Buondì. My, it’s been such a busy week, I’ve barely had time to squeeze in my own language studies! Which is a problem, as I’ve signed up for the A2 Swedish exam in Milan on Sat. 15th and so REALLY need to sort out my grammar. I’m probably beyond hope, though. While I’ve been studying […]

I had a dreadful night last night. Pain in my ‘lower torso’ lead to a recurring dream in which I was searching for a toilet in my daughter’s new university but was unable to find one. Or if I could, it was in use, or it was wet and dirty, or there was no paper. […]

Buondì. I’m in the mood for succinct today, so here goes. Here’s a new Italian word-order exercise on “Imparare una lingua straniera”. Other recent material is on our ‘New’ page. And this is your final reminder about the ‘BotW’ (Book of the Week) offer, Cielo libero, which is now half-price at just £3.99, rather than […]

Yesterday afternoon was hot here in Bologna, and I’d had a busy morning, what with one thing and another. So I decided to take an hour or two off ‘work’ and have a go at a set of sample papers for an international Swedish exam (though I admit that might sound rather like ‘work’, too!) […]

When I was a lad, the telephone was fixed to the wall in the kitchen, below the clock which regulated our lives. This apparatus was an official-looking grey colour, its front featuring a rotating dial with which, once you got the knack of it, you could use your small fingers to enter the number you […]

Gotta rush this morning, as I’ve already spent hours on this and I need to go to the (Italian) post office FOR THE THIRD TIME over some unresolved glitch regarding identity cards and savings books. Sigh… First, many thanks to everyone who wrote with feedback on the new exercise format (find it by reading Wednesday’s […]

So the problem is this: Italian state schools don’t start their autumn term for what still feels like forever. There are another three weeks, nearly four, until I can work at home undisturbed. To keep themselves occupied in the meantime, shopping and socialising, my daughters need cash! While I personally don’t get any kind of salary […]

Buondì. Today I have something difficult for you, but also something easy. Take your pick, or do both, it’s up to you! But that way, while being familiar with the mantra that you can’t please all the people all the time, I’m hoping to get as many club members as possible doing something useful to […]

People often tell me that they value these articles, delivered three times a week via email to nearly eleven thousand students of Italian from around the world. I suppose the ones who think I’m a bore unsubscribe, which is fine. If you’re not a fan, you’ll find a link to remove your email from our […]

Buondì. As soon as I pressed ‘play’ on today’s free Italian listening comprehension task, I was like “OMG Stefi! What have you done?” My wife recorded the interview at our school, a historic building with high arched ceilings. Being covered in affreschi they’re very pretty, but they do rather reflect sound waves. Beh, you can […]