Two years ago when I first came to the Amalfi Coast, I knew only a smattering of Italian words. I could say the always useful tourist expressions such as, grazie, buon giorno and Dov’è il bagno?, but little did I suspect back then that living in Italy was in my very near future. Never underestimate the amount of communication that can happen by smiling and creative gesturing or arm waving (and more smiling). But it didn’t take long before learning Italian quickly moved to the top of my priority list.
Every day I am learning more about the beautiful Italian language, and yet it is something I haven’t written about often here on Ciao Amalfi. I know that many of you who stop by here regularly are also at various stages of learning Italian, and are always eager to learn more. So I thought for this week’s Sunday Shout-out I would share with you an interesting website I recently discovered for learning Italian called L’Italiano in Famiglia. (Don’t be intimidated by the Italian website, because I think there is also a lot there for beginners to learn, too.)
One of those cold, foggy days last winter, I was writing while my boyfriend was explore the upper limits of the 800 some TV channels (it might be more, but it is some ridiculous amount) we get on Sky. I am not a TV watcher, so the whole endeavor seemed a bit strange to me. Suddenly he stopped and said, “Oh, here is a program for you.” And, indeed, it was a program made just for me! L’Italiano in Famiglia is a TV program created by the Ufficio Scolastico in the Province of Brescia to help foreigners learn Italian and integrate into Italian society. Lovely! I tried to catch the programs on TV, but found it easier to just head over to the website and watch the programs and use the interactive vocabulary and tools online. While the entire program is written in Italian (it is a good reading exercise, too!), I have found it to be presented in an intuitive and easy to navigate format. Plus, you can watch the programs again and again online to hear the dialogues. They also provide scripts for the videos to help you follow along. (You will need a good dictionary handy, or you can use my favorite online resource wordreference.com.)
So get out your quaderni and enjoy your studies of the beautiful Italian language! Buon divertimento! Have fun!
What are your favorite online sources for learning Italian??
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ciao, Laura, and thanks for info on this site.
My greatest resource has been a website called mylanguageexchange.com, which hooks people up with native language speakers in Italy who are wanting to learn English.
I have been using the site for nearly three years and have made many wonderful friends in the process. I visit my Italian friends when I'm in Italy and nearly every day I have someone to talk to on Skype in Italian. In fact, I was just talking to a friend in Salerno today, and gave him a link to your site!
I've made friends all over Italy through this site and highly recommend it to anyone wanting to improve their Italian.
grazie,
Marybeth
USA
Who knew this existed?! I could have used it 18 years ago, I'll tell ya! But, thanks for the info. I will pass it on!
Hey, thanks for posting this resource. I am always looking for something for my kids so they don't lose the strides they made in learning Italian since we moved back to the US. They still speak Italian each day, but only with their Papi, so maybe this can help. Grazie!
Ciao Marybeth! Thanks for stopping and leaving such a great comment. I looked at mylanguageexhange.com a couple of years ago, but I had forgotten about it. Thanks for sharing! It is such a great opportunity to talk to people from all over the world. Grazie mille!
Ciao Saretta! Yes, I felt the same way when I saw the TV program for the first time. Who knew?!
Ciao Amber! It is so great that you are teaching your kids Italian and that they can speak it every day. Someday they will really be thankful you did! Hope you enjoy and get a lot of use out of that site. Depending on their age, they might like some of the games. Have fun! 🙂