In ancient Rome, the forum was a central piazza, surrounded by important buildings. It was a natural meeting place, a center for city life.
Lots of Italian cities still work that way. Drop by Piazza Maggiore in Bologna, for example, on a Sunday morning and you can’t help but notice the groups of people standing around, just… talking? Yes, just standing around, talking.
The old guys are arguing about politics, the parents talking about schools, the children chasing the pigeons. It’s a nice place to be, if it isn’t raining.
OnlineItalianClub.com has it’s own version of a forum or piazza. It works in much the same way, except that it’s rain-proof.
Just like in Piazza Maggiore you can join in with different groups, and these groups may be talking in different languages (Italian or English, your choice), and about different things.
Now, here’s the thing. You know Facebook? Well, it wouldn’t be much use if you were the only one of your friends and family to use it, right? It’s much more valuable when you can interact with others.
Social networking sites, forums, and piazzas, are much more interesting places to be if there are people you know, or want to know, there. Imagine standing alone in Piazza Maggiore on a Sunday morning. Not much fun, right?
Economists call this the “network effect”. You can look it up in Google, but what it basically means is that the more people get involved, the more each one of them can get out of the experience.
Now, here at OnlineItalianClub.com we have enthusiastic young Italian teachers and interns just DYING to help you with your Italian, answer your questions, or just “chat” to you in English or Italian. They. are. here. to. help. you.
We also have several thousand registered members, all people more or less like you, learning Italian or planning to. They are spread out all over the world, but they are all basically interested in the same thing that you’re interested in.
And there’s you, sitting at home or in your office, reading this e-mail and you’ve got nobody to practise your Italian with, nobody to help you with your Italian homework, nobody to talk your holiday plans over with, or swop Italian recipes with…
You get the idea. Stopping by the OnlineItalianClub.com forums and starting or joining a “conversation” would be good for you. And even better if lots of people start doing it.
And anyway, what do you have to lose? It’s free.
So, now you know WHY you need to stop by the forums later, let me tell you HOW.
What you need to do is this:
- log in with your username and password
- if you’ve lost either one fill in this form and check your e-mail
- head over to the forums
- pick one
- click on a topic that interests you and look for the “Reply” link, or choose “New Topic” to start your own topic
- write something!
OK, this bit is very important, so pay attention….
1. Nobody is going to shout at you if you do this wrong, say if you post in the wrong place. You can’t break anything! Just do it, and don’t worrry. We’ll be really happy to “see” you! Promise.
2. Please don’t just read. Our stats show us that lots of people stop by and read the posts, but few write anything, which is of course what is needed to get a “conversation” moving. So please get involved, write something, even if it’s just “Hi, my name is … and I live in…” Definitely, 100%, you’ll get a reply, even if it’s only from me!
2. How do you know that you got a reply? Easy! When you’ve started a topic, or joined an existing one, look for the “Notify” link at the bottom of the page… Click it, which means that when someone replies to you, you’ll get an e-mail telling you. That way you don’t have to go back again tomorrow to check if anyone is “talking” to you, you’ll just know! The conversation will be continuing, and you’ll be part of it. For as long as you want. (You can click “un-notify” to stop receiving updates anytime you get bored of a topic.)
So, see you later, over in the forums!
P.S. Don’t forget the half-price launch offer on Italian Workout! A1 ends in less than 24 hours, so it you’ve been meaning to get yourself a copy, don’t delay any more: to save 50% on this .pdf e-book / audio package, head over to the shop right now!
Tomorrow the price goes up from €9.99 to €19.99, permanently! You can get free sample chapters in the shop too, so try before you buy! And did I mention there’s a 60 day money-back guarantee??