Hi all,
This my first post
We are planning to move to Italy from north west of England in a few years time when we retire, we are both 50
Just wondering in regard to learning the language, whether you guys have found it better to go to a class or online and what you feel is the best method for you?

Thanks
Rob

For me, definitely going to a class, as you pick up a lot from the others in the class too, the questions they ask, the mistakes they make etc., etc.. Also it can be a bit of a laugh too, which makes learning easier.

I would also do as much as you can at home, whether on line or with CD's, it will all help.

Good luck.

Also try the BBC online interactive language course that you can doo at home at your leisure.

we took private lessons from an Italian lady she was really good. she does the translation for both Shell and JCB so she was no mug. Lives in Nantwich Cheshire if it's anyway near you.

Thank you for advice í ½í¸€

Where does she live if Nantwich is nowhere near them?

I'll get me coat .....

Try a bit of everything it all helps in the end. Duolingo, a free program on the internet, is very good. You can also download podcasts of RAI three radio programmes. If you have a VPN you can watch RAI TV. Try reading Italian language books and also Italian papers are available on line. In short try it all and good luck.

Firstly well done for thinking of learning now. I've been learning (slowly) for years as hope to eventually move to Italy. The only time it really improves is when I'm in Italy and even then it takes at least 3 days to start to kick in - then it all comes back to me really fast. No sooner am I getting to grips with it (and correcting or adding to my recent mistakes) than I have to go home again. So everyone's advice about immersing yourself in it is useful.

I'm a similar age to you and it is hard when you get to a certain age to learn a new language. I knew if I tried to learn the traditional way of grammar rules I would be bored and switch off. So I decided to learn like a baby/young child would do, by listening and trying myself.

I found the easiest and fastest way for me to learn was to start with Earworms CD's (or downloads). If you read the rave reviews on amazon I can confirm they are true. It really sticks in you brain! Not long after I started learning with them I stunned my entire family in Italy - they were left open-mouthed at what came out of my open mouth. Do everything it says - ie, read the tiny little booklet first and follow instructions. Do it as often as you can. I did it when cooking and in the car and tried to do it a minimum of 3 times a week but sometimes it was 5 times. However, it was only short in duration, I kept repeating until I could move on. I found Earworms the faster than other CD's - its something to do with the rhythm they add to it. Seriously try it. Its great for pronunciation too.

Once I had conquered those I moved onto some free Michel Thomas CD's that came with the newspaper - but I think you can get his CD's from the library.

Then I changed my TV language to Italian. The only station it affects is the EuroNews but it is all in Italian and is obvious the topic of the day. Its rapid fire but persevere.

I also did as suggested above - listened to and watched Rai TV.

Oh and one big top tip that I gained from a language learner off the net: Soap Opera's tend to use only 500 words and all on repeat. So they suggested watching Il Posto al Sole on YouTube. Its easy to get the gist of that too and really helps. Its set in Naples and one character speaks Neapolitan dialect (well maybe more do, but that is how it comes across to me) but the rest seem to speak Italian - at least I hope so. In fact, its a great reminder to me to watch them again.

Also when in Italy buy children's books - they really help too, especially classic stories you would understand. When you have been learning for a year or so then buy some dual learning books from amazon and another great one is a book sold by amazon called: Lightning Fast Italian for Kids and Families. You need a willing partner though. It cleverly has standard questions and answers for you to carrying out at home (What would you like for breakfast? I would like Eggs/Waffles etc.). You could have a laugh with it as there are questions like "what are you wearing today" and "what did you do at school today". Only buy this book after you've learnt pronunciation via the CD's though, because I think the person who wrote this must be American and the pronunciation parts sound American to me and you might then pronounce it differently.

I also have a great picture dictionary too.

If you want to learn it faster then a language learning person on the net says the best way to learn a language fast is to do it 5 times a day but in short bursts and to repeat until you have got it.

I agree - DuoLingo is really really good. But start with Earworms first. You can try it out on their website first, I think.

Hope these tips help. If you can spare some time in Italy and immerse yourself in Italian only places you will improve fast, but you must not be afraid to speak it and make plenty of mistakes. I once forgot the name for Eggs in a shop and ending up doing an impression of a hen laying an egg. Thankfully everyone found it hilarious but in some areas of Italy it could have gone horribly wrong.

Good luck!

Mrs T

Agreed with most of what Mrs T says. I haven't come across duolingo so can't comment. I hate Michel Thomas with a vengeance. For me he commits the unforgivable sin of teaching things that are directly wrong, only to then correct you much (and I do mean much, i.e. one or two CDs) later - for example that the future of parlare is parlarò.

In my view the more exposure you get the better - I think this explains Mrs T's reported leaps forward when she comes to Italy. Just think that if you study 3 times a week (30 minutes each time?) you'd be getting 90 minutes exposure a week. In Italy it would be much more, especially subliminal, seeing and hearing Italian all round you.

To Mrs T's list I would add:

1. Italian newspapers online.
2. Internet radio. If you are a 'radio person' and can organise Italian radio on at home, even if you don't understand it, it will go in.
3. And finally, the University of Urbino used to offer residential courses (2 or 4 weeks) in Italian for foreigners during the summer - at reasonably modest cost. I am sure other Universities do as well, but Urbino's the only one I've experience of and it was excellent.

Good luck, and the more you work now the easier (i.e. less difficult) it will be. Above all, as said before, go for it and don't worry about the mistakes.

I can second/third the good things said about Duolingo.

Thee is also an android app.

As for the dreaded grammar I have checked this out and it is now on its way to me. It seemed very good.




Also this: - also looked good from my perusal of it - am waiting for the new edition to come out:


Reviews of earlier editions are online on amazon.

RAI is blocked in the UK unless you use special systems*

but this is available in the UK:

TG - Videolina

Click on TG and you can see the last news.

There's also an Android app which allows you to select one of a few recent TGs and also individual stories. It seems to work fine but on my android tab at least has an oddity - even after exited it I seem to later get messages popping up every now and again saying that it has crashed and has to close. I can stop this by, after using it, going to apps, deleting the cache and forcibly stopping it. But I stress that the app itself works fine.

I seem to vaguely remember once being told that Sardinians were supposed to speak particularly good Italian (whatever that is) but do not know if this is true. Have been told all sorts of stuff in Sardinia, including that there is supposedly a serious theory that it is actually Atlantis.


* Buy you wouldn't want to watch RAI Uno News anyway would you?

As far as grammar is concerned I can second sunnysider’s ‘Talk Italian Grammar’ recommendation. It’s a small book, explains basic Italian grammar very intelligibly with good examples. It is easy to find your way around the book. I bought it when I started learning Italian and still refer to it.

I also like . It’s a large reference book but is also easy to find your way around and it works for beginners and advanced learners.

I find News in Slow Italian | Learning Italian online useful. It broadcasts weekly podcasts of 4 news pieces, with transcripts. The pieces are read at slow and normal rate. There’s also a grammar spot with exercises and a new Italian expression each week.

For vocabulary the Collins Italian-English dictionary available as an app on Apple is absolutely brilliant (Ultralingua Inc).

And I also write all my new-found vocabulary in a flashcard app ( Flash Cards++ for iPhone and iPod Touch). It’s a good way of revising and reinforcing and only takes a few minutes every day.

Many thanks for the slow italian ruby.

I'll pop later with some web pages and android apps i have found useful.

I'd second this. I got all the Earworms cds/mp3s, but they're not particularly expansive. They only cover the basics one might use on holiday. Anything more than that and Earworms is rather lacking.

I always found the Teach Yourself range of books to be good companions. Enough grammar to inform, but never overwhelming.

Buy a 60cm dish and a cheap sat receiver ( I paid £12, Ebay from Singapore) and point your dish to the Hotbird satellite. The footprint covers all Europe.
There are thousands of clear channels and hundreds of those are Italian including Rai 1.2.3.4, Roma, Puglia, etc etc.
This is what Italians watch in Italy.