Those that have asked me this question are generally looking for a shortcut to language learning and I’m sorry to say that it doesn’t exist. Like most things in life it takes hard work. Undoubtedly the quickest way to learn Italian (or any other language) is to go there and immerse yourself in it. You really need to find yourself in a situation where your life depends on it. Where you wouldn’t eat or find a place to stay without it gets best results!
Even although I’ve been living in Italy for nearly 7 years what is restricting my ability to become completely fluent is that I am still working in English and think in English rather than Italian. On the other hand, our two kids (17 and 15) spend 6 hours a day at school immersed in the language and have no English distractions to talk of. Even after their school day they still have interaction with their Italian friends for hours afterwards and this led to them becoming fluent after only 6 months here.
There are some ways to learn Italian for free which we will address in a subsequent post but for those who are keen to start the process and can’t jump on a plane today here are some good options to get the show on the road:
a. Find an Italian language learning course close to you – I went to classes every Monday evening for nearly two years before moving here.
b. Sign up to an online language courses – there are many of these including Rosetta Stone, Babbel, Rocket Languages, to name a few.
c. Listen to the radio – undoubtedly this is quite difficult initially as most radio presenters talk fast and you can’t see their lips, but this medium gives you a great opportunity to listen to the rhythm and sound of the language.
d. Watch Italian TV – many satellite TV providers offer add ons that cover TV programs in foreign languages.
e. Watch Italian movies – these are available on Netflix and other streaming services. Watch them with English subtitles first and then Italian.
f. Read Italian books – good libraries and bookstores will have some or download them to your phone or Kindle.
g. Read Italian newspapers – these can be found at some newsstands or will be available via you phone’s app store.
h. Attend Italian cultural events – there must be an Italian deli or market near you that can tell you where the Italians hang out!
In the absence of immersion then dedicate yourself to the cause. There is no doubt that after a few weeks of constant study an hour or two a day you will get to a reasonable level and be able to have a basic conversation in Italian. By using a combination of the resources above you will obtain a good overall grounding in the language. It is important that you read, listen, write and speak Italian (yes, all four). Reading is probably the easiest of the four components, with the speaking part being the most difficult, or certainly the one we are scared most of, but you shouldn’t be as Italians are very grateful that you are making an effort and are very understanding and will encourage and help you, this is where I find them quite unique.
Having a grounding in another language may help you learn faster but this is not always the case. I was fortunate to have learnt Latin-based languages at school (Latin, French, Spanish) whereas Linda learnt Afrikaans which is more Dutch and Germanic. Latin language verb structures are similar in their verb conjugation, Germanic not; and so this gave me a heads up but put Linda at a major is advantage. But bottom line, there are no short cuts hard work (study) conquers all!
Keep motivated!