Yesterday I had an e-mail from Carole asking whether it would be possible to slow down the dialogue in our most recent Italian Conversation.
A fair question, and one that might well have occurred to other recently-joined club members.
So here’s my reply, just in case you were wondering!
The current dialogues are at the end of a long series and we’ve been deliberately speeding them up to a more natural pace. For people starting at the beginning of the series and working through them all, the effect should be that you gradually get used to natural speech.
If this material is too fast for you, I’d suggest you go back to the beginning of the Italian Conversations series (which is much easier) or look at listening materials designated for your level (there are lots!)
For example, on this page you’ll find all our listening materials graded by level, and links to pages which collect all the materials at each level.
To which I would now add the following:
- the level designations that we use are those of the ‘Common European Framework of Reference’, usually known as the CEFR. That’s the system used by universities, schools and publishing houses across the continent. The six level ‘bands’ go from A1 (the easiest) to C2 (the hardest)
- here’s a link to an article I wrote on how to evaluate your current level in Italian using the CEFR bands
- other than the Italian Conversations material, you’ll find listenings graded by level on these pages A1 | A2 | B1 | B2 | C1 | C2
By the way, feel free to write to me with your questions about learning Italian or about our free material, e-books or online Italian lessons: the e-mail address is at the bottom of each page on our site, or just reply to any e-mail you get from me.
Italian Conversation no. 56!
Today’s new dialogue with transcript is no. 56 in our Italian Conversations series (and yes, it’s quite fast…)
In viaggio, Fare il check-in all’areoporto
To improve your Italian comprehension skills, your knowledge of vocabulary, and so indirectly your ability to use the language, listen to it today. It takes just a minute or two.
If it’s too hard, read the transcript as you listen. Don’t expect to understand everything (much…) at first. Listen a few times until it starts to sound familiar. Then, give yourself a break, maybe coming back to it again at some later time for another go…
Listening skills are built with patience and practice. Not-understanding is actually the norm, but with time you’ll get used to that, so your anxiety level will go down and gradually you’ll get more able to pick out meaning.
That’s the theory, anyway!
Today’s conversation | Italian Conversations homepage
Last days of the offer on our new Italian easy reader!
The ‘launch offer’ on our new easy Italian reader ‘Cereo 12‘ ends on Sunday night sometime.
This week it’ll set you back just €7.50, instead of the usual price of €9.99.
So if you’ve been meaning to get yourself a copy, go here, click ‘Add to Cart‘, then follow the instructions to pay securely through Paypal with your credit card or Paypal balance.
But take a look at the free sample chapter (.pdf) first to get an idea of what you’ll be buying in terms of level, format and so on.
If the text and/or audio is too hard, not to worry! You’ll find plenty of other, easier e-books for learning Italian in our online shop.
(If you know your level, but don’t know what to buy, write to me and I’ll recommend something!)
P.S.
There’s lots of info. about our club in the FAQ.
But if you have a question that’s not answered there, as Carole did, shoot me an e-mail!