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Learn Italian: The Ultimate Guide

For Beginners

Learning Italian is one of the most rewarding adventures you can embark on.

As an Italian speaker, you'll be able to:

Communicate with family or friends who speak Italian

Have more authentic travel experiences in Italy

Learn more about Italian cuisine, culture, history and art

Live or work in Italy

See the world and the people around you through the eyes of a new language

Not only that, but studies show that the language-learning process sharpens your

memory, helps you adapt to new situations more quickly, and even broadens

your attention span.



Better yet, it opens up a new part of the world to you, together with the possibility

of friendships and relationships you might never otherwise have.

Learning Italian is one of the best decisions you will ever make.

Italian was the second foreign language I learnt and since then I’ve gone on to

successfully learn 7 more.

I got started with Italian by sitting at my friend Claudio's kitchen table in the

mountains in Northern Italy. I would chat with his mother for hours each morning

while he was at work. (Italians love to chat!)

At first, I was completely lost.

But soon I started to pick up on the patterns of the language and figure out how

to make myself understood.

In this post, I’m going to reveal everything I discovered about how to learn Italian

as a beginner.

So, rather than trying to figure it all out yourself, take the time to read this post

and learn from my mistakes!

Here’s what we’ll cover in this article...

If you’ve ever asked yourself any of the following questions, then this article is for

you.

Why Should I Learn Italian?

What Are The Key Features Of Italian?

What Do I Need to Know About Italian Culture?

Is Italian Hard To Learn?

How Can I Learn Italian Verb Conjugations?

https://www.iwillteachyoualanguage.com/blog/how-i-learnt-seven-languages/

https://www.iwillteachyoualanguage.com/blog/how-i-learnt-seven-languages/



What Pitfalls Do I Need To Avoid As A Beginner Learner?

What’s The Best Way To Best Way To Become Fluent In Italian?

What Are The Best Resources For Learning Italian?

I’ll start by telling you about the fundamental aspects of the Italian language and

its culture. Then I'll look at one of the major challenges faced by all beginner

Italian learners - verbs. Finally, I’ll finish with my recommended action steps to

help you learn to speak Italian quickly.

WHY LEARN ITALIAN?

When you tell your friends you want to learn Italian, you might finding yourself

fielding a few questions.

“Why Italian?” they might ask. “Why not something more useful like Spanish or

Mandarin?”



It's a fair question. While Italian is still a very useful language in international

business, admittedly, it's not as widely used as languages like Spanish and

Chinese are.

But there are still plenty of good reasons to learn Italian.

Over 65 million people speak Italian as their primary language. Most of them are

located in Italy, but there are smaller Italian-speaking populations in Switzerland,

Croatia, Slovenia, Romania, and Bosnia and Herzegovina too.

And in big cities around the world, you'll also find plenty of Italian speakers and

active Italian cultural groups to connect with.

Let's consider a few more reasons this beautiful language is worth learning:

Italian Is An Important Language For Lovers Of Art and Culture: If

you’re interested in art history, Italian is the language for you. It will help you

discover more about the world of Da Vinci, Botticelli, and Michelangelo. Are you a

fan of classic literature? With Italian, you can read Dante’s Divine Comedy as he

wrote it in Florence hundreds of years ago. A fashion maven? Learn the language

of Giorgio Armani, Salvatore Ferragamo, Dolce and Gabanna. A lover of

opera? Imagine being able to listen to the beautiful notes of an aria from La

Traviata and being able to understand every word without any subtitles to take

your eyes off the singer’s face

Italian Sounds Beautiful: It may seem like a shallow reason to learn a language,

but Italian is a beautiful sounding language. And if you're going to learn it, you'll

have to listen to it a lot! Simple sentences in Italian can sound incredibly musical.

Many language-learners are drawn to Italian because of its rhythm and melody so

it's no wonder Italian is often called the language of love and the language of

seduction.



Learning Italian Will Make Learning Other languages Easier: Once you learn a

foreign language, your brain starts to make new linguistic connections. Learning

any subsequent language, especially another Romance language, will be

significantly easier once you have mastered Italian. When studying Romance

languages, you will already know many of the words’ roots and the basic grammar

structures. But even if you study a language that has next to nothing in common

with Italian, you’ll still find it easier because of the new neural pathways and

connections that learning your first foreign language opens up for you.

If You Speak Italian, You Can Have More Authentic Experiences When Traveling In

Italy: Perhaps most importantly, you should learn Italian if you want to travel to

Italy. Many travellers dream of seeing Rome, Naples, Milan, and Florence. But you

can’t fully appreciate Italy without seeing the smaller towns, too: the areas off the

beaten track, where most tourists don’t take the time to go. In the more touristic

parts of Italy, an English-speaker can get by with minimal Italian. The Italians

employed in restaurants and hotels tend to speak English to a relatively a decent

level. Those who do not work in tourism, however, speak minimal English. This

will come as a surprise to some seasoned travellers, because in so many parts of

Europe – Scandinavian countries in particular – most people speak English almost

flawlessly. Italy is different. Students do learn some English in school, but overall,

confident English speakers are not that common. So, if you want to have

meaningful conversations with real Italians, your best bet is to learn Italian!



THE KEY FEATURES OF ITALIAN

In this section, we’ll look at the key linguistic features of Italian and what they

mean for you as beginner learner. You’ll learn about:

The Development of Modern Italian

Word Gender In Italian

An Introduction To Italian Verbs

The Italian Past Tenses

The Subjunctive

Italian Pronunciation & Spelling

https://www.iwillteachyoualanguage.com/learn/italian#modern_italian

https://www.iwillteachyoualanguage.com/learn/italian#italian_wordgender

https://www.iwillteachyoualanguage.com/learn/italian#italian_verbcon

https://www.iwillteachyoualanguage.com/learn/italian#italian_past

https://www.iwillteachyoualanguage.com/learn/italian#subjunctive

https://www.iwillteachyoualanguage.com/learn/italian#italian_pron



The Development Of Modern Italian

Like French, Romanian, Spanish, Portuguese, and many other smaller languages,

Italian is a Romance language.

These languages all originate from Latin, the language spoken long ago in Ancient

Rome and they all have a lot in common. That means that if you have any

experience with one of the other Romance languages, you’ve got a head start with

Italian.

One of the most interesting things about modern day Italian is how it came to

exist at all.

Italy is a relatively newly unified country by European standards. Before all the

regions of Italy were unified in the 19th Century, people in different areas spoke

vastly different dialects.

(Note: A dialect is a variation of a language spoken in a particular place, for

example in England, people speak British English, whereas, in Ireland, they speak

a slightly different dialect with their own unique local phrases and slang).

Many of the Italian dialects still remain today, especially among older generations.

However, in 19th Century Italy, these dialects were so different that a person from

Naples, in the South, sometimes wouldn’t even have been able to communicate

with a person from Venice, in the North.

So, when the regions were unified, it was decided that there needed to be an

official Italian language, which would be taught in schools and used in

government, and ideally would also eventually be used in daily life.

But which region’s dialect would be chosen as the 'official Italian'?



After much debate, the country decided that the most beautiful and perfect

Italian was that used by the famous poet Dante Alighieri in the late Middle Ages.

And so modern, standard Italian is largely based on Dante’s Italian.

It is spoken in every corner of Italy as the primary tongue, even where people still

use their own dialects in their day-to-day lives.

To give you some perspective on how incredible this is, imagine if someone

decided that all the different accents English-speakers have are too varied, so we

should all speak Shakespeare’s English!

It goes to show what an incredible, fascinating, and downright crazy place Italy

can be sometimes.

Now, let's look at some of the fundamental parts of the Italian language.

We'll start with a concept that you might recognize if you studied a foreign

language in school: word gender.



Learning Italian Word Gender

In Italian, just like in French, Spanish or German, all nouns have a gender

- masculine or feminine.

This means that every time you learn a new word in Italian, you'll also need to

learn the gender of that word.

When talking about people, this is easy. The grammatical gender is the same as

the gender of the person:

un uomo (a man - masculine)

una donna (a woman - feminine)

Other objects, however, do not follow any logical pattern. For example,

sandwiches and trains are masculine:

https://www.iwillteachyoualanguage.com/learn/german/



un panino

un treno

Meanwhile, lamps and butterflies are feminine:

una lampada

una farfalla

Sometimes the gender of a noun can even be counterintuitive, although it isn't

that common. For example, ‘masculinity’ (la mascolinità) and ‘virility’ (la virilità) are

actually both feminine nouns in Italian!

In Italian, just as in English, articles are often used with words. In English, we have

two articles:

a/an

the

In Italian, there are four:

un

una

il

la

The articles that go with each noun in Italian also depends on the gender of the

word.

una and la go with feminine nouns

un and il go with masculine nouns.



Most of the time there is no rhyme or reason to which nouns are masculine and

which are feminine. You just have to take note and memorize them as you go.

But don’t worry! It’s not as hard as it sounds.

As you start to build your vocabulary, you’ll quickly notice some patterns and

shortcuts that help you.

For example, in Italian, almost all nouns end with an a or an o. Words that don't

end in one of these two letters are words that have been adopted into Italian

from other languages.

Once you notice this pattern, you'll see that there is an easy way to determine the

gender of most words.

Nouns that end with the letter a are almost always feminine

Nouns that end with an o are normally masculine

Like most grammar rules, there are exceptions, such as:

La mano - the hand (feminine)

However, these exceptions are few and far between, so you’ll be safe with the 'a/o

rule' the vast majority of the time.

An Introduction To Italian Verbs

Another of the main differences between Italian and English is the way verbs are

formed and used

In English, verbs don’t change form very much. For example, in the present tense,

English simply adds an ‘s’ to the ‘he/she’ form, giving:



I love

you love

he/she/it loves

we love

you (plural) love

they love

However, in Italian, there are other changes, depending on who carries out the

action. This process is called conjugation.

Verbs are conjugated differently depending on who is doing an action and when

the action is being done. For example, the Italian verb amare (to love) would be

conjugated as follows in the present tense:

io amo (I love)

tu ami (you love)

lui/lei ama (he/she love)

noi amiamo (we love)

voi amate (you love)

loro/Loro/essi amano (they love)



The Italian Past Tenses

Italian verb tenses are a little different from English, too, but this isn't too difficult

once you get the hang of it.

When talking about the past, Italian has two different tenses which essentially

distinguish between:

An event that occurred just once at a single point in time

Something that was true for an extended period of time or that happened

regularly.

English has lots of different ways express these things, whereas, in Italian, the

rules are more specific. This can seem confusing at first but it's actually much

simpler than in English. It’s different, but you'll become accustomed to the Italian

tenses very quickly as you practice.



In fact, it’s probably much easier for English speakers to master Italian tenses

than it is for Italian speakers to get to grips with the complicated tense system in

English.

The Subjunctive In Italian

It's also worth mentioning that the use of the subjunctive is common in Italian.

If Italian is your first foreign language, this problem sounds like something

strange and intimidating, but we actually have the subjunctive in English too.

The difference is that the subjunctive has almost died out in English and is only

present in expressions like “God Save the Queen” (not “God saves the Queen”) or

“It is important that you be on time” (not “are on time”).

There are several common Italian phrases that must always be followed by the

subjunctive tense. It's definitely worth practising these as they tend to come up

quite often in conversation. Here are a few examples:

Sembra che (it seems that)

È bene che (it is good that)

È giusto che (it is right that)

È strano che (it is strange that)

Bisogna che (it is necessary that)

In Italian, unlike in English, the subjunctive forms of verbs are often different from

the normal (indicative) forms.

Here's an example of a sentence using the subjunctive present form:



È necessario che (tu) parli più chiaramente. (It is necessary that you speak more

clearly.)

There are different conjugations for subjunctive present, imperfect, past, and

pluperfect.

As with other verb conjugations, the endings depend on whether the infinitive

form of the verb ends in –are, -ere, or -ire.

The subjunctive is essentially one more set of conjugations to memorize, but once

you get the hang of it, it allows you to express things that are otherwise difficult to

say.

In a nutshell, the subjunctive, (or congiuntivo in Italian), expresses possibility.

If translated into English, it would sound very old-fashioned, but once you get the

hang of it, there’s a lot of beauty to the way you can use it and the things it can

express.It is the form

It is the form for phrasing feelings – doubt, uncertainty, hopes, desires, and

suggestions.

The subjunctive is one of the more complicated parts of Italian, but you’ll be

happy to find out that the next element of Italian - pronunciation - is really easy!

Italian Pronunciation & Spelling

Italian is completely phonetic, so once you learn a few rules, you’ll be able to

easily pronounce any word you see written down.



The first rule of Italian pronunciation is to pronounce every letter. There are no

silent letters to throw you for a loop like there are with French!

One of the key letters to focus on as a beginner in Italian is the letter 'c' which

works a little differently than in English.

In Italian, the letter c followed by a vowel makes what English speakers think of as

a “ch” sound (like in the English word 'cheese').

On the other hand, when an h follows a c, like in the word chiaro (clear), it makes

a hard 'k' sound.

Another sound to watch out for is e at the end of words. In these situations, it

makes an 'eh' sound. Listen to the pronunciation of the word difficile and notice

this e sound:

Once you get the hang of these key sounds, you’re all set with Italian

pronunciation. You'll be able to accurately pronounce almost any word you see

written down, right from the beginning!

For this reason, spelling is also quite straightforward. Armed with the same

knowledge you used to master pronunciation, you’ll be able to flawlessly spell any

word you hear spoken.

See? Not difficile at all! Obviously, being able to spell Italian words and pronounce

them correctly is a big step towards mastering the Italian language, so that fact

that you can get the hang of this so quickly is a major head start!

https://www.iwillteachyoualanguage.com/blog/5-tips-roll-your-rs/



WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

ITALIAN CULTURE

Believe it or not, you’ve made it through the hardest sections of learning Italian -

the fundamentals! Now for the fun part – getting to know a little more about

Italian culture!

What do you think of when you imagine Italy, that boot-shaped country jutting its

heel into the Mediterranean?

Perhaps you picture rolling Tuscan hills and valleys full of olive trees, ready to be

harvested? Maybe you picture the olive oil that comes from those olive groves

drizzled onto fresh dough and baked into a delicious pizza? Maybe you picture an

old Italian nonna preparing homemade pasta?

Or perhaps your mind goes straight to the famous Italian monuments -

the Duomo in Florence, or Teatro alla Scala opera house in Milan? The Colosseum,



Saint Peter’s Basilica, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the canals of Venice or the ruins

of Pompeii? The list is never-ending.

But beyond the stereotypes that come to mind when we think of Italy, there is an

amazing culture unlike any other in the world.

There’s so much to be said, but let’s stick to four particularly interesting elements

of Italian culture:

Food

Cinema

History

Art

Italian Food

There’s no denying it: the stereotype is true - pizza and pasta dominate Italian

cuisine.



There’s more to the story, though, so let’s look a little deeper.

When dining at a restaurant in Italy, you will typically be offered two main

courses:

Primo piatto – The is the first course and it's traditionally pasta or risotto. You will

almost never encounter pasta served in meat sauce in Italy. There is typically not

any meat until the second main course.

Secondo piatto – The second course in Italy is the meat dish. Meat or fish is

prepared in a wide variety of ways, depending on the region of Italy or the

preferences of the chef.

Additionally, you can expect to be offered antipasti (starters

like bruschetta), contorni (sides, usually vegetable-based), and dolce (dessert).

An Italian meal usually ends with a caffè (a shot of strong espresso) or a digestivo,

which is an alcoholic drink like grappa or limoncello to aid in digestion.

You’ll also find that the different regions of Italy all have their own very distinctive

cuisines.

The stereotypical Italian style is closer to Southern Italian cuisine. The style in the

North of Italy is still undeniably Italian, but it takes a lot of inspiration from French

cooking, which makes sense given that it’s geographically closer to France.

Northern Italian cooking uses more butter while Southern Italian cooking uses

more olive oil. Pizza originates from Napoli (Naples), which is in the South.

Different regions also have different specialities. Often the specialities feature

ingredients that are specific to the region. In Lombardia (Lombardy), you'll

find gli gnocchi al Gorgonzola, while in Sicilia (Sicily) you can try spaghetti al nero

di seppia (squid ink spaghetti).



Italian Cinema

Since the early days of cinema, Italian filmmakers have been considered some of

the most innovative in the world.

After World War II, Italian movie makers developed a new genre referred to

as Neoclassicism. These were politically-charged films that touched on the post-

war poverty Italy was facing at the time.

On a more lighthearted note, as you may have already known from the

name, Spaghetti Westerns were an important part of Italian cinematic history.

They were popular in the 1960s are they're basically over-the-top Westerns

embellished by Italian creativity and exaggeration. They were typically dubbed

into English to give them broader international appeal.

Italian History

Italy is, without a doubt, one of the most historically rich regions in the world. It

has seen prosperity and destruction, beauty and terror, and the rise and fall of



great civilizations. Every city and village has its own fascinating story spanning

centuries.

Whether you’re interested in recent history or ancient history, Italy has something

for you to explore.

History is full of fascinating stories, on the world stage and in the local town

square. Spend a little time in Italy and you might be surprised at how willing the

locals are to share their stories about life, death and the history of their villages

and towns.

Italian Art

Even if you’ve never taken a course or read a book about Art History, you

probably already know what a huge role Italy has played in the creation of art as

we know it today.

Many of the most iconic and recognisable paintings in the world are of Italian

origin and Renaissance Italian art is especially popular.



Even if you are not familiar with the history of art, an afternoon at

the Uffizi Gallery in Florence admiring the work of Da Vinci, Botticelli, and

Michelangelo is not to be missed.

Italian sculpture is as impressive as Italian painting. You will be astonished by the

towering, incredibly realistic statues that Italian sculptors have brought to life

from local marble.

Modern Italians take great pride in the artistic prowess of their forefathers and art

history is an essential part of the Italian liceo (high school) curriculum.This means

most people in Italy are quite knowledgeable about the artistic treasures their

country holds and it's a great topic to chat about with them.

This means most people in Italy are quite knowledgeable about the artistic

treasures their country holds and it's a great topic to chat about with them.

Appreciating Italian Culture

The key to fully appreciating all that Italian culture has to offer is learning the

Italian language.

Of course, it’s possible to understand and appreciate it without learning the

language (and many people do), but speaking Italian is necessary for befriending

and communicating with Italian people, for reading documents and watching

films in their original form, and for feeling at ease when travelling in Italy.

It's not that you can't appreciate Italian culture if you don't speak Italian, but once

you've learned the language you'll certainly be able to enjoy and appreciate it

much more.



IS ITALIAN HARD TO LEARN?

It's easy to assume that learning Italian will be too difficult, and never even give it

a try. But actually, Italian is one of the easiest foreign languages for a native-

English speaker to learn.

At first, Italian may sound super-fast and completely indecipherable but don’t be

intimidated. It takes time to adapt to the sounds of any new language and Italian

is no different.

When you first start learning Italian, it's important to listen to the language as

much as possible. After a few weeks of study, you'll find that the jumble of sounds

begins to untangle into words, phrases, and sentences.

Italian really isn’t a hard language, and if you put your mind to it you can master it

without terrible difficulty.



One huge advantage you have when learning Italian is that it uses the same

alphabet as English.

It’s easy to take this perk for granted but really is a huge help. It eliminates a

whole step of the process that you have to go through when learning languages

like Japanese, Chinese or Arabic.

Another of the reasons that Italian is particularly easy to learn is that everything is

phonetic. Once you've learned the basic pronunciation rules (which can be done

easily in an hour or less), you can accurately pronounce any word you see written

down.

Another thing that makes Italian relatively easy for English speakers is the

number of words that the two languages share. These words are called cognates

and they are the same or similar in both English and Italian.

Cognates between English and Italian exist for several reasons.

In some cases, words were taken from Italian and integrated directly into English,

and vice-versa. Other words are similar or the same because they come from the

same Latin root.

Here are some examples of common English/Italian cognates:

Miserabile (miserable)

Moderno (modern)

Eloquente (eloquent)

Naturale (natural)

Originale (original)

Errore (error)

Concerto (concert)

https://www.iwillteachyoualanguage.com/learn/japanese/

https://www.iwillteachyoualanguage.com/learn/chinese/



Melodia (melody)

As you study Italian, you'll quickly notice some patterns among English/Italian

cognates, and this can help you make an educated guess about how to say certain

words in Italian.

For example, words that end in –al in English are often the same but for an –

ale ending in Italian:

Finale (Final)

Naturale (Natural)

Originale (Original)

Words that end in -ble in English are often the same but for an –bile ending in

Italian:

Possibile (Possible)

Impossibile (Impossible)

Responsabile (Responsible)

Words that end in –y in English generally end in –ia in Italian:

Democrazia (Democracy)

Psicologia (Psychology)

Autonomia (Autonomy)

There are also many other words in Italian that are the same as in English but

with added vowels on the end (because in Italian it is extremely rare for words to

end in consonants).



What all of this means for you is that you actually already know hundreds if not

thousands of words in Italian. And you get all this vocabulary for free without any

memorization or study!

HOW TO LEARN ITALIAN VERB

CONJUGATIONS

Many learners consider Italian verb conjugation to be the most difficult and

frustrating part of the learning the language. There are lots of different verb

forms to learn and for this reason, verbs intimidate a lot of learners.

However, this fear is truly unwarranted.

I know Italian verb conjugation seems like a lot to take on, but in truth, it's just a

case of mastering a few simple patterns and getting lots of practice using them in

conversation.

The more you practice, the more natural the verb system will seem and soon

you'll be able to flawlessly conjugate verbs without thinking about it.

Italian verbs in their infinitive forms fall into three categories, based on their

endings:

–ire

–ere

–are

To conjugate verbs in Italian, you simply remove the –ire, –ere or –are and replace

it with the appropriate ending.



For example, let's take a look at how to conjugate partire (to leave) in the present

tense.We start by removing the –ire from the end of the verb, which lives us with:

part

This is the 'root' of the verb. Next, we add the appropriate endings to conjugate

the verb. In the present tense conjugations would be as follows (note the endings

in bold):

io parto (I leave)

tu parti (you leave)

lui, lei parte (he/she leaves)

noi partiamo (we leave)

voi partite (you [plural] leave)

loro partono (they leave)

The endings of the conjugated verbs will change based on the ending of the

infinitive, the person or people doing the action and the verb tense, which means

there's quite a lot of them to learn!

There isn't really any 'magic bullet' solution when it comes to learning Italian verb

conjugations.

But don't worry too much, it seems more intimidating than it really is.

I found it useful to make conjugation charts when I was starting out. I’d put the

endings on one axis and the people/subjects on the other axis. That way, I could

easily find the type of verb I was looking for and add the correct ending I needed.

I also focused on paying close attention to the verb forms used in everything I

read and listened to. For example, if you practice by reading short stories or



articles in Italian, it's a good idea to always try and notice the verbs in the text and

pay attention to which endings they use.

When I was learning Italian, I had a “master” chart that I kept handy as I was

practising. It included all the common types of conjugations written out on one

page. As I was reading or writing, I'd simply refer to this verb chart when I came

across an ending I couldn't remember.

Eventually, I got to the point where I could just visualize the chart if I wasn’t sure

how to conjugate a certain verb while speaking or writing.

And finally, I didn’t need to visualize the chart at all.

With enough practice, Italian verb endings become natural and you stop thinking

about them. You’ll get to the point where you just know what “sounds right” as

you most likely already do in English.

There are just a few irregular Italian verbs that don’t follow these patterns but

luckily, they're rare enough that you can just memorize them separately without

too much trouble.

The reason that most learners struggle with Italian verbs is that they try to

memorize everything and get frustrated and overwhelmed.

But in fact, regular verbs don’t come down to a matter of intentional

memorization.

With enough careful attention and practice, you'll find your brain starts to

remember and understand them on its own.

This is because the brain recognizes patterns.



Since Italian verb conjugation follows a very specific set of patterns, our brains

quickly get used to them and they become second-nature. It's simply a case of

reading, hearing and using the verbs enough that the patterns become obvious.

From a neurological perspective, it is similar to the way our brains perceive

patterns in music. Once you catch on to melodies in a piece of music, you know

what sounds right and can often even predict how a song or melody will progress.

5 PITFALLS TO WATCH OUT FOR AS A

BEGINNER ITALIAN LEARNER

The hardest foreign language you'll ever learn is your first one.

Once you know how to learn a language, it becomes a lot easier to make

consistent progress.

As a beginner learning Italian, there are some common pitfalls you need to watch

out for.If your goal is to learn Italian and quickly and efficiently as possible, these



tips will help you avoid some of the most common mistakes that many new

language learners make:

If your goal is to learn Italian and quickly and efficiently as possible, these tips will

help you avoid some of the most common mistakes that many new language

learners make:

1. Don’t Translate

If you are reading or listening in Italian, resist the urge to translate in your head

and say the sentence to yourself in English.

Some people say you know you’ve learned a language when you start to dream in

it, and this is the very definition of not translating.

Translating is an excellent skill to develop after you become fluent in a foreign

language, but during the language-learning process, it will only hold you back and

lead to confusion.

Your goal should be to think of Italian words as words themselves, not as some

code to decipher.

2. Don’t Memorize Random Italian Vocabulary Lists

It’s a waste of time to aimlessly memorize vocab lists, especially as they tend to be

lists of obscure words that are often not relevant to you.

I will always remember memorizing a list of body parts from my Italian textbook

and asking myself, “When am I ever going to use most of these words?”

Don't fall into that trap.



As your Italian improves, chances are you will be able to make an educated guess

as to the meaning of words from their context. And if you're really stuck, you can

always ask:

Come si dice in italiano...? (How do you say ... in Italian?)

So don’t memorize lists of random vocabulary, instead focus on choosing the

words that you're most likely to use in real conversations. This way you will learn

more useful words in a more organic way.

3. Don’t Be Afraid To Make Mistakes

A fear of making mistakes is one of your greatest enemies as a language-learner.

It can be intimidating to speak a new language at first, but it’s much better to try

and fail than not to try at all.

In most circumstances, people will still understand you even if you make some

minor mistakes.

And if they don’t understand you, they’ll ask clarifying questions which expand the

conversation and are great practice for you.

Sometimes they'll even be kind enough to explain the mistake you made and give

you pointers on how you can avoid it in the future.

When it comes to improving your spoken Italian, two old sayings really do ring

true: “Practice makes perfect,” and “If at first, you don’t succeed, try again!”

https://www.iwillteachyoualanguage.com/blog/13-ways-to-beat-your-fear-and-start-speaking/



4. Focus On The Language, Not The Resources

One of the things that new learners tend to waste the most time on is trying to

find the 'perfect' resource to learn with.

Don't get me wrong, finding the right materials is an important part of your

learning but you still need to focus the language if you're going to make any

progress.

There are countless ways to learn, no matter where you are in life. So take a little

time at the beginning to find something you like and enjoy using, then just get

started!

Focus on learning the language rather than always looking for the perfect

resource – there is no 'one size fits all' solution. No matter what Italian learning

materials you use, you'll need to put in the time and effort to practice and that's

what will make the biggest difference to your Italian fluency.

5. Don’t Give Up

Once you’ve been learning Italian for a while, you may feel like you begin to

plateau at an intermediate level before you’ve ever become truly fluent.

It is imperative that you don’t give up at this point. I've experienced this sense of

levelling off in every language I've learned, but in every single case, just when I felt

like I'd never make it to fluency, I've had major breakthroughs.It's

It's simply part of the process.

Don’t give up on your Italian – when you hit a plateau, it’s a sign you’re almost

there.



5 STEPS TO LEARN TO SPEAK ITALIAN FOR

BEGINNERS

Now that you know what pitfalls to avoid, you’re ready to really get started on

your path to Italian fluency. As a beginner, it's often difficult to know where to

start or what you should focus on.

In my experience, there are few simple shortcuts that you can take to quickstart

your learning and start making progress with your Italian in a short space of time.

1. Get A Good Italian Textbook

A good textbook will help you consolidate what you have learned in your

conversations or from your teacher. Textbooks are great for clarifying your

understanding and teaching you the fundamentals of Italian.

Take some time to find a textbook you like and will want to use. I always go to my

local bookshop and take a look at the content, look and feel of the books before I



buy one because I know I need to choose something that will keep my motivated

to practice regularly.

2. Learn The Fundamentals Of Italian

Don’t avoid grammar at the beginning because it intimidates you. Learn the

fundamentals early on so there won’t be any gaps in your knowledge as you

progress.

Imagine the Italian language like a pyramid of building blocks. The fundamentals

are the blocks at the bottom - the base. They might not seem as exciting as the

blocks at the top, but they are the foundation and without them, the structure

cannot stand.



3. Memorise Key Italian Phrases

Have you ever flipped through a guidebook for an interesting destination and

seen a glossary of key phrases towards the back?

Key phrases are the things that you say often in daily life – everything from “hello,”

and “please,” and “thank you,” to “How much does that cost?”.

Learning and using these key phrases gives you a chance to put the language into

action right from the very beginning. It also gets you accustomed to the way the

language feels in your mouth when you speak.

Try to identify the words and phrases you'll need most often in your Italian

conversations, then focusing on learning these first.



4. Don’t Get Too Hung Up On Italian Grammar

Grammar is, of course, important and you should give it sufficient attention, but

don’t get so hung up on it that you stress yourself out or neglect to speak in case

you make mistakes.

Even if your grammar is poor, people will be able to understand you anyway. No

one will judge you for imperfect grammar. They will be impressed and thrilled

that you are making the effort to learn the language at all!

And the more you use the language, the quicker your brain will start to pick up on

all those tricky grammar points anyway!



5. Find Italian People To Speak With

The more you practice speaking Italian, the quicker and more effective your

learning will be.

Speaking with real Italian people has benefits that cannot be reaped elsewhere.

After all, the soul of a language is the people who speak it. Through conversations

with Italian speakers, you'll learn Italian slang and colloquialisms that will bring

the language to life. And it will help you learn how to speak Italian like in a real,

natural way.

You will also benefit from the real-time feedback you receive from your speaking

partners. If you make mistakes, the person you are talking to can correct you and

help you understand how to fix your weaknesses.

https://www.iwillteachyoualanguage.com/blog/start-speaking-limited-vocab/



RESOURCES TO LEARN ITALIAN ONLINE

Now that you’re ready to start learning Italian, these are my recommended

resources to learn as quickly as possible.

Italian Books For Beginners

Italian Short Stories for Beginners – One of the best ways to improve your Italian

and expand your vocabulary is to read Italian books. I’ve written a series of short

stories designed especially for beginners. If you enjoy reading, you’ll love these

stories, which are packed with special features to help you understand and –

above all – enjoy reading Italian! Available on Amazon Kindle and paperback: CLICK

HERE TO LEARN MORE

Learn How To Speak Italian

italki – This is my favourite website for finding teachers and affordable tutors to

help practise my Italian. I use italki literally every day to get that all-important

speaking practice that helps me stay fluent.

Italian Audio For Listening Practice

Conversations - Do you struggle to understand fast, spoken Italian? Conversations

helps you understand real Italian & transform your listening skills in less than 90

days.

Glossika – Glossika Mass Sentences is an incredible resource for serious Italian

learners who want to learn to understand and speak their new language quickly. I

use Glossika with every new language I learn, and it helps me get used to all the

different sounds and grammatical structures of the language.

http://amzn.to/1qnVBsz



https://iwillteachyoualanguage.com/italkidirect

https://learn.iwillteachyoualanguage.com/italian-conversations-sales-page

https://iwillteachyoualanguage.com/glossika



FluentU – FluentU is an extensive library of Italian videos, with interactive bi-

lingual subtitles, looping functionality, a hover-dictionary … and much more! If you

love watching Italian TV and movies, you’ll love FluentU.

Learn To Write In Italian

HelloTalk – HelloTalk is one of the few language learning apps I actually use and

recommend! With a user base of millions of people, you can quickly find friends to

start practising with! It’s worth upgrading to the paid version of the app to get

access to all the cool translation features.

NOW YOU’RE READY TO START LEARNING

ITALIAN!

Follow these tips and you’ll be speaking Italian in no time!

https://www.iwillteachyoualanguage.com/fluentudirect/

https://iwillteachyoualanguage.com/hellotalk



All your hard work and determination will pay off big time when you're having

real, life-altering conversations with Italian people you never could have

communicated with before.

By learning Italian, you’re learning more than just a new language.

You’re learning to think about the world in a new way, you’re learning how culture

plays an important role in the development of a language, and you’re opening up

your mind to new possibilities and people.

As anyone who has ever successfully learnt Italian can tell you, the moment you

realise you are having a conversation – when you are expressing yourself

confidently and can understand what people are saying to you – is an amazing

feeling.

My final piece of advice to you ... get started!

There's no better time to start your journey to fluency in Italian than right now.

With strong motivation, a clear plan and a little hard work, there's nothing that

can stop you!

Buona fortuna!

I hope you’ve found this post useful!

If you have any friends or family learning Italian, please take a moment to share

this post with them, or on social media – it would mean a lot to me! (You can click

here to send a Tweet!)

http://ctt.ec/4917N

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