How to learn a new language in a fun and engaging way
LikeYou have probably found the latest app that helps with the basics of language learning... and that’s great!
At some point of your learning curve, you’ll feel you need the human interaction and the need to speak to someone and being understood.
The Italian prepositions and the pronouns are giving you some hard time and you think you’ll never get your mind around them?
Why do languages exist?
Languages are the core pillars of communication. Without a language, we would be lost and lonely. Languages exist, so we can communicate and interact with people.
Languages are meant to be the most powerful tools of communication on earth: when travelling or living in a foreign country.
Learning is about guidance and being able to express yourself in your own words. The truth is the human input and interaction are essential if you want to take your language skills to the next level.
Tailored made private sessions of language study with a tutor is not only a very effective way to improve your skills (as your teacher is there to guide you step by step), but this will also help you feel more confident when speaking thanks to specific language tasks and activities carefully designed to boost your knowledge every step of the way in all aspects of the language: speaking, listening, writing and grammar.
What are your 4 top tips for learning Italian?
Each of us learns at a different pace and in a different way.
After each class, you can make the most of your newly acquired knowledge with these top tips:
1. Relax and have fun watching your favourite TV series on your favourite channel.
Why not try watching Ispettore Montalbano in Italian? You can try to watch it with subtitles on to start with. Don’t expect to recognize every word.
Besides, lots of expressions in the series are in Sicilian dialect and even Italians who are not from Sicily struggle with. If you understand the key words, you’ll get the general meaning, and that’s great! You are doing just fine!
2. Take time to think in the foreign language you are learning. Why not get yourself a small indexed notebook (or you can build this your phone) and start building up your own vocabulary list?
This is a great exercise for your mind and will boost your confidence when speaking. Reverso.com is a great free online tool to look up words and to find out about idiomatic expressions.
3. Listen to podcasts such as News in slow Italian and News in slow French which post-beginners and intermediate students find great for listening practice.
4. There are lots of graded stories available in Italian, among my favourites are Dolomiti by Alessandro De Giuli and Ridiamo in Italiano by Leonora Fabbri.
This is a great way to hone your reading and vocabulary skills if you already have some knowledge of the language. This is great practice and will improve your speaking skills over time as you will be training your mind in thinking directly in the target language.
How to make the most of the graded stories?
1. Read a short story as many times as you need to grasp the gist of it. Look up the new words and phrases.
2. Try to summarize the content of the story in your own words by retelling the story to yourself out loud in the target language.
3. Record your own voice while retelling the story and write the summary down.