Published today, our new Italian easy reader: ‘Roma città aperta’!
Plus, brush up your pronominal verbs with the latest in our series of free Italian lessons.
But first things first.
Our latest Italian easy reader e-book is a moving masterpiece of Italian neo-realism, set in WW2 Rome.
‘Roma città aperta’ tells the story of how resistance leader Giorgio, along with his friends, neighbors and family members, fight the Nazi forces occupying their city.
Download the free sample chapter (.pdf). It contains a link to listen, free of charge, to the entire story!
As usual when we publish something new, it’s 25% off the first week, so just €7.50 rather than the cover price of €9.99.
Hmm… But could this possibly be worth €7.50?
That’s a lot for a .pdf file…
Let’s talk about the power of story-telling.
Humans are hard-wired to think in terms of cause and effect, of decisions and outcomes.
It’s the way we understand the world, even as very small children.
Of course, you’re familiar with literature, cinema, soap operas and TV series.
At least one of these story-telling art-forms probably adds much value to your life.
But did you know that story-telling is also essential to marketing, politics and many other areas of human life?
On TV or in the political arena, a good story can grab and hold your attention, and may motivate you to take action – to send a donation, or buy the next series.
It’s a powerful and well-known effect.
So why not exploit that yourself when learning a language?
Build a habit of reading in and listening to Italian, and your battle is half-won.
Better still if what you read and listen to is a narrative, because with a story, rather than say a newspaper article, you get to care about the characters and what happens to them.
That generates momentum. The need to know what happens. Emotional involvement which keeps your attention.
I tell you all this because it’s supported by modern theories of language-learning, because it’s what I always advise my students, and because it worked for me.
Anything that gets you reading in and listening to Italian is priceless.
Anything that keeps you interested and engaged, and so reduces the chances of your Italian studies falling by the wayside, is a good investment indeed.
Anything that helps builds your confidence with the language, and so increases the amount of Italian going into your head, is worth spending your allowance on.
Stories do this better than anything.
And so are worth, I.M.H.O., many times more than they may cost.
New Lesson On Pronominal Verbs
Today’s free Italian lesson is on pronominal verbs (again!)
It’s the first of the C1 (advanced) level material, but worth a look, whatever stage you’re at.
Click here to get started: Lesson 36 – Pronominal Verbs
Or find it, along with all the other lessons in the series, on our Italian Lessons Homepage.
More on mercoledì!