However well you can speak Italian, if you can’t understand what others say to you in return, you’ll not get far. This is so obvious, it’s often overloooked, especially at lower levels. Listening more effectively means developing the skills to manage a rapid flow of input and deal with complexity and uncertainty. It’s not so […]
Into maths? You’ll love ‘Il festival della matematica’!
If you like maths, you’ll love ‘Il festivale della matematica‘, which is the topic of today’s free Italian listening exercise. Click here to listen. Or see all the listenings in the current series on our B2 (upper-intermediate) page. (Too hard? Find materials more suited to your current level in Italian here.) P.S. Just a ‘piccolo’ […]
Incredibile ma vero! (New listening and sample download)
E’ incredibile ma vero! At least according to our latest Italian listening exercise. What? So do the exercise and find out! Click here for today’s task Follow this link to explore all of our free materials for learning Italian P.S. Have you downloaded your free sample chapter of our new Italian easy reader yet? Just […]
New Italian easy reader (and 1st B2 listening task!)
Buon giorno a tutti! I’ve been busy over the weekend, preparing a new series of Italian listening comprehension exercises. They’re getting harder… today we begin a series of eight B2 (upper intermediate) level tasks. ‘Roba seria’! I’ll paste the link to today’s new exercise below, but first I want to mention our new Italian easy […]
This’ll separate the men from the boys!
Excuse the sexist idiom, but today I have for you one of my favourite types of listening comprehension exercise. That’s speaking as a teacher, of course. Students tend to hate this type of thing. You hear a series of short extracts, and the ‘harder than it sounds’ task is to identify who’s speaking. Is it […]
A letter from Linda & how to tell me when something’s broken
Linda’s very excited as she’s found a new job (A job! In Italy!) and has to move to Torino in a hurry. But you’ll want to catch up on her news for yourself. Click here for today’s listening practice (level B1). Here to view all of the listenings in the current series. Or here to […]
“Let’s cook!” (Today’s new Italian listening exercise)
Buon giorno a tutti! Do you watch those cookery programs on TV, the ones where contestants compete to win a price? Well that’s the topic of today’s free Italian listening task. Click here to give it a try. (You can see the other exercises in this series on our Intermediate Italian Exercises page. Or find free […]
Ever been robbed or tricked while visiting Italy?
If you’ve ever travelled to Italy, you’ll have lots of great memories of your trip, I’m sure. But maybe some bad ones, too. For example, it’s not unheard of for visitors to have their pockets picked, their bags snatched, or be conned into buying fake designer goods. Enter today’s free Italian listening comprehension exercise! Turns […]
Fourth free B1 Italian listening exercise
Just a quickie today. Here’s the link to the 4th in our series of new Italian listening comprehension exercises: Listen now! You can see the previous exercises in the series here. Or find exercises at other (harder, easier) levels here. That’s it. Buonagiornata! P.S. Except, of course, that’s not it. There’s always a P.S. Usually trying […]
Why grammar and vocabulary are not enough to speak Italian
Many people believe that if you study enough Italian grammar, learn enough Italian words, you’ll be able to speak Italian. Guess that’s because of the way languages used to be taught in schools, with little focus on communicative skills like listening and speaking. This conviction tends not to persist long though, especially once you start an Italian course or self-study program. […]