There are a lot of reasons why people want to learn a new language. If you want to learn to speak Italian, then may be you fell in love with the place and decided to stay for a while longer or maybe you fell in love with an Italian. There might be a work opportunity waiting for you in Italy and you can’t say no. Your family history may be pointing towards Sicily and you wanted to retrace the steps.
You may be a musician and you just want to make sense out of so many terms like allegro, adagio, or andante. Those are some of the reasons why a person decides to embark in a new learning adventure.
Aside from those here are a few more excuses on why you should really be motivated to learn Italian, the romance language that has 89% similarity to French, and about 82% similarity to Spanish.
• So you can understand what the famous tenors are saying whenever they are hitting the notes in high C.
• So you can make a reservation in that posh, authentic Italian restaurant and confidently order by speaking Italian.
• Expand your knowledge of various cultures and world languages.
• Turn off the subtitles when watching foreign films in Italian.
• Visit Rome and talk to the locals, or ask for directions in Italian.
• Make a conversation with your grandparents who were born in Italy.
• Step into an Armani shop and shop for your right size without making any guesses.
• Study art history.
• Read Dante’s La Divina Commedia in its original language.
Now that you have the motivation to start learning Italian, you will have to tuck in a lot of dedication and patience because learning a new language is never easy. Some language schools will say they can teach you in days and you will be fluent, but those are just promises. You have to extend a lot of efforts on this project. Here are some ways to learn how to speak Italian:
1. Listen carefully to how Italians speak so you could hear how the language really sounds. Watch Italian movies with the subtitles off so you can fully concentrate on the dialogues. It doesn’t matter if you won’t be able to make out the story line as log as you get to learn the rhythm of the language delivered verbally. This is something you have to do as reinforcement to your class or tutorial sessions.
2. Purchase good Italian-English dictionary and phrasebook. These will come in handy so you have a guide on the pronunciations and vocabulary. The useful conversation statements or phrases can help you out since these can’t be found in the dictionary. Always keep this close to you for reference.
3. As you go through your learning sessions, write the lessons down so that the notes will be retained in your memory. You can begin a new journal where you will write in Italian. You can also jot down your favorite lines in any Italian movie that you have watched. Writing is a great tool to reinforce the new words into your memory.
4. Practice makes perfect so do not stop attempting to speak in Italian. Do not be conscious if you’re too slow in finishing your sentences. You will speak it faster in time. If you want to learn to speak Italian, it will also be best to go to Italy for an extended period of time so you can converse with the people who are fluent.