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There are downloadable checklists for each level, so you can monitor your progress
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Or just go ahead and email your question (the address is at the bottom of each page)
Still stuck? Well, how about some online Italian lessons? Teachers do have their uses…

Learning a language? Like a family summer holiday.

August 20, 2025 By Daniel Leave a Comment

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Buondì.

Learning a foreign language is like taking a summer holiday with your family.

If you’ve tried both, you might immediately recognise the metaphor, but given that plenty of people who read this are perhaps just aspiring language learners and/or don’t have a family to holiday with, let me spell it out.

1.) Family holidays are different. Instead of your regular, well-optimised home/work routines, you find yourself in a plastic cabin in a Tuscan wood with an agitated two-year old. So too is learning a foreign language unfamiliar: instead of communicating in your mother-tongue, you’re learning how to interact with others all over again, perhaps from scratch. These things can be hard work…

2.) Both therefore require plenty of patience. Losing your cool is unhelpful. When said two-year old hurls a plastic lampshade down a hill to see how it rolls, despite having been told repeatedly not to try, getting upset doesn’t help. Ditto when you can’t understand what speakers of your new language are saying to you, or when your attempts to speak just result in puzzled shrugs and replies in English. The solution? Just chill, this because…

3.) There’s the chance that both of these potentially-stressful situations will actually turn out to be enjoyable and satisfying (really!) For instance, today was Bug’s first experience in a swimming pool, and he went from cautious experimentation, via hysterical yelling, to eventually climbing in and out of the water on his own and to something approaching swimming (with boyancy aids). Which was fun to see. Those who’ve done some language-learning might recognise the initial enthusiasm, the fearful moments, and that great feeling when you actually achieve something approaching communication.

There’s a difference, though. All too soon a family holiday is over and it’s back to the usual routine: the commute, the computer, the colleagues. Sigh. And for another year!

Which isn’t at all like learning a foreign language, where the discoveries, novelties and satisfaction can be sustained for as long as you keep at it. Not just weeks but years, even decades!

Alla prossima settimana.

P.S.

And here’s the usual reminder to read/listen to Tuesday’s bulletin of news from EasyItalianNews.com, which I haven’t yet done as the campsite has a dodgy internet connection and I have to work via the hotspot on my smartphone.

Reading/listening practice will help you consolidate the Italian you’re studying, expand your vocabulary, and build vital comprehension skills.

EasyItalianNews.com is FREE to read/listen to.

Subscribing, and so receiving all three text + audio bulletins of ‘easy’ news via email each week -on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays – is also FREE.

Just enter your email address on this page and click the confirmation link that will be sent to you.

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Postcard from the Adriatic

August 12, 2025 By Daniel Leave a Comment

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Buondì.

Here’s our shortest ever article, succinct enough to fit on the back of a postcard, assuming you ignore the ads. Though it’d take longer to get to you that way.

Traffic on the A14 v. light. Listened to Annie Vidman while driving. Bug slept until Rimini nord pedaggio. 3-4C cooler here ‘ma il sole picchia lo stesso’. Beach tomorrow, so mailing this today. Alla prossima settimana!

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Two Half-Price Italian ‘Easy Reader’ Ebooks: Just £4.99 Each

This week just like last week and the week before (because Bug’s petting zoo is closed so I have him home full time), over at the ebooks store there are two half-price Italian ‘easy reader’ ebooks, ‘L’imperatore e i giochi‘ and ‘Diventare regina. La storia di Caterina de’ Medici‘, both of which are at intermediate/upper-intermediate level.

These original stories (text plus online audio) will keep you turning the pages – and so improving your Italian reading/listening comprehension skills, grammar, and vocabulary – but at HALF the normal price!

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‘The philosopher’, Marco Aurelio (121 – 180 CE), was the last of the ‘Five Good Emperors’ who ruled during the Pax Romana, an age of relative peace and stability.

Join him and his son as they head off to the Colosseum for an afternoon of ‘entertainment’ – watching gladiators fight to the death.

The boy can’t wait! But his father is less than enthusiastic…

.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
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 any level
Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)

Remember, this week ‘L’imperatore e i giochi‘ is 50% discounted, so just £4.99 rather than the usual ‘easy reader’ ebook price of £9.99!

Buy ‘L’imperatore e i giochi‘ just £4.99! | Free Sample Chapter (.pdf) | History/historical Italian ebooks | Catalog

Find more ebooks, organised by level, then type: A1 | A1/A2 | A2 | A2/B1 | B1 | B1/B2 | B2 | B2/C1 | C1 | C1/C2 | C2

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Orphaned while still a baby, Caterina de’ Medici doesn’t have much going for her. Though there is one thing…

7 Agosto 1530. Corte Papale, Roma

“Avanti, avanti Caterina, camminate più veloce. E ricordate di inchinarvi davanti al Santo Padre! Il nostro Papa Clemente VII è un uomo meraviglioso, e ora avete un’udienza da sola con lui. Non siete emozionata? Siete fortunata ad avere… un santo in Paradiso! Proprio così, è un modo di dire molto appropriato.”

La vecchia suora, che ridacchia isterica, trascina Caterina per una mano e riprende: “Lo dico perché è un Medici come voi. E di certo è un uomo santo. Forza, forza, camminate. Non vogliamo fare aspettare Sua Santità” bisbiglia nervosa.

Caterina’s still only twelve years old, but her uncle, the Pope, is already busy reviewing possible husbands for her, with a view to strengthening ties between the Papacy and one or the other of Europe’s powerful royal families. Perhaps the time has come for her to learn French?

.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
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)

Remember, this week ‘Diventare regina. La storia di Caterina de’ Medici‘ is 50% discounted, so just £4.99 rather than the usual ‘easy reader’ ebook price of £9.99!

Buy ‘Diventare regina. La storia di Caterina de’ Medici‘ just £4.99! | Free Sample Chapter (.pdf) | History/historical Italian ebooks | Catalog

Find more ebooks, organised by level, then type: A1 | A1/A2 | A2 | A2/B1 | B1 | B1/B2 | B2 | B2/C1 | C1 | C1/C2 | C2

How do I access my ebook?

When your order is ‘completed’ (normally immediately after your payment), a download link will be automatically emailed to you. It’s valid for 7 days and 3 download attempts so please save a copy of the .pdf ebook in a safe place. Other versions of the ebook, where available, cannot be downloaded but will be emailed to people who request them. There’s a space to do that on the order form – where it says Additional information, Order notes (optional). If you forget, or if you have problems downloading the .pdf, don’t worry! Email us at the address on the website and we’ll help. Also, why not check out our FAQ?

P.S.

And here’s the usual reminder to read/listen to Tuesday’s bulletin of news from EasyItalianNews.com.

Reading/listening practice will help you consolidate the Italian you’re studying, expand your vocabulary, and build vital comprehension skills.

EasyItalianNews.com is FREE to read/listen to.

Subscribing, and so receiving all three text + audio bulletins of ‘easy’ news via email each week -on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays – is also FREE.

Just enter your email address on this page and click the confirmation link that will be sent to you.

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OnlineItalianClub.com | EasyItalianNews.com | Shop (ebooks) | Shop (online lessons)

Join our club!

Thousands of pages of FREE material for learning Italian!

Want to learn Italian for FREE? Here’s how:

Need help?

Learning a language? Like a family summer holiday.

P.S.

Postcard from the Adriatic

Two Half-Price Italian ‘Easy Reader’ Ebooks: Just £4.99 Each

How do I access my ebook?

P.S.

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