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How to best maximise my learning time? | ||
Tags: Learning Strategy | Italian | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| italbeginner Newbie United Kingdom Joined 5016 days ago 3 posts - 4 votes | Message 1 of 7 22 May 2011 at 12:43am | IP Logged | ||
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Does any one have any advice on how to speed up my learning process,
I had been learning Italian but I stopped for about a month and a half and now I'm eager to get back into it at the start of the week, but before that I was only using Rosetta stone and I wasn't moving forward really with it, I have about two hours a day I can spend on it some times more, I know there isn't a short cut to learning a language I'm just wondering if you guys have a more efficient way for me to do it Edited by italbeginner on 22 May 2011 at 12:43am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| zekecoma Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5348 days ago 561 posts - 655 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish | Message 2 of 7 22 May 2011 at 6:28am | IP Logged | ||
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I recommend to pick up Assimil Italian with Ease, find some Italian music, movies,
parallel text books, full Italian books, etc. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Ari Heptaglot Senior Member Norway Joined 6586 days ago 2314 posts - 5695 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese Studies: Czech, Latin, German | Message 3 of 7 22 May 2011 at 7:41am | IP Logged | ||
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Step one for effective language learning: set fire to yout copy of Rosetta Stone and watch it burn. A majority of language learning enthusiasts seem to agree that Rosetta Stone is pretty much the worst language learning program
out there. In step two, there are many choices. Assimil and Michel Thomas often get praised around here. I haven't used Assimil, but I'm using MT for Spanish and I find it pretty good. It seems that Yabla has an Italian section. I've been using that, too, for Spanish and I love it. However, as it seems to be newly launched for Italian, there might be fewer materials. But still, it can be a great learning tool. Edited by Ari on 22 May 2011 at 7:43am 7 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| kmart Senior Member Australia Joined 6128 days ago 194 posts - 400 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian | Message 4 of 7 22 May 2011 at 1:24pm | IP Logged | ||
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The first thing you need to do is identify why you want to learn Italian, and that will help you determine how best to study it. For instance, do you want to be able to converse with Italians, are you a fan of Italian cinema or are you wanting to read Dante in his own words? Once you decide what your purpose is, then you can structure your study time to best effect, by concentrating on the resources that will get you to your goal faster ie either listening/speaking, just listening, reading etc.
Having said that, don't ignore the other aspects completely, as they do complement each other. For example, using the "shadowing" technique with Assimil, even though it is speaking practice, helps to focus your attention on the individual words and improves listening comprehension. Reading Italian texts exposes you to vocabulary and "modi di dire" (common sayings), that will improve your spoken language skills. I'm probably more of an example of "what not to do", given the length of time I have been studying Italian to a mediocre level, but below are resources I have found useful. My top picks: Pimsleur: Pros - pronunciation and getting confidence in conversations. Cons - expensive, slow, and small vocabulary Michel Thomas: Pros - fast-track grammar. Cons - non-native, heavily accented pronunciation(though not technically incorrect, I think), small vocabulary Assimil: Pros - for listening skills, colloquial expressions, grammar practice, vocabulary. Cons - probably not for beginners without some previous grammar knowledge (although others claim it is possible to use as sole teaching method), grammar explanations a bit higgledy-piggledy (which is why I wouldn't use it as my primary grammar source, but good as reinforcement of specific points), gets FAST real quick. You can get good value out of these courses time-wise as they are audio and can be used in any bits of spare "brain-free" time you might have, eg commuting, exercising, doing housework. Assimil needs some reading time as well as the audio, but not necessarily at the same time. I listen to Assimil lessons in my car, then study the transcripts, translations and grammar explanations after several repetitions of the lesson. You might want to research the shadowing technique explained on this forum and by Professor Arguelles on YouTube. I highly recommend it. Another audio program I enjoyed was Linguaphone All-Talk - I would recommend it as an "extra" practice tool, if you need it. It's at beginner level. At the next level up, Practice and Improve is a bit like Assimil, it has a transcription of the audio, and some grammar points, but no English translation. It is also harder to use as the transcription is in one book and the explanations in another. Difficult to source unfortunately. Another Assimil-like program is Cortina's Master Linguist, I believe. I can't comment on it yet, I've just bought it, but haven't received it. If you want to use a textbook or grammar book, the textbooks I've found useful are the BBC's Buongiorno, McGraw Hill's Prego and those published by Alma Edizione (AE's books are Italian-language only, no English, so maybe a little difficult for a beginner without a teacher). Straight grammar books, with few exercises, are "English Grammar for Students of Italian" and "Soluzioni!". And if you want lots of drills, McGraw-Hill again, with Nanni-Tate's "Practice makes Perfect" series. In addition, if you want conversational practice, there are sites like Busuu where you can connect with Italians and practice language exchange. If you want more professional help and have the finances to pay for it, Myngle and Edufire offer qualified language tutors. I have to confess, I don't do a lot of reading outside my grammars and textbooks, but I do find dual-language books useful, anything which saves me the nuisance of looking up a dictionery every sentence. The most common advice given by the experienced learners on this sight is to not sweat every word, but read for general understanding, only looking up those words that are hindering your understanding of the story. Harry Potter is frequently recommended as a good reading source (personally, reading it once in English was enough Harry Potter for this lifetime). Otherwise useful reading resources include children's books, Easy Italian Reader, the audio magazines Think Italian, and stuff all over the interwebs. I'm sorry that I can't give you a specific answer, but it all comes down to your own goals, interests, preferences etc, forming a unique mix. Probably only you can decide on the best methods and techniques to suit you. Try out a few, but don't go on a quest for the perfect program, you'll get better value out of persistence. In bocca al lupo ! 6 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| FuroraCeltica Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 6869 days ago 1187 posts - 1427 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, French | Message 5 of 7 25 May 2011 at 5:14pm | IP Logged | ||
Buy a lexical frequency dictionary and learn 20-30 words a day Listen to one lesson a day of Assimil, as many times as it takes for you to learn it 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| josht Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6450 days ago 635 posts - 857 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: French, Spanish, Russian, Dutch | Message 6 of 7 25 May 2011 at 5:48pm | IP Logged | ||
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In addition to the wonderful advice already given, I'd also recommend that you limit your time here in the forums. I've noticed that the more time I spend learning about how to learn languages, the less time I actually spend on, you know, learning languages. I give this advice only partly in jest; you can know about the greatest learning strategies in the world, but they don't work if you spend all of your time chasing even better strategies. Edited by josht on 25 May 2011 at 5:50pm 6 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| IlonaDiVerona Diglot Newbie Australia Joined 4956 days ago 2 posts - 5 votes Speaks: English, Hungarian* Studies: Italian | Message 7 of 7 26 May 2011 at 12:22am | IP Logged | ||
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I previously attended Italian classes which were taught with Macgraw Hill's Prego books (mentioned by kmart) which were very good. In my experience however, nothing compares to having as many Italian conversations as possible. This has improved my reading, writing and conversational skills all at once. I have not used a specific language text for a few years now, other than a dictionary.
Watch films, read magazines (choose something light however), listen to the radio, find Italian people to practice with and don't worry about making mistakes. Italians love to talk and will be happy to help you out. Edited by IlonaDiVerona on 26 May 2011 at 12:23am 3 persons have voted this message useful |
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