Buondì.
First week of January and it’s very quiet around here. I’ll be back teaching again on Saturday, then working normally from Monday onwards.
In the meantime, though, there’s lots to do, and just three more days to do it in!
I’ve finished my second Swedish easy reader and, just for fun, have also worked through three Turkish easy readers.
I find this way of learning to be very stimulating – read/listen to it, try and figure it out – and I’ve made pretty good progress, considering that I didn’t know any Swedish at all just a couple of weeks ago.
But that said, I thought I’d take a look at what websites were available to help me with the basic grammar. I mean, why make life more complicated than it needs to be?
Apart from the ubiquitous Babbel, which I am much too mean to pay for, there’s also this site put together by the Swedish Institute and aimed at foreign university students.
They’ve used a ‘learning-management program’ to put together a nice looking website, but seem to have problems with the listening material, which is slow to load and sometimes didn’t work at all.
Also, there’s a lot of “memorise all this stuff, now answer these test questions”.
Besides the fact that I’m MUCH TOO LAZY for such an approach, it’s not exactly cutting edge…
In the end I settled on the ugliest site I could find, not because of but despite of.
It’s ad-supported, and dates back to the primordial swamp days of the early Internet.
And yet, there’s something about Björn Engdahl’s site which seems to work for me.
Perhaps it reminds me of ‘home‘…
Which brings us back to the Italian.
Today I have the last four exercises from the “fix ’em up and chuck ’em out there” pile, and boy, are they all quite advanced!
If you’re not, no need to feel bad.
After a couple of weeks of beginner’s Swedish, I know exactly how you feel!
Go here to find something more suitable for where you’re currently at.
And remember, when we began the club back in (2012? 2013?), some of the people who started out with Italian then are now doing just fine with the heavy, advanced stuff!
In the end, it’s just a matter of time (and motivation…)
A venerdì.
‘Alterati’ or ‘falsi alterati’? (1)
‘Alterati’ or ‘falsi alterati’? (2)
Conjunctions – Dropdown Menu Exercise
At The Mechanic – Word Order Exercise
January Sale 2017 – Reminder!
As well as it being the end of my holidays, it’s also the last few days of the 2017 January Sale, which will end on Sunday night some time.
To save 20% on EVERYTHING, cut and paste this coupon code January_Sale_2017_Save_20% into the ‘coupon code’ box in your ‘cart’ (on EITHER SITE.)
Online lesson students – stock up on lesson credits to get you through to the next offer, which won’t be until Easter.
And for the rest of you?
We have easy readers and other ebooks for learning Italian at multiple levels.
Enough to keep you going all year!
January Sale – Summary
- Save 20% with coupon code: January_Sale_2017_Save_20%
- The coupon code is good in BOTH our shops – onlineitalianclub.com / easyreaders.org
- For pricing in British Pounds and payment options including Pay With Amazon, shop at easyreaders.org
- For pricing in Euros, to buy online Italian lessons (though with more limited payment options) shop at onlineitalianclub.com
- The coupon code CANNOT be used together with other coupon codes but IS valid for things which are already on offer
- There’s no minimum or maximum spend
- Come back and use the coupon code as often as you want, while the sale is on
This week’s best-sellers…
Eighteen Italian Easy Readers – Half Price!
Half price? And then some, with the additional 20% coupon code discount!
You do the maths, but basically there’s a whole library of reading material here.
Read, listen, or read AND listen!
Do it regularly for long enough and you’ll give your Italian a major boost for what amounts to a minimal investment.
Click here to see this ‘bundle’ at easyreaders.org
‘Best value’ pack of 10 x online Italian lessons
Usual price €150, but with the above coupon code, just €120.
That’s 12 euros for a 30-minute lesson, one-to-one with one of our pro. Italian teachers, from the comfort of your home or office!
All you need is a decent broadband connection and Skype, which is free to download and easy to use.