Learning Italian

[Chuckanut]

I've been supposedly studying Italian for over a decade. That is not good. By now I should be reasonably fluent, but I am pathetic. Why? No native speakers to help me. So I gave up on the idea of being fluent. It won't happen at my age, and now its a lot more fun.

I did however find this series of cartoons made by a lady who moved to Rome. I hope you find it as entertaining as I did. This is #3 of a series. Le

https://www.washingtonpost.com/trav...alian-moving-to-rome/?itid=co_bytheway-rome_1

 

[MC Rider]

One of my Grandmothers went to Italy for a couple years, I think she was past 60 yo.
She signed up to cook for a missionary group there. Those people must have been well fed. LOL.


I don't remember her saying a lot about the language. But she always liked crossword puzzles, and she was very hard to beat at Scrabble. So, I'll guess she did pretty well with it.

 

[Zona]

Yes, for us adult learners, finding native speakers to talk to (who have the time and interest to help) can be a real challenge!

I so relate to that comic — my mind wants to say all kinds of things in French or Spanish, but my vocabulary limits me. I find that with native speakers I try to take on the persona of the “funny foreigner” and convey to them that I don’t have the words for everything I want to say but it’s okay to correct me! One of the first things I say is “So sorry, I speak like a five year old, please correct me”. Most of the time they are patient and willing to keep talking in the language instead of switching to English.

Do you have anyone (even other learners) to talk with? Or are you trying to just self-study? I’ve been learning French for years and I have a weekly study group of non-native speakers that I meet up with. We would probably improve more with a native speaker instructing us, but I’ve noticed we’ve improved a lot over the years just by reading aloud, translating, correcting each other’s pronunciation where we can, and doing exercises in grammar workbooks. We try as much as possible to only speak French with each other during our meetings.

Not sure what part of the country you are in, Chuckanut, but here in the Phoenix area there are a few cities that have language classes through the Parks and Rec system. Spanish is a big one here, but my town does have beginner Italian, I noticed in one of the recent circulars they mailed out. Perhaps that might be something your town offers, or an Italian-American club? For a while pre-Covid, one of our French-owned cafes was hosting a biweekly coffee chat where the French owner would sit down and have conversations with learners (encouraged to buy coffee and pastries, of course…it was win-win). Maybe there is an Italian-owned restaurant or cafe near you whose owners would go for something like that.

One of my French group members has also used Italki which lets you connect with native speakers online. That might work for you also.

Good luck and don’t give up!

 

[anethum]

I've posted about this previously, but with technology, it's easy today to practice and learn a foreign language with a native speaker for free. I've been doing a language exchange for many years with a young man in Costa Rica. When the pandemic started, I began practicing my already fluent French with various native speakers who wanted to improve their English. Since last year, I've been speaking weekly with a FIRE'd man in Paris on Skype. We speak for 30 minutes in English and 30 minutes in French. There are several free websites for finding language partners. I especially like the following site:

https://www.conversationexchange.com/

It's completely free. You create a profile. You can do a search specifying the native language of the partner you're seeking, and the language that person wants to learn. You can also rate your own language ability in the language you want to learn, and the English ability you would like your partner to have. You will find that there are many people who are hoping to find native speakers of English for exchanges. My Costa Rican partner told me that he had to send out many requests to English speakers who were seeking native Spanish speakers, in order to get a single response. If you see a potential partner who sounds promising, you can send that person a message through the website. If they respond positively, then the two of you work out the platform you want to use (e.g. Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp, etc), the time, and the duration of your chat. Also, after you sign up and create a profile, people can send you exchange requests.

 

[casole]

I like that cartoon series OP mentioned too. Commenters on Wapo can be so snarky. Anyway, this thread reminded me of the David Sedaris book "Me Talk Pretty One Day" it had me crying laughing. That Conversation Exchange site sounds really cool and now that we're all pretty much so used to zooming I don't think it would be too awkward.. I hope OP finds someone to chat with.

I too seem to start beginner Italian every couple of years!

 

[ScoopKona]

I've been supposedly studying Italian for over a decade. That is not good. By now I should be reasonably fluent, but I am pathetic. Why?

I have visited Italy since I was a child. It is my wife's favorite vacation spot. All told, I have spent at least 36 months there.

Learn Spanish. Those languages are so close that they may as well be the same. What we consider Italian was taught by the Spanish after the fall of the Roman empire.

That being said, I have friends who have lived there for years and years and own property there. If you need a bona fide expert, I can send email.

 

[Bamaman]

I've been to Italy at least 10 times, and about all I can do in Italian is order food and wine.

I'm just thankful that the children of Europe can speak English. Feels funny to communicate using the kids as translators.

Most of the countries we visit all speak decent English. But get outside the big tourist towns of Italy and very few people speak English.

 

[marko]

While fluent in French, Italian and "good enough" Japanese, I had to learn Danish for a short-term consulting job 15 years ago. I used Rosetta Stone and while I never actually had to speak Danish, I still remember what I had learned. They have an interesting way of helping you learn and retain.

 

[Zona]

There was a really uplifting article in the Washington Post about a carpet cleaner who is a hyperpolyglot -- Vaughn Smith speaks 37 languages total and 24 of them well enough to carry on long conversations. Mostly self-taught. People are often stunned when he speaks their language -- and in his words their reaction is usually that they are "hit with a splash of happiness" that someone unexpectedly can communicate with them. Super inspiring story for us language learners. (You can search for it "The Remarkable Brain of a Carpet Cleaner who Speaks 24 Languages" by Jessica Contrera.)

First time posting a link so apologies if the Washington Post URL doesn't format well (might be behind a paywall): "The Remarkable Brain of a Carpet Cleaner who Speaks 24 Languages" by Jessica Contrera.

 

[Chuckanut]

I've been to Italy at least 10 times, and about all I can do in Italian is order food and wine.

One of the biggest problems I have when traveling in Italy is that my attempts to speak Italian are often short circuited by natives whose English is far better than my Italian. English is everywhere in the big cities and tourist areas.

The only time my pathetic Italian was very useful was when visiting my parents home town area. One lady at the hotel desk spoke descent English. Period. Every other person in the shops, restaurants, etc. only spoke Italian. While there I decided to buy an Italian map of the area. I went to a small book shop. I thought I was speaking fairly well, having rehearsed what I was going to say before leaving the hotel room. But, the clerk, an older man of at least 70, looked at me like I was speaking Klingon. Then I remembered that this area had its own dialect. Santa Mozzarella! But, he was helpful and we finally left the store with a map.

Another time I spent 30 minutes talking with a old pensionato. I understood about 1/3 of what he said, and we had a great conversation.

 

[Chuckanut]

I've posted about this previously, but with technology, it's easy today to practice and learn a foreign language with a native speaker for free. I've been doing a language exchange for many years with a young man in Costa Rica. When the pandemic started, I began practicing my already fluent French with various native speakers who wanted to improve their English. Since last year, I've been speaking weekly with a FIRE'd man in Paris on Skype. We speak for 30 minutes in English and 30 minutes in French. There are several free websites for finding language partners. I especially like the following site:

https://www.conversationexchange.com/

Thanks! I will give this a try.