QUOI DE NEUF

1. Choose a good Italian school with a communicative method. The best language teachers (like me!) always adopt an active approach and they use “authentic” materials, with topical texts, useful grammatical analysis, ongoing linguistic exchanges, interesting videos and audio materials, in addition to exercises such as educational games, puzzles, the reordering of sentences, etc. etc. 2. Study systematically and with commitment. Having a good school and an excellent teacher is not enough. You will need to establish a regular daily timetable for studying Italian. Try to learn at least five new words a day, repeat them frequently to memorize them and use them whenever possible in speaking. You could put them in alphabetical order or arrange them thematically to expand your range of vocabulary. 3. Be curious about Italian language and culture. Find out what's happening in Italy. Use Italian television channels and online news channels to keep up with current affairs and politics. You can also investigate Italian traditions and customs in order to understand the Italian of life, and our particular mind-set thinking and way of doing things. 4. Read all kinds of texts in Italian. Keep an eye out for anything you can find that is written in Italian, even if is it “only” a short job advert an advertisement or a brochure, etc. You might even try reading recent Italian novels, newspapers and magazines, Remember that Italian (unlike English or French) is basically a phonetic language, so the words are pronounced almost exactly the way they are written. 5. Write with a pen and paper. Use a pen and paper, avoiding devices with a spell-checker if you can. Express yourself in short sentences at first, while searching for synonyms, proverbs and typical expressions to make your texts as idiomatic as possible. 6. Start to speak Italian as soon as you can. This is quite easy to do if you are already in Italy, as most people in Italy cannot speak a foreign language and they are usually happy and willing to help you to speak Italian. If you live outside the country, you can visit Italian associations or cultural centres, or the places where expat Italians tend to gather. Make friends with as many Italian speakers as you can find! 7. Sing. Songs are particularly easy to remember, thanks to their rhymes and rhythms, and they help you to learn new vocab with the correct pronunciation. Italian singer-songwriters, particularly those from the 50s to the 80s, created songs with long poetic texts. Choose singers who clearly pronounce the lyrics. Some of the best are Lucio Battisti, Mina, Raffaella Carrà, Gino Paoli, Lucio Dalla, Fabrizio De André and Luigi Tenco. Look up their music on Spotify or find their videos on Youtube. Then you can memorize their songs. 8. Watch films. Italian Cultural Centres constantly organize film showings and festivals, and the latest films are usually shown abroad in the original language, with subtitles in the local language. 9. Listen and repeat. Listen to videos and audio recordings several times, and repeat what you hear. This constant repetition will help you to remember. Use good online dictionaries that provide audio recording of the words you are looking up. 10. Use social media Intervene in online forums and debates, comment on posts, write your own posts and propose interesting topics. Participate in language exchange groups, and if possible try to make friends online to exchange messages and emails.