How I got a B2 in Italian in 1.5 years
Anon requested me to share my secrets with you and I will try my best to do so. I don’t use all of these resources very regularly, but I think they could all help you with your studies. Some of these resources will be in Dutch, because that happens to be my native language. I included them because there might be Dutch speakers reading this and some resources might also exist in other languages.
Invest in a good dictionary!
Online dictionaries can prove very useful because they’re faster, but books are often more accurate
I use both, but am yet to find a good online Dutch-Italian dictionary
(For native Dutch speakers: I highly recommend Van Dale)
Vocabulary and grammar (app/website)
Took me about 6 months to finish
Use the desktop version: it’s where you can find the grammar
Take notes of the grammar!!
It’s not always 100% accurate but the basics are explained very well
Write down the vocabulary
I made a word document that went article + Dutch word/article + Italian word/article + Italian plural
(shoot me a message if you want it!)
I finished the tree before starting books, because I don’t like the idea of working with two (or more) different “full” resources at the same time
With “full” I mean that they’re not additional information you look up so you can understand a concept better, but actual resources that you’re going to study as a whole
This app is also from Duolingo: for Italian, they’ve got flashcards for the Duolingo tree, so you don’t have to make them anymore! Sadly I only discovered this months after I finished the Duolingo tree so it wasn’t useful for me anymore, but honestly I think that’s a blessing if you want to repeat vocabulary!
You can also make your own flashcards: you can keep them private or not and they’ve got audio.
I heard a lot about it, saying it was good for vocabulary so I thought I should give it a try.
I didn’t like it, I don’t really know why: I think it’s a good app, it just didn’t work for me.
Make your own flashcards or use decks made by others.
There are also other things like diagrams but I haven’t tried that so I wouldn’t know how it works
Conversation practice (app)
It’s an app to chat with natives of the language you’re learning
Possibility to send voice messages, there’s an in-app dictionary, you can send pictures, you can video chat or call and most importantly: if there might be any problems, you can report and block.
I have not encountered a single person who is not there for learning, a problem that apparently exists on other apps.
You can also pay to get classes by teachers on there, and they’ve also got Tandem Pro without adds and probably some other advantages, but the free version is great as well
It’s mostly short stories and fairy tales
Some are paying, some not
You can turn on the audio
I turned on notifications for this one, so I can see what the important stuff is in Italy right now
I don’t often read whole articles, but I should because it’s great reading practice + you learn about politics, culture…
Newspapers often use a more difficult language, so I recommend this to people who are intermediate
Vocabulary + grammar (book)
I started this after finishing the Duolingo tree and then it’s not useful, because it starts from scratch.
Good alternative if you don’t like using apps like Duolingo
(Got it from @lovelybluepanda)
Vocabulary + grammar (book + CD)
I only got the book and not the CD (I got the book from lovelybluepanda‘s account, idk if she’s even got the CD?)
I liked it, although too easy because I had already finished Duolingo.
Very good grammar explanations
Just plain grammar, but great explanations
I started taking notes from it, but rn I’m redoing it because 1) I should revise my grammar 2) the first notes I made were awful 3) I didn’t even get to 1/3 of the book
It’s a lot, but I love it
It has a workbook! Great exercises!
I also got this one from lovelybluepanda
Snelcursus Italiaans: grammatica
As you might have guessed, it’s in Dutch. But because it’s a translation from German (Durchstarten in Italienisch-Grammatikk) I thought there might be other translations out there :)
I use it to look up stuff, not so much to actually study from
Qui Italia più: corso di lingua italiana per stranieri: livello medio (quaderno di esercitazioni pratiche)
This one is completely in Italian
Nuovo progetto italiano: quaderno degli esercizi
Grammar, vocabulary, exercises (book + CD’s)
Got this one at my language school in Rome and I quite like it (I got the B2 version)
Lots of different exercises, listening practice, reading, conjugations…
I’m not the type of person who keeps a diary but I’m trying to keep one for Italian and Norwegian. Just talking a bit about your daily/weekly activities, feelings… can make you feel more familiar with the language
If you’ve got a bullet journal, maybe you can do it in Italian?
Easier said than done? You’re right about that.
I’ve recently spent 3 weeks in Rome with a language school while staying in a host family and honestly I learned so much. I don’t speak Italian with anyone here and speaking Italian all day long improved my level so much.
So if you have the possibility: plan a trip to Italy, talk with natives (in my experience: they’ll be more than happy to chat with you).
If people start to talk to you in English, don’t be scared to switch to Italian. Most of the time they’re very excited you speak the language!
Switch your phone/tablet/computer/… language to Italian
A thing I was too lazy to do so after 1.5 years I still don’t know it and believe me, that can be annoying
Look for other resources! Especially in your native language!
Do not solely rely on this one post please
Follow as many Italian langblrs as you can: search for Italian vocab lists/grammar posts/… and follow the people who made them, there are also posts out there with lists of Italian langblrs (I’ll make a list with the ones I follow below)
Translate: I like to translate parts of wikipedia articles, Dutch to Italian or Italian to Dutch
Make a topic jar: lovelybluepanda has got a post with topic ideas
Listen to music, podcasts…
Watch Italian tv! Italian tv is unbelievably shitty but I like to watch quizzes in particular because if you don’t understand one part, that’s no problem: the next part will be about something different.
Read books! You can start with children’s books, from B1 books like the first Harry Potter books are doable, What I also find a good idea is reading a book in Italian that you’ve already read several times in your native language. That way you already know the story line and it’s not a problem if a certain part is too difficult for you
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