Because it doesn’t need to be painful, or feel like hard work. As a language teacher - and learner - myself, I’ve discovered different (and better) ways to get the upper hand on mastering another language. This article will hopefully guide you towards how to listen, to read, to practice writing, and to approach private lessons a lot more effectively - without stress, boredom or frustration! Italian is the gateway to connecting with locals and understanding their culture - let’s make the most of it while we’re here.
Written by: Ché Maria Milani
I’m not one for new years resolutions, but the start of the year seems as good a time as any for certain goals.
Like, learning or improving a language. (Somehow there’s something about being snuggled indoors during winter that leads one to activities that can be done from the couch).
If you’ve been wanting to improve your Italian, but you’ve hit a plateau…
Or you’ve just arrived in the country and you’re ready to throw yourself into the language and culture, but you’re not sure of the best way to get started…
Then perhaps these handy tips and approaches can give you a clearer idea on effective ways to learn a language.
As a part-time English teacher for the past 4 years (and as a language learner myself), I’ve distilled an approach that I believe works - with myself and my students.
It’s simply based on how our brains work, especially as adults who don’t have much time, get bored easily, and hate textbooks.
If you’re thinking it’s odd that an English teacher is giving you tips about learning Italian, just remember this - it doesn’t matter what language you want to learn, the principles remain the same!
As I mentioned, what I’ll share with you works well for my students learning English, and for anyone who’s learning Italian.
Of course, each person learns differently - this is why traditional, academic methods used at school never (and probably never will) work, because language learning is a lot more dynamic than reciting a textbook - and why maybe only one tip will help you, or maybe all.
Who knows.
It’s a process of discovery, exploration and experimentation to find out how you enjoy learning, and how you learn best. This way, you can customise it to suit you.
So, I invite you to play with what I’ll share, and create your own language journey.
Here are 6 insights (with lots of handy tips) to get you started off in a way that just makes sense!
Listening is more powerful than you think
If you think about how babies and toddlers learn to speak, the first thing they do is listen (they have no choice, really). They listen for the first couple of years of their life, and then start to make sense of the world, imitate noises and words, and experiment with self-expression.
And this is exactly how we as adults need to start.
Believe it or not, but there are teachers out there who believe we too should listen only to a new language for 2 years before attempting to speak, but I’m sure many of us don’t have that kind of time.
But listening is still a good place to start if you’re a beginner.
Your first thought is probably about how you won’t understand anything, so what’s the point…or how you won’t be able to remember new words that way, so again, what’s the point.
But your brain is surprisingly adept at subconsciously absorbing information - even in another language.
The more you’re exposed to the language, the more your brain works in the background to make sense of it. This will make more sense as you experience your comprehension increasing.
Often you’ll surprise yourself by wondering how on earth you understood something when just a couple of weeks or months ago, you couldn’t - and you have no idea how it happened.
I promise listening is more powerful than you think.
And it doesn’t even have to be active.
Passive listening works well too - for example, have Italian playing in the background - a podcast, a movie, a series, music. Anything that gets the language into your ears.
According to Manu (the teacher of Italy Made Easy), at the beginning we need up to 6-8 hours a day of passive listening.
Holy cow.
That’s a lot, and who’s got time for that?!
Don’t let it dishearten you. But it shows you how valuable listening is.
I think even just two hours a day is better than nothing.
How about one hour sitting in a coffee shop listening to the people around you (okay, let’s call it what it is - eavesdropping), and another hour having a movie play in the background while you cook, get ready in the morning, or work at your desk?
As for everyone else who’s not a beginner, listening is the way you’ll refine your pronunciation, your cadence, and learn new vocabulary.
Don’t underestimate how you’ll be unknowingly compelled to imitate what you hear…and this is exciting!
In terms of input, I personally love documentaries shown on Italian TV.
But we’ll get to watching very soon - stick around as there’s much to share!
Learning without stress - and even notebooks?
In conjunction with the above, if you're a beginner, I couldn’t recommend this more - especially if you don’t have the time or the money to attend a language school in Milan.
And it’s the audio course by Michel Thomas. When you follow his calm, soothing guidance, and you experience the foundation he creates for you, you’ll honestly love learning Italian.
It couldn’t be easier.
He instructs you to sit back and relax, to not even pick up a notebook to make notes……you just listen, repeat after him, follow his exercise prompts to immediately start using the new language he gives you.
And no vocabulary lists are necessary.
You start straight away with useful verbs and their conjugation, which is the foundation of any language.
I’m not in any way affiliated to him or his courses, I just love sharing this, because I feel without it, it would’ve taken me much longer to get the basics of Italian under my belt.
His courses are solid stuff.
I highly recommend it for beginners.
When reading feels like a chore, do this instead…
A lot of people will advise you to read Italian books, or even kids books. And while I don’t disagree with that, I personally could think of nothing worse (and I Iove reading!).
Muddling my way through a book that uses complex grammar and words I’ve heard or seen before feels like hard work.
And it is hard work.
And stopping every 3 words to pick up the dictionary is not how it's done (more on this soon).
So I prefer magazines.
The articles are generally informative and relevant, filled with useful language - yet brief enough to not bore you.
A 1-page article can easily take you 20-40 minutes to get through and I’d say that’s an ideal amount of focus time. In fact, anything after 45 minutes is heavy-going (this applies to lessons too, but more on that later).
Choose a magazine that interests you, and dive in!
I love Marie Claire, Grazia etc, as there’s a good balance between light and serious topics, and the language isn’t overly formal or academic.
Here’s the methodology to learning from reading without it feeling like a chore:
1. Read once or twice to get the gist → you’ll never understand every word, so please don’t try to, just read for general comprehension.
2. Then read it again, but pause to focus on words you don’t know → be selective, because it’s not necessary to check every single word you don’t know, choose the words that negatively affect your ability to understand the sentence.
Beginner - focus on verbs
Intermediate and higher - in addition to verbs, focus on adjectives and expressions.
3. Select 5 - 10 words or phrases, depending on the length of the article → choose the first word or phrase that you’ll start with, look up its meaning in a dictionary (I love WordReference).
4. Now that you’re familiar with a word’s meaning, write a couple of sentences using that word → can you write a sentence in the present, past and future tenses?
5. Repeat this for each word or phrase - choose, look up, use, choose, look up use. Giving each word or phrase your full attention before moving to the next.
6. Then, use your time with a private teacher to check your sentences. If you don’t have a private teacher, you can use ChatGPT. I avoid Google Translate as the translations are rubbish, and you won’t get any additional information about how to use the word correctly.
By doing this, you’re exposing yourself to the language, imprinting it in your brain by seeing it and writing it, and creating more awareness of vocabulary that hopefully you can practice while speaking.
A tiny tip for using flashcards effectively
There are plenty of flashcard apps out there like AnkiApp and RemNote to name a couple, and the important thing is that they use spaced repetition (like the ones I mentioned).
As you may already know, we need to be exposed to new words and phrases more than once for them to stick in our brains. But one tiny tip that makes a difference is not focusing on words alone.
When you add a new word to your flashcard app, be sure to add an entire phrase using that word. It’s much easier to recall it when you have a bigger mental picture.
Set it up so that you see the English sentence first, and need to remember the Italian version. Yes, it requires more brain work, but that’s the point!
We need to flex that language muscle as much as we can, while still enjoying ourselves.
How to watch TV & movies the right way - to boost your vocabulary & comprehension
Let’s start with the beginner’s approach.
I’d advise watching series or movies that you’re already familiar with in your native language or English.
That way it’ll be much easier for you to understand the context in which all this new language is flying at you.
Watch in Italian, with Italian subtitles.
As with reading and listening passively, there’s no expectation to understand everything.
If you really want to pause to look something up, do so.
But try to develop your linguistic intuition by simply watching in Italian, and connecting it to your understanding of the story.
You’ll see that over time, your understanding will develop more even if you can’t explain why. It’s how the brain works!
For everyone else, as always, choose something you’re genuinely interested in.
Watch in Italian with Italian subtitles.
Challenge yourself by watching a new series, movie or documentary.
There’s loads on Netflix and other streaming platforms. When you’re ready to watch without subtitles - and I don’t mean ‘when you’re fluent’ - I simply mean when you’re okay with not having the subtitles as a crutch, I’d recommend watching documentaries or a light series on Italian TV.
Some of my personal favourites include shows on the Focus channel and DMAX.
Yes, there’s a lot of garbage there too, I know - but the reason I’m willing to watch some of that is because it’s a goldmine of everyday, useful language!
The voices are clear, the language is relevant, and not too technical in terms of jargon or complex grammar tenses.
Other great programmes include MelaVerde and Freedom Oltre Confini.
Gorgeous visuals of Italy, so informative about areas and regions of Italy, and perfect for language-learning - it’ll make you appreciate this country even more!
If you’re ready to get yourself a private teacher, keep this in mind…
Let me start with this, before we dive in.
I’m still undecided about absolute beginners working one-on-one with private teachers - simply because very rarely can one afford daily private lessons, and I think it’s so important to immerse yourself as much as possible when you’re just starting out.
A lesson once a week just won’t cut it, unless you’re very disciplined about daily self-study using all the methods I’ve shared up to this point.
In general, we should be as disciplined as we possibly can…but when we book lessons with a teacher, it’s too easy to assume that the teacher will do the heavy-lifting for you.
I’ve taught a few absolute beginners and it can be challenging for everyone not having the same resources that a language school has, and often the students come with the attitude of ‘Oh, the teacher will teach me everything, I just need to show up’.
If I may be frank - this is completely the wrong attitude to have.
The teacher is there to explain things, to guide you, to correct you, to challenge you, to encourage you…but never is it the teacher’s responsibility to make you fluent.
That is solely up to you, and yes, it means doing the listening, the reading, the writing, and the speaking with a mother tongue teacher / language buddy.
And so that’s why I’m undecided about absolute beginners having private lessons…I think a language school environment is ideal, or start with listening and the audio course I mentioned before.
Build a foundation first.
Now that we know about the slight mental shift that needs to happen in order to be fully in charge of your language learning experience…
Here are a few tips that’ll help you squeeze more out of your lessons with a teacher:
Your goal for your private lesson can be either conversation, grammar, or a mixture of both.
⇨ If your focus is grammar, hopefully the teacher will take the time to source and prep material for you. Make sure you clarify this, as some teachers focus only on conversation.
In this case of focusing on grammar, you don’t need to do much prep yourself, but it’s always a good idea to practice beyond the lesson.
Ask your teacher for additional resources. If he or she doesn’t have them, simply search online for interactive or standard worksheets. (But here, this is where reading and listening comes in handy - as soon as you’re aware of an aspect of grammar, you’ll start noticing it everywhere and understanding how to use it yourself - so pay close attention and try to integrate it into your speaking).
⇨ If your focus is conversation, I strongly advise you choose the topic to talk about and prepare yourself for it!
Find a brief article that both you and the teacher can use as a starting point. Highlight the words you want to focus on, and let your teacher know so he or she can help you practice them during the lesson.
Have some additional thoughts prepared that are connected to the topic, so that you can push yourself to produce what we call ‘long turns’.
Think of them as mini-monologues, as you express your opinion, feelings and ideas about the topic.The more you talk, the more your teacher can guide and help you!
So, don’t hand the mic to the teacher too easily…it’s your time to talk, no matter how silly it might feel. Hopefully the teacher is good at asking questions to keep you going!
This way, you’re ticking so many boxes - reading, learning new vocab, practicing expressing yourself, and getting valuable feedback on your conversation skills.
Ideally, this way the teacher can also understand where your weaknesses are in terms of grammar, and guide you from there in future lessons, coupled with your conversation focus.
⇨ And if you want to go one level up, ask your teacher if he or she’d be willing to create a few comprehension questions based on your article.
That way, you can practice some of the useful language from the article by mirroring the language of the question and the text.
This is a good warm up before launching into full conversation mode on your chosen topic.
⇨ And one more thing to consider when looking for a private teacher - synergy.
I become good friends with almost all of my students (we even go on holidays together!) - this happens because yes, we have loads of lessons together and get to know each other, but……it’s because right from the start, we understood we have many things in common, and the flow of communication was natural, despite language barriers.
This is synergy.
Where you actually get on well with your teacher as a person, not just a source of information.
Where the lessons are fun, even if they’re intense.
Don’t feel bad about doing trial or first lessons with numerous teachers before finding ‘the one’.
Sometimes it takes a few tries.
I’d say synergy trumps high prices and degrees any day. So don’t assume that those things immediately equal a fantastic teacher.
Focus on finding someone who you feel comfortable with, and someone who’s patient, encouraging and open to designing the learning experience around what you like!
Hopefully these tactics and approaches around using listening, reading, writing and speaking to develop your Italian skills will come in handy for you!
If you have any questions, or you’d love to share some tips that really helped you on your language journey, please message me - I’d love to hear from you.
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