That got your attention, didn’t it? But seriously, check out these “gender-bender” Italian words, which can be both masculine and feminine, but with different meanings. Reading through the list, I realise how many of these I regularly get wrong myself. Sometimes then ending is different, which helps: il collo (neck) but la colla (glue) Other times, […]
Mica difficult
If you’re reading this article, you’re probably on the OnlineItalianClub.com mailing list, or someone you know is. You may also be a member of our club, though the two things are not the same. (It’s possible to sign up to receive articles from me by e-mail, but not join our club, and vice versa). It’s […]
Is your “cultural knowledge” letting you down?
You’re visiting Italy, or perhaps watching Italian TV or reading a news website. There’s a picture of a masked demonstrator waving a “No TAV!” placard. Know what it’s all about? If not, it’s not your knowledge of Italian that’s at fault…. Is your “cultural knowledge” letting you down? It’s quite likely. Unless you live in […]
Insidious cultural differences that can trip you up
15 years in Italy and I’m beginning to understand why Italians make me furious at times. And why my Italian wife thinks I’m a boor. Say “Ciao” to the man, darling! We’re sitting at the reception desk of a language school in Italy, chatting with the pre-schoolers arriving for their English courses. Some kids are […]
Dinner invitation for tonight
Hungry? Free tonight? Read this. (Shortest article I ever wrote.)
The Zen of learning Italian
Many of us would love to speak and understand Italian better, but may never manage it. Studying is difficult, not being able to express ourselves is frustrating. As we understand the size of the task, our motivation flags. Life’s other priorities undermine us. The Zen of Learning Italian
Please share these great free resources for learning Italian!
I’m assuming you already know that OnlineItalianClub.com offers masses of free resources for learning Italian. But maybe your friends haven’t come across our site yet… So why not do everyone a favor, and forward this article to anyone you know who might be interested? Or better still, share it on Facebook, or your favorite social […]
Learn Italian while you cook….
Just a quickie today. I’ve been busy writing a post for our Italian school about a classic Bolognese dish (check out the article here). While doing the research, I came across a profusion of cooking websites which all seem to feature “how to” videos, along with the recipes (and lots and lots of adverts…) But […]
Live in Modena (this article has homework!)
Saturday evening, and what else to do but finish the bottle of vino novello 2013 delle Venezie and listen to a little mellow music? Remembering Zucchero from a week or two back, I thought I’d check out some of his other songs, and found “Hey Man” (live in Modena), which is near here. Italian popular […]
Here’s a great idea for improving your Italian!
A lot of people have mentioned parallel texts for learning Italian. Personally, I’ve never been a big fan, but that said, I’ve not really made much use of them, so what do I know? Anyway, I was thinking, let’s take an Italian classic and do a bit of group translation on it, a sort of […]