{"id":931,"date":"2013-04-02T06:08:59","date_gmt":"2013-04-02T04:08:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=931"},"modified":"2022-01-08T02:12:50","modified_gmt":"2022-01-08T01:12:50","slug":"the-best-way-to-learn-italian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/the-best-way-to-learn-italian\/","title":{"rendered":"Learn Italian the Quick and Easy Way"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a>After living in Rome for two years, I can finally say with confidence that I speak Italian.\u00a0 Maybe not perfectly, and certainly with an American accent, but I feel OK in stating that I speak the language.<\/p>\n

People back in the U.S. often ask me, \u201cWhat\u2019s the best way to learn Italian?\u201d\u00a0 My answer is simple: Come live in Italy.<\/p>\n

OK, I\u2019m being sarcastic, because I realize what they really mean is, \u201cWhat\u2019s the best way to learn Italian without <\/i>moving to Italy?<\/strong>\u201d\u00a0 That, as they say, is another story\u2026<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

On the train to Assisi, March 2001<\/h2>\n

I had committed my plan to memory: get off the train at Assisi, find a taxi at the station, and take it to my hotel in the nearby village of Spello. I even had an Italian friend write out the directions on a piece of paper to give to the driver.\u00a0 No problem, all set. I sat back on the train with my journal in hand and enjoyed the view of the Umbrian countryside slowly passing by my window.<\/p>\n

Then the train unexpectedly stopped at a small station. I glanced out the window and lo and behold the large blue and white sign said, \u201cSpello.\u201d<\/p>\n

Should I get off? I wondered. It seemed to make sense\u2014why go 15 kilometers past Spello all the way to Assisi only to take a cab back again? Much easier to just jump off now and go directly to the hotel, no? I tried to ask\u00a0random folks on the train, but alas, nobody spoke a word of English<\/strong>. And my handy phrasebook was buried deep in my backpack\u2014not so handy after all. Damn it! I had 30 seconds to decide.<\/p>\n

I grabbed my other suitcase and hopped down onto the platform just as the whistle blew. The train slowly pulled away and I turned around to gaze wistfully at the majestic Monte Subasio in the near distance.<\/p>\n

\"Spello\"<\/a>
Spello<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And there: the charming town of Spello, about 6-7 kilometers away, tucked up high on the mountainside.\u00a0 Ah\u2026che bella! <\/i>(using the full extent of my Italian vocabulary at the time).<\/p>\n

After enjoying the lovely panorama for a minute, I turned back around to find the station and locate suitable transportation to the town center. On closer inspection, the \u201cstation\u201d was merely an abandoned wooden building. Not even a building at that point in its history; more like 10,000 termites holding hands in the shape<\/i> of a building.<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, don\u2019t panic,\u201d I told myself, \u201clet\u2019s appraise the situation. No station, no taxis, not another human in sight. Che bella!<\/i>\u201d I glanced again at the little town in the distance, now looking more like 60-70 kilometers away. The hike (or expedition) would require a significant quantity of mountaineering gear, a strong pack mule, and a well-trained guide. I strained my vocabulary for a more appropriate phrase.\u00a0Che cazzo! <\/i>(Why is it that the swear words are the first thing that people learn?)<\/p>\n

\"Did<\/a>
Did somebody call an exterminator?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now what? Well, after a few intense moments of self-loathing, the first thing I did was resolve to learn Italian and come back to Italy<\/strong> with the skills to survive. For some reason, this became extremely important to me from that moment on. It was a way to recover my pride, I suppose.<\/p>\n

The Best Way to Learn Italian<\/h2>\n

Whatever the motivation, when I got back to the U.S. I immediately purchased a software program<\/a><\/strong> to get me started. Everything I had read online said that this was the way to go. Books, tapes, DVDs\u2014they\u2019re all fine, and good supplements to help practice. But I found that the guided lessons of the software program gave me the structure and active participation that I needed<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Of course, a private tutor might have done the job, but I was working too many hours at the time and needed a platform that allowed me to dictate and adjust my study schedule<\/strong>. (Plus, private tutors are expensive–I know, because I used to be one!)<\/p>\n

\n

What I like about it is that it gets you using<\/i> the language right away rather than just studying it. You learn in a method more similar to how you learned your first language,<\/strong> by trial and error, rather than memorizing verb conjugations and grammar rules.<\/p>\n

\n

Personally, I have enjoyed the challenge of learning a new language. Beyond the practical uses of communicating in a foreign country, it truly changes your perspective and opens your mind<\/strong> when you begin thinking in a language other than your mother tongue.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a Czech proverb that says, \u201cLearn a new language, gain a new soul.\u201d I think there\u2019s a lot of truth to that.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

So to sum it up, the best way to learn Italian: 1) Move to Italy; 2)\u00a0A good software program.<\/p>\n

But if you’re not quite ready to dive into the deep end, then check out my free<\/strong> email course on my site: Talk Like an Italian<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

And one last piece of advice: whether studying language or traveling by train, stick to the plan!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After living in Rome for two years, I can finally say with confidence that I speak Italian.\u00a0 Maybe not perfectly, and certainly with an American accent, but I feel OK in stating that I speak the language. People back in the U.S. often ask me, \u201cWhat\u2019s the best way to learn Italian?\u201d\u00a0 My answer is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5010,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,29,124],"tags":[49,132,52,39,28,15,32,33,133,14,131],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}