Buondì.
I’ve two quick things to write about today, the first being…
Have you listened to yesterday’s FREE EasyItalianNews.com bulletin, yet?
If not, you really should.
Regular reading and listening in Italian, even if you don’t understand much, will reinforce the other things you do (your Italian class, self-study, etc.) and help you build essential comprehension skills.
Which are?
Stuff like figuring out the probable meaning of words you’ve never seen before, getting practice in hearing what words sound like when they’re spoken at something approaching normal speed, and so on.
These are obvious things, of course, but such skills may not otherwise feature in your study program, Italian having so much horrible grammar to focus on.
But as we’re talking about FREE material here, there’s no risk whatsoever.
Try.
Then, if you don’t like it, try some more.
Don’t just give up right away.
Effective study habits, the ones that really do you good, take time to establish.
But then, after a few weeks, if it’s not working out for you, you can quit.
Go do something more productive instead.
The final season of ‘Game of Thrones’ has started. Watch it in Italian. They have dragons and alluring princesses, at least.
Unlike G of T though, EasyItalianNews.com is totally free.
No cable subscription or registration is required, no payment details are asked for.
So what’s to lose?
The problem, of course, is remembering to check the thrice-weekly (more than G of T!) EasyItalianNews.com bulletins.
That’s something to put on your ‘to do’ list each Tuesday, Thursday and worse… Saturday!
You could add the dates to your diary each week from now until the moment your Italian listening skills finally meet your goals and expectations.
Or…
You could “Join 3,035 other subscribers” and enter your email address in the box on the ‘Subscribe’ page.
What, ‘subscribe’? Doesn’t that mean paying, or something? Like for cable TV?
Nope. It’s totally free.
It means our system emails you the new bulletin every time we publish one, so each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
All you have to do, then, is open the email and read + listen.
Each email is an instant, free, easy-to-use supplement to your Italian study program.
Teachers, tell your students!
Or if you’re in an Italian class or practice group, tell your classmates!
And one more thing – apart from the odd link to our other websites, EasyItalianNews.com carries no advertising.
It’s there, free for everyone to use, no form-filling required (though do ‘subscribe‘).
How then is such a slick operation financed?
Simple: happy, generous readers donate (pounds, dollars, euros) to support us in our work.
Some months that brings in enough to pay the writers, the editor and the lad who does the audio recording.
Not to mention Amazon Web Services, which hosts the audio for your listening pleasure, and the cost of running the site itself.
But mostly EasyItalianNews.com runs at a loss, which is fine with me
How come making a loss is OK?
Because when the ‘club’ sells stuff through our online shop, I’ve always said that (at least some of) the proceeds would be reinvested.
Donate, buy an ebook, take some online lessons, or just use and profit from the free materials we put out.
(You can see who’s donated, and how much we raised each month since we started, here.)
Any which way, people around the world have more ways to improve their Italian.
And people who need work are getting it.
Subscribe | Advice | Donate | Thanks
A venerdì.
P.S.
Talking of selling stuff, our ebook ‘Book of the Week’ – Colombo e il mare Oceano – is half-price, so just £3.99 rather than the usual £7.99, until Sunday night.
- .pdf e-book (+ audio available free online at soundcloud.com)
- 8 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 intermediate level or above
- Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)
- Please note: your e-book will be emailed to you within 24 hours of your purchase
Colombo e il mare Oceano, just £3.99 | FREE sample chapter (.pdf) | Catalog | ‘Day in the life of’ series