Learn Basic Italian – The Fundumentals
Posted on July 22, 2009
Filed Under Learn Spanish CD, Learn Spanish Online | Leave a Comment
So, for some reason, you wish to learn basic Italian. Maybe you’re taking a short trip to Rome and want to now learn basic Italian words to impress the locals. Maybe you need to be able to speak Italian for business purposes. Or maybe you just want to learn a new language, and Italian sounds like a beautiful one to speak. Whatever your motivation for learning a new language, its always a useful skill to have, so why wait! Take that first step, learn basic Italian, and see how fast you’ll be speaking the language.
If you’re not particularly concerned with becoming fluent in the language at this point, then you don’t need to become bogged down with all the grammar rules and verb conjugation – the “study” parts of language learning that put off so many potential Italian speakers before they’ve even begun. To learn basic Italian, your best option is to start by finding a list of essential words and phrases, and get to work memorising them. You will able to find many sources online for this type of thing, and so you wont even have to invest in volumes of study books!
Of course, there’s not really much point in knowing how to read and write your useful Italian phrases if you’ve no idea how to actually say them. That’s why I often advise people who are looking to learn Italian quickly and easily to listen, listen, listen. You want to become familiar with the Italian accent, with pronunciation, with sounds that don’t occur in the English language, and other essential aspects that you just won’t get from looking at a list of printed words.
Fortunately, there are many ways of doing this. Lots of online learning sites will provide “listen and repeat” options, where you can hear words and phrases spoken clearly, often at the same time as seeing the word written on the screen – which helps you to develop a useful understanding between how the word is written and how it is pronounced. It’s easy to obtain a CD to help you learn basic Italian, which is good for those of us who lead pretty hectic lives as you can just pop it in and learn italian whilst driving!
It can also be a really good idea to approach learning Italian with a friend who also wants to pick up some useful Italian words and phrases. Not only does the concept of a “study partner” keep you motivated (and add a bit of a competitive element, if that’s what motivates you!), but it gives you a great opportunity to practise speaking Italian with someone else, who can listen and correct you. Speaking one-to-one can help you achieve your goal of becoming fluent by increasing your confidence and building a solid foundation on which to add. Talking to someone will force you to think about what they’re saying and how you will respond, and will greatly increase your confidence.
Try it! Get that list of words, check out the wealth of information available online, listen to the language, and discover how easy (and fun!) it is to learn basic Italian.
Leave a Reply