How to Become Fluent in Italian

I often get asked questions like:

• How can I become fluent?
• How did you become bilingual?
• How can I truly start speaking perfectly in a second language?

I really truly consider myself super lucky because I grew up bilingual since I lived outside of Italy and I attended English speaking schools in both Switzerland and the US and at home we spoke Italian so at an early age I could perfectly speak and write in two languages and I was learning French along the side!

So yes! This is an easy way to learn because you know that there are many researches out there that prove that learning a second language early on in life is good for many reasons but it also means that it is easier for a young brain to store simultaneously all the information regarding two different languages..so this is how I became bilingual.

I always tell my students that you learn as you LIVE…. and you learn a language even if you do not live in a country where that specific language is spoken… I myself learned English in Switzerland and as you know in Switzerland there are many official languages but none of those are English!!!

"I’m the living proof that you can learn everywhere!"

But how can YOU become fluent in another language

I really strongly suggest to start by talking things easy. You can first create your basic and easy sentences that allow you to communicate then add some writing, but do this in a simple way and keep at it everyday in order to become closer to your objective of becoming fluent.

Fluency comes through practice… the more you practice the faster you will retain a language. 

So I gave you some background information on myself and what you can do… but I also feel that I want to give you an idea of the things that you should not do… because something we unconsciously do things that actually block our learning process…

What should you absolutely NOT do is if you enroll in a language course and you have 1 lesson a week of 1 to 2 hours do not think that that is enough!!!

You HAVE to put in extra work during the week!!! You need at least 2 more hours every week where you study, do homework, talk, listen to a podcast, watch a video… etc… it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to do 2 hours of grammar exercises… my students know that I absolutely hate those!!!!

And plus… honestly there are more FUN ways to pick up a language… then learning and memorizing a dictionary….

Let me give you some examples that you can try out this week!

You can read an article on a newspaper… what is your favorite magazine in your mother tongue language? I’m sure you can find the equivalent in Italian.

Here is a list of some Italian newspapers and magazines that deal with different topics so that you can see if there is something that is interesting for you:

• Vanity Fair (current trends): https://www.vanityfair.it/
• Focus Italia (science): https://www.focus.it/
• Repubblica (Italian Newspaper): https://www.repubblica.it/
• Corriere della Sera (Italian Newspaper): https://www.corriere.it/
• Corriere dello Sport (Sports): https://www.corrieredellosport.it/
• Il Sole 24 ore (Economics and Finance): https://www.ilsole24ore.com/

MAKE IT INTERESTING!!! Otherwise you will not want to read it because honestly you will NOT CARE about what it says! For example if you have seen something on the news that sparked your interest you can google it in Italian and find an article in Italian that talks about that same subject… in this way you already know what the article is talking about and you can focus on learning new words related to that subject! 

It doesn’t need to be too long… Read it find words that you do not know and try to put them into context… remember that linking a word to a context that makes sense for you is the key to remembering the word forever! Do not stress over memorizing lists of vocab!! That is truly a waste of time!

Watch a short video or if your level is advanced… try to watch a movie or even better a tv series with fort episodes. Here is a list of Italian tv series that you might enjoy watching:

• Nero a metà
• Suburra
• I Medici
• L'ispettore Coliandro

In this case always use subtitles of the same language so if the video is in Italian the subtitles must be in Italian! be nice to yourself! Do you know how difficult it is to listen in one language and read in another???

As you have probably understood I’m a super big fan of conversations!

I have proof that conversations work because that is how I personally have learning English and I use this method with all my students and it truly works!

The more you speak the faster you learn a language and even if it might seem very hard at the beginning since you probably do not know a single word of that language but every time you speak you will notice that words will begin to repeat themselves and you will be able to understand better and create new sentences of your own.

I feel that sometimes letting go and speaking freely even if you make a mistake actually helps and allows you to become more fluent in a faster way!

If you start giving yourself a routine and you set yourself some easy reachable goals you will achieve fluency!

Be careful it doesn’t happen overnight! We all have our pace! Do not stress yourself and If you feel like you have lost track… and you need an extra motivation… write me an email… you can reach me at [email protected] and I will do my best to help you out!