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 perfection – so enjoy the journey!

⏱️𝗩𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗢 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦⏱
00:00 The Worst (and Best) Ways to Learn Italian
00:18 Why Most People Don’t Reach Fluency
00:37 The Difference Between Sicilian and Italian
02:01 Three Common Misconceptions about Learning Italian
02:07 Not studying at all – relying only on immersion
04:30 Formal study alone won’t make you fluent
04:49 Rely only on passive consumption
05:09 Language Learning Tools and Resources
06:09 Traveling and Immersing Yourself in the Culture
07:21 Note-Taking and Learning Myths
08:12 Recommended Apps and Strategies
10:24 Overcoming Perfectionism in Language Learning

Video Transcript

Have you ever wanted to learn Italian and just felt stuck? If you have regrets or feelings of failure, you’re in the right place. I’ll share my personal failures and in hindsight what I should have avoided. And let you in on what I’m doing now that really works to speak fluent Italian.

Ways To Learn Italian

Did you know that around 80 to 90 percent of people who start learning a new language don’t actually reach fluency? Yep, factors include lack of time, low motivation, ineffective learning methods, and unrealistic expectations of reaching their goal. And I have dealt with each and every one of those and there are more, I’m sure.

My biggest regret ever is not learning proper Italian many years ago. I am fluent in the Sicilian dialect and it’s much different than the proper Italian language.

For example, the word where in Italian is dove, dove. In Sicilian, it’s unni, unni. My wife in Italian is mia moglie. In Sicilian, it’s mia muggliere. So it’s different. Sometimes the root word even changes.

So if you’re from a different region and you speak that particular dialect, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Whenever I’m out and about, particularly in a restaurant, I like to speak for myself. I don’t want to rely on my husband to speak proper Italian to the waiter or the waitress.

But usually I start with non so parlare bene in Italiano; posso parlare in dialetto? I don’t know to speak Italian well, may I speak in the dialect? And they always reassure me, yes, ma’am, that’s fine. Go right ahead. We’ll understand you just perfectly.

So it’s accepted. And culturally, it’s a very rich language with lots of history behind it. But it’s really beneficial and advantageous to be able to speak proper Italian. And that’s what I’m studying now.

Misconception #1 – Not studying – relying on immersion only

I’d like to share three common misconceptions with regards to learning a new language. The first one is not learning or studying at all and relying only on immersion or being around the native speakers.

Even before Croce and I were married, I tutored his nieces, Daniela and Angela. They had moved from New York to Pennsylvania where we were. And they needed some help after school.

They needed some tutoring because they were in a private school, and it was much different than New York. So I went over after school every day to help them. Well, the family spoke Italian, of course, and the kids did too. They were bilingual.

So I thought, this is great. I’m going to pick up Italian and be fluent in no time. Well, I did pick up some words here and there and some phrases. It did help, but I was not fluent just by being around Italian speakers.

To be completely honest, so many people make excuses. In this day and age with so many resources and tools available, there really is no excuse.

If you want to learn Italian, you can do it. It may take some work. You may have some challenges, but you definitely can do it.

I recommend learning Italian by combining various methods to ensure a well-rounded approach. And I’m going to share some effective strategies.

First is, I already mentioned it, immerse yourself. You need to be watching Italian films. Listen to Italian music.

You can read books and articles. You can change the settings on your phone to an Italian keyboard. You can start parroting what you hear and speaking.

After you hear something, say it and try to work on your pronunciation. You can switch your social media to Italian. I know on Facebook, it comes up because I have a lot of Italian friends.

It comes up, keep English or the original Italian. Every time I log on, it has that question. So you can change the language of your social media. This will really help you familiarize yourself with everyday language and the spoken word of people in our culture today.

I definitely would not rely on old library books or outdated textbooks and grammar drills without actual practical application. If you spend all your time memorizing vocab in isolation without ever practicing or speaking or listening to the language, you’re going to miss out on the nuances of real-life usage.

Misconception #2 – Formal Study alone won’t make you fluent

Another misconception is to expect that just formal study tactics like vocabulary words or writing flashcards of words or keeping long notebooks of phrases and sentences will do the trick of you learning to speak Italian fluently. That in and of itself does not work.

Misconception #3 – Rely only on passive consumption

Another one would be relying only on passive methods like listening to Italian TV or Italian music or listening to podcasts perhaps without engaging yourself in actively repeating or speaking the Italian words and phrases that you hear.

You could enroll in an Italian class at your local community college or possibly online. And if you’re willing to audit the class and not participate with quizzes and exams and have a grade and have help from the teacher or professor, then there are some places that allow you to audit the class for free.

You could find online platforms such as Duolingo, Babbel, and Rosetta Stone.

You could use language apps like Memrise and Busuu which offer structured lessons and practice. There’s such a thing as language exchange. You could connect with native speakers through platforms like Tandem and HelloTalk.

HelloTalk has a free opportunity where you can get with somebody that speaks Italian. You can help them with their English. And in exchange they will help you with your Italian. And of course there is a paid version where you would have coaching from a one-on-one native Italian speaker but the free version is an exchange.

So that’s a really good deal. Another effective method is to use sticky notes. You can put a sticky note for the Italian equivalent of the word, the vocab word, wherever you want to learn.

Whether it be in your kitchen, your office, your bedroom, or even your closet. I suggest no more than 15 to 20 at a time and when you learn that word or phrase, you can throw it out and replace it with something else you want to learn. It really does help.

Obviously, travel or study abroad is the best way to learn the language because you can immerse yourself in the culture and be surrounded by people speaking the language.

And if that’s not possible for you, if you really can’t afford a long-term stay like that, you could check into websites that offer pet sitting or house sitting.

A lot of times owners of Italian homes or villas or even apartments go away for business trips or on vacation, and they need someone to stay with their pets or take care of their property and so that may be a way to exchange living in Italy for providing a service.

I’m not sure not all the places pay, I don’t think, but there’s different tiers that you can check into but that may be an opportunity for you.

I think it’s a myth that whatever we write down we retain. I think it’s a combination of methods that help learning a language.

Because when I kept vocabulary notebooks and wrote different phrases and copied things over from a study book, I never really went back to revisit those notebooks so it’s kind of a waste of time.

I believe that when we combine different methods, that’s the best way for retention and for learning the language actually.

Hearing it, speaking it, repeating it, or parroting what you hear. Hear a phrase and then you say it several times. Pause and you repeat what they say.

Working on your pronunciation, enunciation, jotting down the word, creating sticky notes for vocab. All of these things together will help you with the language. There are so many free apps at our disposal.

Duolingo, Language Transfer, which you can listen to someone else’s Italian lesson. For vocabulary apps, Anki is a free open source flashcard program that uses spaced repetition to help users memorize information and it’s available on Android, iPhone, and desktop. HelloTalk is an exchange where you teach your language and you can learn the language of your choice.

BeeLingua is an app that has the English text and the Italian parallel translation, which is really great for solidifying that understanding.

Of course, everyone needs Google Translate in their arsenal and I recommend parroting and shadowing so you mimic the speaker’s pronunciation, intonation, and cadence when you’re listening to Italian being spoken. You stop, you pause, and you practice.

You parrot, you shadow, you mimic what they say. So that really, really helps. And you practice reading out loud and summarizing what you read.

There are lots of paid apps if you have the budget for it. Pimsleur is one for more content and supplemental tools like flashcards and vocabulary quizzes. It’s a monthly subscription.

LingoPie is actually similar to Netflix. It has an extension for Netflix and you can choose Italian. You can choose up to nine languages and you can click a phrase to see what it is in English.

That is a really cool app. I talked about HelloTalk. There is a paid version where it’s an hourly rate where someone can teach you the language of your choice.

Preply is an app where you get a coach and you pay hourly. Glossika is an audio flashcard app actually at intermediate learner level and it’s mostly listening mode. Assimil is a great online resource and usually costs between $50 and $70 per course.

Teach Yourself is another one. For intermediate users, watch videos with subtitles and listen to podcasts. LingQ allows you to consume content in the form of podcast, text and transcriptions and form of short videos. LingoPie is great for TV series and movies.

The key is to consume. What comes in goes out.

Biggest Hurdle To Learning A Language

The biggest hurdle to learning a language, I think, is perfectionism. Wanting to sound perfect. Not wanting to make mistakes.

Not wanting to sound dumb. Feeling stupid because you make a mistake or don’t know how to say something perfectly. Go ahead and try.

It’s okay. We fail forward to success. We learn from our mistakes.

Don’t worry about making mistakes. You don’t need to sound great. You just need to learn as you go.

People love that you’re making an effort. So make the connection. Speak it.

Say it. Try. You have to get out of your shell and really try because that’s when the magic happens.

Each day is a layering process. You’ll learn more the next day and the next day and the next. And celebrate your small wins. Celebrate your successes. Because even being able to phrase three words together is a huge accomplishment in another language. It’s all about connection, not perfection.

If you like the content, please give us a like and subscribe. You can check out our membership where you can get special perks. And also there’s a monthly call where we do a video chat to speak Italian, Sicilian dialect, a Q&A, or just visit.

It’s your choice. Ci sentiamo presto. Talk to you soon.