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Advice on learning Italian | ||
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| stevesayskanpai Diglot Newbie United Kingdom Joined 4495 days ago 16 posts - 16 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: Italian | Message 1 of 19 11 November 2013 at 9:55pm | IP Logged | ||
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I am determined to rapidly improve my Italian by June 2014. I only know basic phrases at
the moment, and am wondering what the best self-study approach would be. I have completed the Michel Thomas beginner course in the past, and bought a couple of books, but don;t really know how to approach the whole thing systematically. Any advice much appreciated! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
 newyorkeric Diglot Moderator Singapore Joined 6384 days ago 1598 posts - 2174 votes  Speaks: English*, Italian Studies: Mandarin, Malay Personal Language Map | Message 2 of 19 12 November 2013 at 2:16am | IP Logged | ||
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If you like the Michel Thomas course, I recommend continuing with the other, more advanced ones. Afterwards, you can try Pimsleur, which is also very good for drilling phrases. Either at the same time or after you finish these courses, Assimil's Italian with Ease course, which has more audio and is good for listening practice. There is also an older Assimil course, but I would recommend doing it second.
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| Scorpicus Triglot Newbie United Kingdom Joined 5340 days ago 27 posts - 46 votes Speaks: English*, ItalianB2, FrenchB2 Studies: Russian | Message 3 of 19 13 November 2013 at 9:21pm | IP Logged | ||
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The following is a simple study plan that should take you up to basic fluency more or less. It worked for me, at least.
1. Assmil Italian with Ease Assimil is essentially 100 dialogues in Italian with translations. First, you listen and read passively just to understand, and then when you reach the mid-point of the book you begin to translate actively the dialogues from English to Italian. It's simple, but brilliant. Assimil is great for learning conversational vocabulary, the rhythm and pronunciation of the language. But, it is very grammar light, so next you need to work on your grammatical base. 2. La Lingua Italiana per Stranieri This is an excellent textbook, the best I've found, teaching the grammar needed for conversation starting from simple sentences and working up to the conditional, subjunctive etc. The grammar explanations are all in Italian, which can be a little daunting at first, but I think you should be able to manage with your base from Assimil. You have to buy the answer booklet separately - don't skimp on it, it's really essential. 3. Assimil Using Italian (which unfortunately I can't find the link on Amazon) The follow up to "Assimil with Ease", another 100 dialogues for advanced learners, which should further broaden your vocabulary and improve your listening. 4. Schaum's Outline of Italian Grammar Finally, if you have any left over problems with grammar, this book will iron them out. Each chapter is filled with exercises to really drill the grammar. It starts with a chapter on nouns, then prepositions, adjectives and verbs. It uses a pretty advanced vocabulary, but by this time you'll be ready for it. Of course, you need to dive into native materials while tackling all these courses. Listen to Italian radio (Radio Italiano is dedicated to Italian music); read Italian newspapers (such as La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera); and watch Italian films (the films of Frederico Fellini are a good place to start). Native materials are the only way to build to a really advanced level of fluency. Good luck and buona fortuna! 7 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| geoffw Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 4693 days ago 1134 posts - 1865 votes Speaks: English*, German, Yiddish Studies: Modern Hebrew, French, Dutch, Italian, Russian | Message 4 of 19 13 November 2013 at 10:29pm | IP Logged | ||
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I get the impression Assimil Using Italian is no longer in print? All I've found so far
are German and French base advanced courses. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6602 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 5 of 19 14 November 2013 at 5:23am | IP Logged | ||
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If you like football, be sure to watch it in Italian (for example online via p2p programs or the flash player). Calcio is an important part of the culture, and it's a great way to improve your listening. Edited by Serpent on 14 November 2013 at 5:24am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| newyorkeric Diglot Moderator Singapore Joined 6384 days ago 1598 posts - 2174 votes Speaks: English*, Italian Studies: Mandarin, Malay Personal Language Map | Message 6 of 19 14 November 2013 at 7:13am | IP Logged | ||
I've never seen this course with an English base. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Scorpicus Triglot Newbie United Kingdom Joined 5340 days ago 27 posts - 46 votes Speaks: English*, ItalianB2, FrenchB2 Studies: Russian | Message 7 of 19 14 November 2013 at 9:31am | IP Logged | ||
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Having dug out my book, yes, it's the French base, "Perfectionnment Italien". Strange, but I was really under the impression that I used the course in English.
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| catullus_roar Quadrilingual Octoglot Groupie Australia Joined 4573 days ago 89 posts - 184 votes Speaks: Malay, Hokkien*, English*, Mandarin*, Cantonese*, French, German, Spanish Studies: Italian, Latin, Armenian, Afrikaans, Russian | Message 8 of 19 14 November 2013 at 1:08pm | IP Logged | ||
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Italian songs - you'll find that the music is (at least in my opinion) greatly exciting compared to the rest of Europe, and the songs from Sanremo are especially good for learners. They're sung in a sort of soft-rap way, and have many English translations of their lyrics online, but the clear way they're sung should help you understand them. The following songs are a bit old but very classic of Sanremo!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnddCs7-zqE Pensa by Fabrizio Moro, which is about the Mafia. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgExJlYONxY Luca era gay, Povia, very controversial. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhvB734jnbg Ti regalero una rosa, Simone Cristicchi, about mental illness. Sanremo tends to exhibit many more songs, often by the above artists as well but I chose these as they're more 'young' compared to some of the songs and yet follow the same comprehensible style as opposed to slang-heavy pop or rock music... 1 person has voted this message useful |
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