Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Do You Know The Best Way To Learn Italian ?

By Adrian Fletcher

Depending on where you live in the world, your reasons to learn Italian may differ. In the United States, for example, there are many people that have Italian family and heritage that can motivate them to learn to speak Italian. Being bilingual can improve your career prospects and is a skill that few others will have.

In Europe, speaking Italian is useful for tourists that want to get off the beaten track. Indeed, many retired people often decide to settle in remote but idyllic parts of Italy, meaning a grasp of the language is necessary and would make it easier to settle in.

So if you want to learn Italian, what's the best way to do it in the shortest possible time ? Everybody hates having to learn vocabulary and verbs and dull stuff like that so what's the best way to learn Italian ?

Learning grammar and vocabulary through rote or reading a dictionary is opposite to how we gained our native tongues. We learned them through repetition and primarily an honest desire to use the language.

If you have ever noticed how a baby learns a language then you will see this process in action. The baby listens to his mother early on. The words are repeated until he/she understands what is said. Pretty soon the baby wants to take part in the conversation (It may involve food or something that the baby has a desire to influence in some way). Indeed, the baby has a genuine desire to take part in the conversation.

He/she may make fumbling attempts to speak the language initially. He/she watches as his/her mother forms the words and tries to copy her. Eventually he/she can say a few words. They may not sound exactly right but he/she refines the pronunciation by watching and listening to people around him/her until it sounds right.

When he/she gets to the stage where he/she is forming simple sentences then it is safe to say he/she understands all the basic building blocks to learning a language. From this point his/her ability to speak will increase at a rapid rate.

He/she will learn new words and start using them. He/she will get responses from people he/she talks to and learn from the experience. This will spur him/her on to learn more about the language. He/she will listen to his parents and grandparents who will teach him/her new words and explain meanings. He/she will never stop learning new things about the language just like everyone else.

This method is duplicated when learning a new language by immersing in the language. Immersion learning typically involves going to a country where the language you desire to learn is spoken.

As scary as it may sound you are a baby again (in terms of language skills that is), in a country where all the words make no sense. (well it's probably not that bad, as you may already have some idea of basic words and you can still communicate through body language and pointing) But the main learning strategies are established in this method.

You are exposed to the language all the time. In order to communicate you have to speak it. In order to speak it you have to have the desire. And believe me, if you are living in a country where you don't have the language you have the desire.

Learning a second language is never easy and you will feel a bit silly at times. However having a genuine desire to communicate should get you through. If you take classes in a Italian speaking country you will also have the support network to help you through these tricky times.

So in my opinion the best way to learn to speak Italian fast is to go to a Italian speaking country and take a course. If possible stay in the country after the course has finished. Ideally, you should work and live there for a few months. This will do wonders for your understanding of the language. Continue to study the language. You never stop learning. - 16955

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