You can go so far with free material found on the Internet, but one day you reach the point when you’ve done all the good stuff. Which means it’s time to SPEND SOME MONEY!! So yesterday I hit my local book store and splurged on graded readers, simplified books which will help me improve both […]
Archives for January 2014
Two more free online conversation groups this week
Last Friday OnlineItalianClub.com ran it’s first online conversation group, by way of an experiment. Paolo, one of our online teachers, hosted the meeting, with me offering technical support. ‘Present’ were students of Italian from many countries around the world: Australia, the USA, Britain, Italy, Slovenia, China, India and Israel. Some participants experienced technical problems with […]
‘Improve your listening’ Day 6 – So how are you doing?
Were you one of those people who accepted my 2014 Improve your Listening Challenge? I haven’t forgotten you, you know…. There were 26 enthusiastic “ci sto”s (Click here and scroll down to read them.) So: Sergei, Sue Stanford, Willem-Jan, John Thompson, Mary-Teresa Branton, Vicki, Lee, Rich, Tom, Stuart Reininger, Dot Read, Dianne Perrin, Julian, Linda […]
Why you should just ignore Italian words you don’t understand
One of the hardest things about learning a foreign language is to get to the point where you know enough words to be able to decipher texts and speech, and to express your own thoughts. So naturally, when we’re just starting out, we do lots and lots of vocabulary study. Preparing flashcards, writing lists of […]
INVITATION: “Parliamo in italiano” Friday, 1 p.m. (Italian time)
You are invited to practice your Italian and make a few new friends from around the world! OnlineItalianClub.com is hosting its first WEBINAR Friday 24th January from 13.00 to 13.30. It’s free! We’re limiting participation to 15 people this time. First come, first served. The session will be hosted by Paolo (OnlineItalianClub.com teacher). Each participant will […]
‘Improve your listening’ Day 5, Why learning Italian is like learning to juggle
As I confessed a while back, my quest to improve my listening in French, and so motivate you guys to improve your listening in Italian, has got a bit off track lately. January is often a draggy month. If you’re like me, you may have taken on too many new committments for the new year. […]
‘Improve your listening’ Day 4, On motivation
As mentioned in my last article, my attempt to improve my listening in French (so as to demonstrate to you how ‘easy’ it is to improve your Italian listening) has rather, well, ground to a halt. I know I COULD do the work. And I do WANT to. But actually, I don’t really HAVE to. […]
What to do if Italians ‘speak too quickly’
Today I’m answering a question raised by July in her comment on yesterday’s article: My problem has always been the speed at which Italians speak. I’ve found a site called Slow News in Italian, but, of course it is not free. Maybe it’s maleducato(-a ?) of me to mention a competitor. Would you think of […]
‘Improve your listening’ Day 3, I encounter an obstacle
Everything was going so well in my quest to improve my (French) listening skills to B1. I’d completed all of the exam materials for A1 level, and was ready to step up to A2 and start pushing myself further. I knew it would be tough and I’d need to put in some extra time, but […]
Just a few hours left to book your FREE 1-1 online Italian lesson!
There are just hours left until the end of our free online Italian lesson offer. Fortunately, it’ll just take you a minute to book yours. There’s nothing to pay, and absolutely no commitment. You just need to fill in a form with your contact details, and we’ll do the rest. Go here for details and […]