Hey, how do you learn Italian? what textbooks and apps do you use? Can you give any tips for someone who is just starting out? Thanks in advance?
Hi!! Thank you for your question.
Here is a rough plan I made when I started this blog, which is July 2017. It contains a list of resources I was using at the time. I don’t have access to my Schaum’s vocabulary book at the moment, but I’ll be resuming it when I get home. I would definitely recommend it if you’re an intermediate learner like me.
Other resources I’ve used consistently over the past few months are:
this website for free ebooks
this website for free audiobooks
raiplay for series and films (I also watched Suburra on Netflix, it’s brilliant and you should go watch it right now)
Eduopen.org and federica.eu are two websites that contain MOOCs in Italian, if you’re into that
You could also consider getting the raiplay radio app on your phone to listen to the radio, podcasts, and audiobooks. Note that not all of their content is available outside Italy.
My routine is now doing a MOOC class (making notes and looking up new vocabulary) in the evening, or going on tandem and chatting to people, because I really have to focus on university studies. (I 100% recommend getting tandem on your phone. It’s free and really fun)
Before that, I used to read a lot of articles on La Repubblica - just pick a section that interests you. I liked reading outloud to practice speaking, and it also made me focus on the text more. At the end you could make a list of words you don’t know. I also used to watch Cucine da Incubo (the Italian version of Kitchen Nightmares) and the dubbed version of The Nanny, there are lots of other fun programmes available on youtube so just look for something you find interesting. That way you won’t feel bad about procrastinating.. because you’ll be doing it in Italian!
Here are some other useful posts with resources (links included)
radio stations
podcasts
movies and series
a masterlist of italian resources
My tips for someone who is just starting out would be:
Do something every day. Or every other day, if you have little time. This is a lot better than just doing a lot on one day and then doing nothing for the next week or two, or three… your brain won’t retain new information if you don’t practice
Make it fun and varied. I don’t use apps like memrise, duolingo, etc for any of my target languages because I find them very boring and repetitive. Find a routine that works for you.
If you are a complete beginner, take your time to understand the grammar. Verb drills, gender agreement, articles, and the like. Find a grammar book you like and stick to it. You could look up exercises online to complement it.
Again, if you’re a complete beginner, start by listening to Disney songs! Look up the lyrics, print them out or write them down if you like, highlight new words, try to translate the lyrics line by line, and/or learn the songs by heart. When you’re a bit more confident in the language, find artists in genres you like and listen to them, and do the same. I listen to a lot of rap music, for example. I look up the lyrics on rapgenius and try to follow them and understand what they mean.
I know I’ve said this before, but go on tandem. Try to have a conversation, even a very simple one. Ask your language partner to correct you if you make a mistake.
Good luck!!! If anyone else has tips or resources for beginners, it would be lovely if you added them to this post!
