1. Why Learn Italian Today
Learning a new language can be intimidating, but with consistency, the right resources, and the assistance of a qualified trainer, you’ll become a proficient speaker before you know it. If you’re still not convinced and need some motivation to get started, take a look at all the amazing ways speaking Italian can improve your life not only in the United States but all around the world.
Travel to Italy
As the fifth-most visited country around the globe, Italy has a lot to offer. Although you don’t need to become a fluent speaker to appreciate the beauty of this country, being able to express yourself well and understand others will completely change the way you experience Italy. In the first place, you’ll get to communicate clearly with the locals, which will allow you to get additional information about the places you visit, and may even help you discover some of the hidden gems that are kept secret from tourists. Secondly, you’ll be able to participate in local celebrations and actually understand what is taking place, which will allow you to get a deeper understanding of the local traditions and not feel like an outsider. Finally, you’ll be able to get by much more easily, and not have to depend on tour guides to get to know the country and its people.
Rome
Florence
Venice
Torino
Tropea
Get to Know Other Cultures
Italy is not the only place where the language is spoken, and it’s a useful skill to have when visiting places like Switzerland, Croatia, and Slovenia, which have beautiful regions you can visit where you’ll find Italian speakers. What’s more, you’ll be able to visit countries like Spain, Portugal or France and understand many of the phrases and words in the local language, making Italian one of the best languages you can study if
you want to get to visit as many countries as possible.
”Our instructor helps us immensely in understanding and overcoming so many of the nuances that are present in the Italian language.”
Steve Meyer - Italian course in Las Vegas
Advance Your Career
Did you know that bilateral trade between the United States and Italy accounted for $66 billion in 2020? This means that if you have a business in the US and learn Italian, you could profit from the successful business between the two countries and build useful relationships with other Italian speakers that help your business expand beyond the local market. Alternatively, if you’re interested in getting a well-paid corporate job, becoming bilingual will ensure you can access unique opportunities in top Italian companies in the country, such as CNH Industrial, Autogrill, Lavazza, and Luxottica.
Start learning Italian for your career
2. Learning With a Teacher vs Learning Italian on Your Own
After deciding to study Italian, there’s another decision you have to make, and that’s whether you want to study the language on your own or whether you want to get the help of a qualified teacher. If you’re finding it too hard to make a decision, take a look at some of the pros and cons you need to know about before making such an important choice.
Studying on your own
Do you want to be in charge of own your learning program and look for your own materials? If so, you might consider studying Italian alone, as it’s completely free and you can do it whenever you want. However, many learners soon discover that creating your own program is not as easy as it sounds and that it can quickly become a rather tedious process that can leave you feeling unmotivated and make you want to quit learning altogether, so before you set yourself up to fail, you should really consider whether you can really do this on your own.
Learning with a teacher
Getting the help of a native teacher is the most efficient way to learn a language and stay motivated through the whole process. If you book one of our Italian courses, one of our tutors will create entertaining, flexible lessons you can enjoy in the comfort of your home, your office, or even online, and enjoy all the benefits of having someone guide you in your journey to fluency and answer all your questions. What’s more, you won’t have to worry about getting your own resources, as your tutor will find updated materials that make learning Italian a really enjoyable experience you will never forget!
3. What Types of Italian Are There?
If you ever set foot in Italy you’re probably aware that, although Italian is the country’s official language, there are more than 30 different dialects and other languages spoken in the territory. Depending on what part of the country you visit, you might listen to people speak Piedmontese, Calabrian, Sicilian, Friulian, Sardinian, or many others. But don’t worry, even if the locals of a particular province prefer to use a dialect at home, 93% of the entire population speaks Italian, so you’ll be able to communicate with them without problems.
4. Italian Culture and Why You Should Learn About It
To become as close to a native speaker as you can, it’s not enough to spend hours and hours learning grammar or expanding your vocabulary, you also need to explore and get to know the fascinating Italian culture. This will help you understand the way the Italians see the world, get to know their values and traditions, and get many of the cultural references you’ll hear on TV or in movies. In case you want to know more about Italian culture, here are some interesting facts you might not know about:
Many Italians are superstitious, and as a result, there are certain things they don’t do to avoid bad luck. For example, some people never lay their hat on their bed, as it’s considered unlucky and associated with death. It’s also bad luck to make a toast with a glass of water, so if you happen to be celebrating with a group of Italians, imitate them and grab a glass of wine before you make the toast. Another thing you’ll notice is that 13 is not an unlucky number like in many parts of the world, but the number 17 is, so sometimes you’ll find that hotels or buildings are missing the seventeenth floor.
Italians value family, and because of that, they enjoy frequent family gatherings
and give family members a special place in their lives. On top of that, their notion of family is much more inclusive than in other countries, and as a result, they have strong emotional bonds with people that in other parts of the world would be considered distant relatives.
Italy is well-known for its delicious pasta, pizzas, cheese, and wonderful olives,
but did you know that they are also the world’s largest exporter of wine? On top of that, Italians consume over 45 bottles of wine per capita every year, so if you enjoy good wine, you’ll have a great time over there.
Learn Italian culture with our native teachers
5. Resources to Learn Italian
If you can’t wait to start learning Italian and you’re looking for ways to do it at home and for free, let’s take a look at some of the best resources you can use to improve your skills starting from today.
Language Learning Apps
To truly make progress while learning a new language, you need to be consistent. Language learning apps can be really helpful for that since you can use them anywhere you go. If you’re a complete beginner and want to learn your first words in Italian, you can try apps like Mango, which can help you gain fluency at your own pace, and Busuu, which offers feedback from native speakers to help you improve your skills. On the other hand, if you’re the sort of learner who enjoys using flashcards to expand your vocabulary, you can try apps like Tinycards and StudyBlue.
Italian Music and Podcasts
A great way to improve your listening skills is to listen to music and podcasts in Italian regularly. This will help you get used to the Italian sounds and also connect with the language in a different way, which will keep you motivated to study it. If you want to get to know some of the most renowned Italian singers but you don’t know where to start, you can check out some of the articles on our blog such as 5 Italian Artists That Will Blow Your Mind, and Learn Italian Through Song: 5 Top Family-Friendly Songs of Italy both of which have some great recommendations. Alternatively, if you prefer to listen to podcasts, you can start with Italy Made Easy, which was specifically created for Italian learners and offers podcasts at all levels, or Italiano Automatico, which is completely in Italian and aimed at learners who want to immerse themselves in the language as much as possible. If you want to get to know other podcasts, take a look
at 5 Great Podcasts to Increase Your Language Skills.
Italian movies and TV shows
Umberto D
(1958)
La Dolce Vita
(1960)
La Vita é Bella
(1997)
Lazzaro Feliz
(2018)
Bycicle Thieves
(1948)
Call me by your name
(2017)
One of the easiest and more entertaining ways of learning about Italian culture and boosting your language skills is to watch films and TV shows in Italian. On Netflix, you’ll find that there are plenty of great movies like Lazzaro Felice, Natale a 5 Stelle, and Benvenuto Presidente, as well as amazing series such as, you can check out Incastrati, Generazione 56K, and La Luna Nera. The way you can use these resources to take your skills to the next level is by following the next steps:
Step 1: Choose a film or series that looks interesting and watch it with English subtitles. This will allow you to understand everything perfectly while you pay attention to see if you recognize phrases or words that you already know.
Step 2: Rewatch a scene that you like, but this time, change the subtitles from English to Italian. Because you’ll already be familiar with what happens in that scene, you’ll be able to focus on the language and try to learn new vocabulary that you can write down to use later.
Step 3: Watch the scene one more time, but this time without subtitles, which will help you solidify all the new words and phrases that you learned, and allow you to start feeling comfortable watching content in Italian without having to translate everything.
Read the News in Italian
If you’re wondering how you can make the habit of reading in Italian every day, you might want to start reading the news in Italian. This is a great practice not only for acquiring new vocabulary but also to be familiar with what is happening in Italy at the moment, as well as find out the way Italians perceive the events that are taking place in the rest of the world. If you’re not sure where you can find the latest news, here is a list of websites you can check out:
ANSA, or Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata, the leading wire service in Italy you can read both in Italian or in English.
Il Post, where you can get free news in Italian about the economy and politics.
EuroNews Italy, where you can enjoy live news about Italian culture, science, and sport.
Lercio, which is an extremely creative website where you can find funny fake news and political satire that will help you get to know Italian humor.
Italian Verbs Conjugators
Learning how to conjugate verbs in Italians can be one of the most challenging aspects of learning the language. If you feel like you still need some extra help, in addition to asking your teacher to help you out, you can use online verb conjugators such as Conjugator Reverso, Cooljugator, Verbix, and The Conjugation, which will
make your life much easier and help you improve your grammar.
Italian Level Tests
Lastly, if you want to check your progress and find out how good your language skills are, you can take Italian Level Tests. Although you’ll find many different tests online, on our website you’ll find a completely FREE level test in Italian which you can do in just a few minutes and a get a score to know exactly what language level you’re in. This can be helpful to get course books, grammar books, and other materials at the right level
and also to find a perfect language course that’s neither too easy nor too difficult.
Sign up for an Italian course with experienced tutors
6. Is Italian Pronunciation Easy to Learn?
Italian pronunciation might pose a challenge for beginners, especially if you don’t speak any other Romance language like Spanish, French, or Portuguese. However, once you take the time to learn some of its rules, and with the help of a qualified Italian tutor, it will much easier to pronounce every word correctly. Here are some things you should take into account to improve your pronunciation:
Consonants: Although most Italian consonants are similar in pronunciation to their English counterparts, there are some exceptions like c and g, which vary depending
on which letter follows them. On top of this, there are double consonants in Italian words, which are pronounced much more forcefully than single consonants.
Vowels: If you’re trying to improve your vowels in Italian, you should remember that they are always short, clear-cut sounds that you shouldn’t prolong like some vowel sounds in English. The good news is that a, i and u sounds are always pronounced the same, so you should only be mindful of e and o sounds, which can be closed or open.
The shape of your mouth: To sound like a native speaker, pay attention to the way they open their mouth when they speak. As you’ll soon realize, they open their mouth much more widely than English speakers, especially to make some of their vowel sounds.
7. Key Italian Phrases
Traveling to Italy soon? Start learning some phrases that will help you get by in this beautiful country! Find some survival phrases below in case you are not lucky enough to find English speakers on your way.
There’s no point in waiting any longer! At Language Trainers, you’ll find the best Italian courses to take your skills to the next level. Do you want to know how to start learning with us? Simply contact us and we’ll make sure you find the ideal course that fits every single one of your requirements!
