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New to Italian and need some advice :) | ||
Tags: Italian | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| gravityguy Groupie United Kingdom Joined 4535 days ago 56 posts - 77 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 1 of 19 25 June 2012 at 5:31pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Hi all,
I have just started learning Italian using the Michel Thomas CD's. I also have Assimil Italian with ease which I will be using once I have finished MT. My question is, how many MT lessons is it recommended to do at any one time or in 1 day? I am currently doing 3 lessons at a time which is no problem at all and I feel like I could do more. However is it better to just do a few each day or is it plausible to do say 5/6 units a day and still remember what you need to? Also, should once I've finished MT and I start on Assimil, should I supplement my learning with anything else or will assimil be enough by itself to keep me busy? I have tried watching eurosport news in Italian but I don't understand a word they say so I think that will have to wait until I can at least understand even a small fraction of what is being said! haha Any help would be greatly appreciated :) Mike 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| iguanamon Pentaglot Senior Member Virgin Islands Speaks: Ladino Joined 5260 days ago 2241 posts - 6731 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Creole (French) | Message 2 of 19 25 June 2012 at 7:38pm | IP Logged | |||||
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A course is an important part of learning a language. It isn't the only resource you should use. A course is an arrow in your quiver. No course will take you to proficiency on its own, in my opinion. In order to really learn and make a language your own, you must engage with the language. Italian is a living, breathing form of communication between people, not just a thing to be "studied". As soon as you have enough of a vocabulary to talk about yourself and your interests, you should find a native Italian speaker for language practice, either on-line or in person. Start listening to Italian songs and follow the lyrics. They're easy to google. Try listening and reading, even though you won't understand much at the beginning stages. Stretch yourself by devoting time to Italian media, newspapers, online tv and radio, movies, etc.
Just like learning how to drive, all the instruction in the world cannot substitute for real world experience. Study, but also get some time behind the wheel. I can't help you with Michael Thomas or Assimil because I've never used either of them. Don't worry so much about not understanding what you're hearing at first. Listening helps to accustom you to the rhythm and sounds of the language. Listen early and speak as early as you can. Edited by iguanamon on 25 June 2012 at 9:40pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| ElBrujo Newbie United States Joined 4706 days ago 29 posts - 52 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 3 of 19 25 June 2012 at 8:42pm | IP Logged | |||||
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MT is an 8 hour course, so it crams a fair amount of information in a short period of
time. How many units you do per day is entirely up to you. If you feel comfortable doing 5-6 units per day, then keep on chuggin'. If you feel that it might be a better idea to slow-down and stretch the course out a bit, then you know what to do. Like Iguanamon said, you'll need to use other resources in order to be constantly making progress in Italian. Perhaps you could do 30 minutes to an hour of Michel per day, and then add in a podcast, some SRS, or listening-reading. Check out Shared Talk in order to text and voice- chat with native Italian-speakers. Using Assimil in conjunction with Shared Talk is when the real fun started for me. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Random review Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5781 days ago 781 posts - 1310 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Portuguese, Mandarin, Yiddish, German | Message 4 of 19 25 June 2012 at 9:14pm | IP Logged | |||||
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The breaks in Michel Thomas CDs are just tracking breaks, they don't represent lessons.
With MT I think it's best to do it quickly (try to finish it over a weekend if possible) and then get cracking with Assimil. Don't go through it again and PLEASE don't try to learn the material. Later you can come back and do the review course for MT if you want. For me there is only one way to use MT (the way he designed it to be used), far more interesting is how you plan to use Assimil as there are lots of great suggestions on this forum. Edited by Random review on 25 June 2012 at 9:15pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| mikonai Diglot Senior Member United States weirdnamewriting.bloRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4927 days ago 178 posts - 281 votes Speaks: English*, Italian Studies: Swahili, German | Message 5 of 19 25 June 2012 at 9:31pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I've never used MT or Shared Talk (though I may have to check that one out!) But I have
used the Assimil Italian program and can highly recommend it. However, like iguanamon said, your resources shouldn't consist only of courses. Assimil is a great course, but for vocabulary I would suggest a Space Repetition Software (SRS) program like Anki or SuperMemo, particularly if you have a smartphone. Otherwise paper flashcards still work well, though they take up more space. Otherwise, you should look at Italian TV and radio. Even though you might not understand much now, getting to know how the language sounds is helpful. There are also Italian newspapers (Corriere della Sera, for example) that publish free online. Get as much exposure to the language as you can. Librivox also offers some classics read in Italian by at least mostly native speakers, I believe. Another bonus is that everything on Librivox is also available as text for free. Might I recommend "le avventure di pinocchio"? Every language course will say they can get you to fluency without any outside help, but I get best results when I mix and match what works best for me, and change things up now and then with something new or something I haven't done in a while. As far as the number of lessons to do in a day, I'd say it's up to you, but be careful of burnout. I'm not sure if it happens to everyone, but often when a person does a lot of studying for too long a time, they just get tired of it and stop studying altogether. I'd say that if you want to increase the number of lessons you do daily, also try and plan some "dead days" to rest and not have to worry about hardcore studying, at least. Well, I guess this post is too long already. I hope you enjoy the Italian language! I've found it to be a wonderful language to study. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| gravityguy Groupie United Kingdom Joined 4535 days ago 56 posts - 77 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 6 of 19 25 June 2012 at 9:45pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Thanks for the responses all, much appreciated :)
Iguanamon, I shall take your advice and look at finding some online resources (easy to start with) and then progress on to more difficult ones. ElBrujo/Randon review, it's interesting to note that you both think that MT should be completed as quickly as possible. Not sure I could do it in a weekend but I shall start doing as much as my brain can handle and see how I get on. With regards to doing other activities, are there any that an absolute beginner could use? All of the stuff i've looked at so far seems impossible to read / listen to? Also, what is SRS? Random review, you mention that there are various ways to study Assimil. How can I find out what these methods are? I had no idea that there were different approaches. I did see someone talking about passive waves and active waves but assumed that was part of the course. Is this not the case? I have to say, shared talk looks brilliant. Once I have a little more confidence (and some actual vocabulary) I will register and try to find someone that wants to speak english and will also help me with my Italian. I've just started listening to radio onda libera. Don't understand a word they are saying but I suppose over time it will start to come :) 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| iguanamon Pentaglot Senior Member Virgin Islands Speaks: Ladino Joined 5260 days ago 2241 posts - 6731 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Creole (French) | Message 7 of 19 25 June 2012 at 10:09pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Italian 100 Web Exrecises from the University of Victoria looks fun. I also found, on the same google search Puntolíngua: Italian Language Exercises.
Get familiar with the search feature of the forum. Click "search", then "g search" and enter your key words. There are several threads regarding ways to use Assimil on the forum. Here are two that I found- How to use Assimil? and How to best study an Assimil lesson?. Seek and ye shall find. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| tractor Tetraglot Senior Member Norway Joined 5451 days ago 1349 posts - 2292 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, Catalan Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 8 of 19 25 June 2012 at 10:22pm | IP Logged | |||||
The passive and active waves are part of the the course. Some of the courses offer more detailed instructions than others. The instructions in the Dutch course are said to be the most detailed ones. Search the forum, and you'll find a lot of threads about how forum members use Assimil. You'll have to try a bit on your own to find out what works best for you.
Although it is a good idea to start using native materials early on, the benefits of listening to something you don't understand at all are probably minimal. Start listening to something easier and that you can understand at least partially (like Assimil). 1 person has voted this message useful |
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