These are great books that I still use!
First of all, I'm not an expert in Italian, far from it. I didn't take a degree in Romance languages at the university level, nor have I ever done a year abroad in Perugia following the footsteps of Italian-obsessed students from every point on the globe. I learned Italian whilst doing my four year Pharmacy degree at the University of Alberta. In my professional program, we weren't allowed to take extra courses that were not already part of the pre-set schedule given to us each year. Cue the background music: rebel, rebel...I did not find this satisfactory because I was on a mission and the mission was to learn Italian. So after much back and forth between the Faculty of Modern Languages and the Faculty of Pharmacy, I was able to add in Italian as an exception and I went through three years of pharmacy taking Italian 'on the side'. Sometimes this meant missing the odd Italian class, other times this meant missing a pharmacy lecture on SSRIs (pharmaceuticals are an entirely separate language!). I want to be very specific in this so you reading this know I was not an overnight success by any means- I attended Italian an hour on Mondays and Wednesday and 90 minutes on Tuesdays and Thursday every semester for three years. The first two years are when the professors were most fundamental. This is when I learnt and dissected the GRAMMAR until it made me sick and I never wanted to hear 'passato prossimo' uttered one more time. Note that this, in my opinion, is key. Once you know grammar, the rest is slowly adding to your vocabulary. It has also been said that you cannot learn a language without knowing your own first. This is very true and I think that's also a struggle for us native English-speakers, we are not very cognisant of our own language's elements.
Anyways, if I were to do it all over from scratch, this would probably be my plan of action:
1. Sign-up for a language course that is INTENSIVE. So a couple hours a day for at least two months OR private lessons for an hour a day, 4-5 days/week. (I realize this sounds difficult but I really, truly believe that an hour a day of grammar study at the beginning creates the foundation for success in any language). (GRAMMAR)
2. Get a language buddy. You need a mothertongue speaker to converse with so whether you find someone online or find a Meetup group, you'll want to practice conversational skills at least once a week. (LISTENING/SPEAKING)
3. Listen to Italian radio as background noise. This is to help with everyday speech and pronunciation. Radio tends to use alot of common idioms and the speed at which they speak is 'normal' compared to CDs and tapes which are typically slowed down. Sometimes the problem with this is that you then get used to a slow rate of speech and then you encounter real Italians and your brain wants to explode.
(IDIOMS AND PRONUNCIATION)
4. Translate songs and magazines from Italian to English. This is primarily to help hone vocabulary and is a fun way to do it. (VOCABULARY)
5. The last step is no slacking! I kind of think learning a language is like going on a diet. The phases are rather similar too, you're always more enthusiastic at the beginning but that slowly wanes over time. You have to continually be an active learner in a language. I started studying Italian almost 8 years ago and I never ever let a word pass me by untranslated. If I see a word, phrase, or expression I don't know, I consistently look it up in that moment.
I've talked about this topic numerous times in the past, so certainly check out this link about The Language for more posts.
Anyways, if I were to do it all over from scratch, this would probably be my plan of action:
1. Sign-up for a language course that is INTENSIVE. So a couple hours a day for at least two months OR private lessons for an hour a day, 4-5 days/week. (I realize this sounds difficult but I really, truly believe that an hour a day of grammar study at the beginning creates the foundation for success in any language). (GRAMMAR)
2. Get a language buddy. You need a mothertongue speaker to converse with so whether you find someone online or find a Meetup group, you'll want to practice conversational skills at least once a week. (LISTENING/SPEAKING)
3. Listen to Italian radio as background noise. This is to help with everyday speech and pronunciation. Radio tends to use alot of common idioms and the speed at which they speak is 'normal' compared to CDs and tapes which are typically slowed down. Sometimes the problem with this is that you then get used to a slow rate of speech and then you encounter real Italians and your brain wants to explode.
(IDIOMS AND PRONUNCIATION)
4. Translate songs and magazines from Italian to English. This is primarily to help hone vocabulary and is a fun way to do it. (VOCABULARY)
5. The last step is no slacking! I kind of think learning a language is like going on a diet. The phases are rather similar too, you're always more enthusiastic at the beginning but that slowly wanes over time. You have to continually be an active learner in a language. I started studying Italian almost 8 years ago and I never ever let a word pass me by untranslated. If I see a word, phrase, or expression I don't know, I consistently look it up in that moment.
I've talked about this topic numerous times in the past, so certainly check out this link about The Language for more posts.
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