2022 just begun and that means only one thing: New Year's resolutions! And of course, improving your Italian language skills must be one them! Let's find out some useful tips to improve your Italian!
Hello everyone and welcome to a new article. Today I'm going to give you 5 practical tips that you can start using today to improve in my beautiful language, Italian. Actually, these tips apply to the study of any foreign language, but I will speak in particular about Italian because it is the language I teach. Let's get started!
1. Create a routine 🗓
When we start a new activity, such as learning a language or going to the gym, the most important thing is consistency. We cannot expect great results if we are not consistent in what we do. To be consistent, the best thing to do that also makes the process easier is creating a routine. In fact, we humans love habits and it is habits that stimulate us to do what we want to do. So choose a routine to follow! I will now tell you the routine that I recommend to my students and that I also use personally to study the language I am learning right now, Brazilian Portuguese. Obviously the routine will vary from level to level but this is a general routine:
Study every single day of the week with a day off. I study on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for 30 minutes. Tuesdays and Thursdays for 1 hour. Saturday is variable because I review what I studied during the week.
Organize your studying well. Every Sunday I choose what I want to study the upcoming week and I also carefully choose the material: YouTube videos, private lessons, book chapters. Then I add the study to my calendar so I can't say "no".
I try to be as disciplined as possible and follow my routine as much as I can.
2. Stay motivated 💪🏻
The second piece of advice is to never lose motivation. It can be difficult, because studying a language is extremely frustrating, I understand that. But at the same time, in order not to lose motivation I advise you to think about the future. Grab a piece of paper and write: 'when I will know Italian well I will be able to'... what could you do? Maybe talking to your Italian grandparents or your Italian relatives, feeling closer to your roots, going on vacation to Italy and feeling part of our culture, understanding an Italian movie you have always seen with subtitles, etc. By writing your motivations on a piece of paper you will be more aware of what you are doing and whenever you feel unmotivated you can read it to give you a boost. Trust me, it works!
3. Practice conversation 🗣
I'll never stop saying it, speaking is the best way to learn a language. Of course, grammar, writing and reading are also very important, but speaking is essential. How can we improve our speaking skills? Here are some tips:
Talk to a relative or friend if available.
Find a language partner on apps such as HelloTalk or Tandem.
Find a teacher or tutor on the Italki platform. Italki is the leading platform for learning foreign languages. There are hundreds of teachers of Italian and other languages and you can book 1-to-1 lessons with teachers. Prices are very variable so you can find a teacher for every budget. I have been teaching on Italki for six years and I really love this platform. A few days ago my friend and colleague Gaia also started teaching! Click here to sign up for italki and through this link you can get $10 off after your first lesson.
Be constantly exposed to the language 🎧
Exposure to a language is key to improving quickly. The more you are exposed, the faster you will improve. I think the best way to be exposed to the Italian language is with podcasts. In fact, you can listen to a podcast while doing other activities. Also, podcasts generally have a very high quality so you can listen carefully to the words being said. I have to recommend my podcast, the Teacher Stefano Show, but there are many others of course!
Book a trip to Italy ✈️
What is the best way to be inspired to learn Italian? Coming to Italy! So what are you waiting for? Book now your trip to Italy! Now you'll know exactly how much time you have to improve your Italian and start this wonderful adventure!
I hope you have enjoyed these tips! If you want to add some tips or ask me questions, send me a message in the contact section.
Un abbraccio dall’Italia,
Teacher Stefano