Buondì.
I’m not feeling well today. Also, it’s rather cold in my house. And I have to plan and teach two online lessons later.
So I’m going to cheat!
David left a comment on the club website to the effect that:
“This would have to be one of the most helpful, comprehensive and sensible pieces of advice I have read about learning a new language, thank you!”
He was referring to a rather long article I wrote, ages ago, entitled ‘How to learn Italian (or any language)‘.
If you’re interested in learning Italian, and haven’t already read it, you should take a look.
But what about those of you who DON’T LIKE TO READ?
This was prompted by a comment from one of my online students (an intelligent and successful Italian woman hoping to improve her English) to the effect that, actually, she doesn’t read much, not in English, not in her own language either…
Listen to the radio? I suggested.
She doesn’t do that either, and has no ‘voglia’ to begin. But she does watch English TV series on Netflix.
Al meno quello! I commented.
You can, and people do, learn a language without reading in it, of course. But an unwillingness to read means your options are more limited.
Radio, but also TV, films, any type of audio, will help a lot. But doing that AND getting plenty of textual input is likely to result in better progress.
Or you could just study grammar, in isolation, without any of the context that helps you remember it and understand how it’s used by speakers of the language you’re trying to learn.
Personally, I don’t find that very effective, or motivating.
Plenty of speaking practice is another and/or.
That certainly works well for me. In fact, I’m learning to SPEAK Spanish, and French, with weekly thirty-minute conversation lessons.
But plenty of reading and listening practice speeds the process up a lot.
Don’t like reading?
Read this, at least: ‘How to learn Italian (or any language)‘.
I’m off back to bed for a couple of hours. Feel free not to write a sympathetic email, so saving me from having to reply later.
A venerdì.
P.S.
Don’t forget this week’s half-price ‘eBook of the Week’, will you?
‘La vita è bella’ broke many records: it’s the Italian film that has won the most Oscars, Benigni (who stars and directs) is the only male Italian actor to have won an Oscar for ‘Best Actor’, and it’s the highest-grossing Italian film ever!
This re-telling for learners of Italian makes a great introduction before watching the movie itself. Or simply an excellent supplement to your study program!
As always, there’s a Free Sample Chapter (.pdf) to look at and, as always, the free sample chapter .pdf contains a link to the online audio for the entire story. So you could, if you so chose, listen to the ebook without buying it. Isn’t that nice?
- .pdf e-book (+ audio available free online)
- .mobi (Kindle-compatible) and .epub (other ebook readers) available on request at no extra charge – just add a note to the order form or email us
- 9 chapters to read and listen to
- Comprehension questions to check your understanding
- Italian/English glossary of ‘difficult’ terms for the level
- Suitable for students at B1/B2 level and above
- Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)
This ebook is written by one of our online teachers, who is, in his other non-virtual life, an actual movie scriptwriter! And not just a wannabe one, either. Giovanni, besides being a language teacher with decades of experience, and a nice guy to boot, has been involved with some award-winning Italian movies.
It’s unsurprising, then, that he’s particularly well-suited to retelling the stories of some of the greatest works of Italian cinema, and doing so in a way that makes them accessible to people learning the language, and so hopefully increasing their appreciation of the movie!
View all fifteen ‘classic movie’ ebooks here.
Buy ‘La vita è bella‘, just £3.99 | Free sample chapter (.pdf) | ‘Classic movie’ ebooks | Catalog
P.P.S.
Tuesday’s FREE bulletin of ‘easy’ Italian news is here.
If you don’t want to READ it, at least go LISTEN to it.