Did you know that Good Friday is NOT a holiday in Italy? No kidding. It’s just a normal working day here. The kids are off school, of course, but only for a week. Easter isn’t a long school holiday here, as it is in the UK. Monday IS a ‘giorno festivo’. It’s known as ‘Pasquetta’ […]

Buondì. It’s the first day of the school holidays for me. Hurrah! So I’m finalising the details of our Easter Sale, which will (definitely) start on Friday. There will be a week-long promotion, so if you’re not learning Italian any more, or if you’d prefer not to hear from us, please unsubscribe from this list. […]

Thanks to the many club members who wrote in following Friday’s article ‘Anyone else having technical problems with our exercises?‘ Several of you pointed out that there WAS an issue with question no. 5 in the first exercise linked to, an extra space before the right answer that would mean that an otherwise correct response […]

When I wake up in the morning, I open my wardrobe and decide which hat to put on. Yes, I know that not many people wear hats these days, but I’m a busy guy and it helps me remember what I’m supposed to be focusing on at any particular moment of the day! Often it’s […]

Sorry I’m later today. Yesterday was my fiftieth birthday. My kids cooked me a surprise breakfast of bacon and eggs, at six-forty a.m. Later I went to work, but with just two individual students, both of whom seemed happy to see me, it wasn’t exactly stressful. In the evening my wife and I shared a […]

OnlineItalianClub.com ‘members’ range in level from complete beginners, who are just starting out on their journey with the Italian language, to those at the other end of the scale – perhaps college students studying at a high level or Italian enthusiasts who have been with us since the beginning, way back in 2013 (ciao ragazzi!) […]

Buondì. Remember the ‘study checklist’, which I last mentioned back in January, or at the start of February? Well, things being as they are, I haven’t made much progress with it. Just the A1 – Beginner/Elementary version is eleven pages long! But the end of the spring term is looming, and things are getting quieter. […]

Buondì. Today I have two free intermediate-level Italian listening tasks for you. But if you’re just starting out with Italian, don’t (necessarily) let my description of the level as ‘intermediate’ put you off. Free material is, after all, free material and what you can understand when you listen is a function of a lot more […]

Buondì. And a beautiful spring ‘dì’ it is too, here in Bologna. Though it promises to be a busy one, as I have several meetings lined up, and am teaching in the evening. So, to business! First I have three more ‘old listenings with new exercises’ for you. The level is A2 (pre-intermediate) which should […]

Yesterday, besides various customer service emails about ebooks and online lessons, I had a couple of interesting ones about listening. Philip wanted to share his approach, which seems very considered, so I’m sure he won’t mind if I copy and paste what he wrote. He’s talking about how he uses the easy readers: One thing […]