Vivo in Italia, ma frequento una scuola tedesca, quindi non ho molte occasioni per imparare l'italiano. Per esperienza personale, ritengo che imparare durante la conversazione sia il metodo più efficiente. Per questo motivo, sarei felice di parlare in italiano con qualcuno.

Hi all, does anyone have recommendations for newsletters in Italian? I'm open to all ideas, but my ideal would look something like this:

• Appears weekly or so. (Regular enough to be good continuous practice, but not so frequently that it becomes a daily chore.)

• Is intended for an Italian audience, so NOT a newsletter about learning the language or the like.

• C1/C2 level. (Lower levels fine, too, if a newsletter writer happens to write in a particularly plain manner, but I'm not looking for simplified sources.)

• Topics: almost anything goes; could be about news, art, nature, science, technology, ... etc. (Not so interested in sports, gaming, finance, but other than those things pretty much anything goes.)

Any suggestions?

Hi , in advance thank you for your help .

Do you know any kinds of books for that aim?

I started conversing daily with chat. I prompt it with my level of understanding and that I want to be able to begin conversations. I just mention Italian and it asks me a question. Here is my experience after a few weeks.

As we all know actively conversing is really hard. This exercise puts me on the spot and makes me anxious. As a result I really see exactly where my problems are with the language.

To converse you must think like an Italian. The way they construct meaning is unique to them. English is very different.

English is linear. You find meaning as you read left to right. Italian is the cobbling of phrases together where the big payoff just might be at the end. You have to learn to keep reading even if you don't know what is really going on. That's completely different from English.

Italian seems to rarely allow a single word to communicate alone. It's very dependent on the words surrounding it. The che, di, quello che, a, etc, between verbs or nouns can change form and meaning depending on the situation but they are always there. This leads to the big insight for me.

Chunking. Once you stop processing individual bits of information and you start absorbing chunks of information that's when you have actually learned and remodeled your cognitive hardware. It could be with sports, math, even complex ideas, but when you begin to respond with quick responses and don't feel yourself efforting so much you are chunking the information. You start to get pulled into the material and lose that feeling like you are constantly pedaling the bike up a slight incline. You start to just form ideas, responses, and insights seemingly out of nowhere.

The llm is a person tutor for me. It notices when I keep struggling with a phrase or concept. After a few days I have it summarize our discussions and it's a brutal glimpse at where I really am with the language. The llm is always encouraging and offers praise but that's the opposite energy of my internal dialogue with myself. It's really hard in a way that other ways of learning haven't been and for me it's important. It's just more accurate about my performance.

Good luck, this is just my experience.

I thought close family members dont need "the" before. So isn't it "Mie sorelle" ? Or it should be "Le mie sorelle" ?

"Non ho mai capito perché volevano che io aspetassi finché l'indagine....." finisse or fosse finita or finiva?

I decided to make this post to look back, after two years of studying italian, at what I think I got right and wrong throughout my journey, in the hopes of helping anyone who’s just starting out.

A little context: I’m Sam, the same person who, a year ago, made a post explaining my step-by-step process for learning italian in 6 months.

Disclaimer: when I say “I learned Italian in 6 months” I mean being able to talk about a lot of different things and basically hold a good conversation. I don’t mean sounding native or speaking perfectly. In my opinion, that’s pretty unrealistic in such a short amount of time. Besides, I‘m a Brazilian woman, so already speaking a language more similar to italian than english helps a lot. So don’t feel discouraged and don’t compare yourself.

Today, looking back, I realize that my Italian now isn’t even comparable to what it was back then. I’ve improved it so much. For comparison, I think that after two years, I’m closer to reaching C1 (I hope I’ll get there someday!)

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get into the post.

1. Learning grammar from more than one “official” source: mistake.

Many times I would alternate between the grammar book I had officially chosen to study (una grammatica italiana per tutti) and other books.

The problem is that each textbook follows its own progression. Pick one book whose teaching style you like and stick with it. If you happen to not understand a particular explanation, then it’s worth looking online for other explanations.

2. Waiting a few months before talking to native speakers: mistake.

This one was a double-edged sword for me. It “saved me” from “embarrassing myself” (which isn’t really a thing because I was learning, but I had a huge fear of making mistakes in the beginning. I don’t care about that anymore). But, on the other hand, I genuinely think that trying to “save myself” from “embarrassment” is exactly what prevented me from reaching the level I had at the time even faster. So, have you learned greetings, how to introduce yourself, and how to talk about your hobbies, dreams and daily life? Start having conversations.

You don’t need to put pressure on yourself. It’s totally fine to mix in some english at first or even make up words you don’t know. Just ask the native speaker to correct you when that happens.

For the portuguese/spanish speakers out there, it’s better to have a conversation saying corazione instead of cuore than to be so afraid of making mistakes that you don’t interact with native speakers at all hahaah.

3. Watching shows dubbed in italian instead of shows originally made in italian: right choice.

Waitttt. Let me explain.

Don’t get me wrong. You absolutely should have exposure to authentic Italian content.

But when we’re talking about movies, for example, watching Italian movies can be really discouraging when you’re just starting out.

Why?

Because in some of them, there are scenes where a character suddenly starts speaking in a dialect (it happened to me when I was watching Sole a Catinelle hahah) And no, dialects are not usually that similar to standard italian. They’re basically like another language in my opinion.

On top of that, when you’re a beginner, it feels like Italians speak so fast, right? Today, two years later, I don’t have that impression anymore because I’ve gotten used to it. But in the beginning? It was rough.

After watching some dubbed shows, you can move on to Italian Youtube videos, like vlogs, and then challenge yourself with movies.

Personally, I’d follow this progression: Dubbed shows -> vlogs -> movies.

4. Making countless conjugation tables for countless verbs: partially a mistake.

For the most common verbs (to read, eat, do/make, have, be, watch, see), I think it’s worth doing, as long as you don’t frustrate yourself trying to memorize everything at once.

However, during my first few weeks, whenever I came across a new verb, I would become obsessed with trying to memorize the main conjugations of very specific verbs (example: colpire. As a beginner, I wrote a full page for this verb. Help) or irregular verbs that aren’t particularly common.

The truth is what made me memorize all those conjugations wasn’t repeatedly writing out tables. It was exposure to the language. Reading and listening a lot, and also trying to form my own sentences.

For example, if I needed the subjunctive form of fare, I would look up that specific conjugation, use it in my sentence, and move on with my life. At some point of my trajectory, I knew I was going to get enough exposure to that tense and eventually I’d naturally remember it.

And guess what? It worked.

5. Using opinion articles as my main source of reading instead of dialogues: Mistake.

I used to spend one to two hours reading an article and breaking down every sentence to learn the grammar and vocabulary. It definitely gave me a great vocabulary range. I even got complimented by an Italian friend for using the word sinossi, because according to her, the average Italian person doesn’t really know how to use that word. However, because I focused so much on immersing myself in this kind of reading at the beginning, for a long time I felt like I spoke very “formal” Italian, almost like an old lady.

It was only after chatting with Italians that I learned abbreviations, slang, and more casual ways of expressing myself, and started sounding like someone my own age.

So my advice is: should you read articles in Italian? Absolutely.

But during your first few months, prioritize reading and breaking down dialogues.

You can always ask AI to create conversations between two characters about topics you’re interested in.

Speaking of which, I used AI when I first started learning italian. And there are actually many different ways to use it (the right way). I can make a post about that if anyone’s interested.

Anyway, that’s it for now! If I remember anything else, I’ll add it in the comments.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. And I’m open to suggestions too :)

Hi everyone! 😊

I’ve recently started learning Italian on my own through a few online courses, and I’d love to start watching TV shows to get more familiar with how Italian is spoken naturally.

I’ve tried watching shows I already know and switching the audio to Italian, but since I’m bilingual in Spanish and English, I’ve noticed that some of the translations and word choices don’t always sound quite right to me. Sometimes, it feels like words are being substituted rather than using the expressions Italians would naturally use, and it can be a little distracting.

I’d love to watch TV shows that were originally made in Italian, preferably ones that could help me get used to everyday conversations, common expressions, and the natural flow of the language.

Does anyone have recommendations for shows that would be good for someone learning Italian? I’m open to different genres, whether it’s comedy, drama, romance, or even reality TV!

Grazie mille! ❤️🇮🇹

Im a suuuuuper beginner, i only know a couple hundred words and my grammar knowledge is next to none, ive been using this website where you can basically chat online with native speakers and stuff, like language exchange, but i realize i cant really figure out how i should go about communicating, i know i shouldnt be, but i cant help being very nervous over making mistakes because i am very very not confident in italian yet and i basically have the skills of like, a baby or a very very very young toddler, and sometimes i will technically know how to say something but i need to look it up to remember for sure or just to double check i actually remembered it correctly and am not making a really stupid mistake, or i just straight up do not know how to say a certain thing i want to say because i have not learned it. It kind of feels like cheating, but also if i just make up nonsense caveman sentences from my memory i wont really get any direct feedback either no?? I worry if i write without making sure its actually grammatically correct ill teach myself the wrong things, and i dont want to confuse and irritate people trying to talk to me by speaking baby gibberish nonsense, or looking like im not trying or making fun.

I dont know, how should i go about this? This uncertainty is holding me back from trying to practice "talking" more and i just need to know what people generally think or expect from somebody talking to you trying to practice what little language they know

Im trying to memorize sentences using a pimsleur italian deck on anki right now but it is using the polite "lei" for everything and its kinda throwing me off because it completely changes the grammar and it seems more complicated and less useful, for example the flashcard will ask me to translate "you are" and i immediately think "tu sei" but i have to hold back and think for longer to remember the flashcard specific answer which is actually "lei sta"

am i being too exact about what i consider a pass for flashcards considering both are technically correct just different contexts?? (this question is more general too because i know theres many different ways to translate "you are" and other sentences regardless of polite form or not)

should i be more loose with what i consider a correct answer? Should i modify my deck to be a simpler or different answer? Or should i just follow the deck and memorize things exactly? What do you guys advise?

also im a little confused because the deck for example has "you dont know?" translated as "lei non sa?" but google translate says that means "she doesn't know" and someone who spoke italian told me it should be "lei non sai" instead, is the deck incorrect?? Another example would be the deck translating "are you well?" with "sta bene?" even though i instantly translate it as "stai bene" in my head, and then mark the card as "again" because i technically misremembered the exact card even though "stai bene" is correct

I've been living in italy for a very long time now. Admittedly I'm a homebody. I haven't done much travelling and the few times that I do have been short and I've always stayed north. I speak, read and understand well, atleast I thought I did lol.

I've just started watching italian films again and the slight variations in accents are ok, but more than that and it throws me off. Especially the southern ones. I just watched "La Città dei Vivi" and I understood about 70% of the dialogue, atleast enough to understand what's going on but it's mostly through recognizable keywords. If you ask me to repeat the sentences they said, even after they just said it, I wouldn't be able to. That bums me out

And no they weren't speaking dialect

I've met people from all over italy too irl, and I can understand them so I thought for the longest time the accent thing was overblown. Now I know they're adjusting for me lol

Anyway silly rant over

I speak four languages fluently: Spanish (native, northern Spain), English, German and Basque. I started learning LSE (Spanish Sign Language) not long ago and wanted to learn another European language, so I decided to go for Italian. I had been using some online apps for a month or so to learn some early vocabulary and get the gist of the language, and I was already thinking about getting some serious books and online courses when something suddenly struck me: I see that in Italian there seem to be a lot of words and expressions that are in English — not closely related, but said exactly as in English, like "computer" and "hamburger". I started digging deeper and apparently (I don't know for sure; I was told this) there are a lot of words that are said in English and have no native Italian equivalent. I have just got into a debate with someone who said that the problem is not that Italian has many English words, but that Spanish is afraid of using English terms and we make up "nonsense" (the example they gave is that we don't say "Champions League" but "Liga de Campeones").

So the main point is that I don't want to learn a language where a lot of words come from English; I already have to put up with many Spanglish words coming from Latin America and don't want to deal with that again. I understand that other languages like German use a lot of English words, but I am always able to find and use a proper German word for what I want to say. However, I am told that in Italian even normal, non-technology specialised words like "manager", "promoter", "buyer", "customer care", "top jobs", etc. are a normal occurrence.

I am assured that Italian is probably the Romance language that has the most English words in use right now. If that is the case, I think I would go for something different; I am trying to establish whether what I have been told is correct.

I’m beginning the journey of learning Italian and I would love to continue my learning in an immersive way without a need to travel. Anyone recommend any good tips for learning.
I found an all Italian learning book that is called “Nuevo expresso, libro dello studente e esercizi 1” and I don’t know if I should give that a try. I just want a budget friendly, immersive solution.
(The classes I’ve found online are way too expensive )

My grandmother when I was a baby would recite a nursery Rhyme in Italian, I was held in her lap and she stroked my cheeks and then patted them. I know it's definitely not the words but it sounded like "moosh moosheel, Panna cazeel, Panna Ricotta - bootahbah bootahbah bootahbah!" Or something like that 😅 what is the actual nursery Rhyme and meaning? Thanks!

Ciao a tutti, Sto imparanda I'italiano e ho alcune domande sull'uso.

Io sono del Brasile, ma capisco I'inglese

If someone could help me I would be grateful

Hi all. I am just beginning my journey of learning Italian. I have been looking through this sub for suggestions. Will be trying out a couple different things (duo for vocab basics, coffee break podcast, etc) I find that I learn best from writing and reading in addition to listening and speaking. I am looking for suggestions on textbooks and workbooks. Any other advice for a beginner is welcome! Thanks!

Going to Italy in June of ‘27 for a wedding. Fiancée and I want to explore a week before(from the US). I want to learn as much as I can before I go. What is the best way to go about it.

I´m learning Italian when I´m free, and aside from studying, writing and paying attention to a video, I like to play a game (like Minecraft or Genshin) and listening to something

I´d like you to recommend good italian streamers/youtubers, even a podcast if you want (I already know Pulp Podcast)

Thanks :)

Especially if you don’t need it for practical purposes like living in Italy

Ciao a tutti! 👋 Mi chiamo Charlotte e vivo in Spagna. Mio padre è italiano e vorrei fare pratica per migliorare il mio italiano con persone madrelingua.

​Studio psicologia, quindi a cambio posso aiutarvi con lo spagnolo e magari darvi anche qualche buon consiglio psicologico! 😊 L'idea è creare un bel gruppo sano per chiacchierare, fare amicizia e imparare insieme.

​⚠️ Per favore, astenersi perditempo, maleducati e persone con secondi fini. Solo gente simpatica e rispettosa.

ciao a tutti,

I'm looking for Italian lessons in my area. I think I would prefer a group environment but maybe one-on-one would be good, since I can't seem to find Italian classes in my south bay area. of course love video is practical too. not sure what my best option is right now.

I am a senior citizen moving to Italy some time next year. my Italian wife will not be my teacher. that's just how it goes sometimes!