Buondì.
I’ll be brief this morning, as the trip to Milan left me with a mountain of jobs to get through.
But speaking of Milan, before we press on, did you know that the city had canals? I certainly didn’t!
There are some nice pictures in Google. Search for “milan navigli district” and choose the “images” tab to see a selection.
OK, first item today: many thanks to those of you who sent in your ‘learn Italian’ tips.
I enjoyed reading them and have created a dedicated page to publish your ideas.
Read how other club members learn Italian.
I’ve also linked to this page from the smaller menu on the club website, so as many people as possible will find it.
If you too have some learning strategies you’d like to share, just email them in.
I’ll update the page periodically, but anyway reply to all emails I receive.
Poi, Matt’s done tasks for two more of our listenings that didn’t have them.
You should definitely find time to take a look at these.
(A tip of my own: ALL listening practice is useful!)
- definite articles listening
- indefinite articles listening
OK, and finally, we had a good response to the new ‘bundle’ of easy Italian readers that I mentioned on Friday:
Nine Book Of The Film Easy Readers – Save 50%!
If you’re into movies, you won’t want to pass on months of study materials at such a reasonable price!
But, as I wrote to someone, DO NOT start with ‘La dolce vita‘!
While it’s possibly the most famous “story of the film” in the bundle (and the only movie I had heard of myself, when I first came to Italy), it’s not easy.
‘La dolce vita’ was much influenced by the experimental mood of the time, and so can be ‘difficult’ at first.
Hence our easy reader version is unconventional too, while still representing excellent reading and listening practice!
The other eight simplified stories are much more straightforward.
My personal favourite is the hugely-depressing ‘Ladri di biciclette‘.
(A full list of, and free sample chapters for, all nine ‘story of the movie’ easy readers in the bundle can be found here.)
For those of you NOT into movies, there are other ‘bundles’ available.
The current best-seller is ‘Eighteen Italian Easy Readers – HALF PRICE!‘, which, were you to resolve to do one story each week, would keep you busy for four months or so.
A chapter a day, two on Sunday?
It might be a challenge to find that much time…
But developing a reading habit, as several club members point out on the ‘Learn Italian Tips‘ page, is a sure-fire way to boost your Italian!
A mercoledì.
