Italian with Cher - SoundSage

Before just recently, it had been a looooong 3 years since I had seriously and consistently studied Italian.

Il mio italiano era ARRUGGINITO.

That’s why I’m committing myself to 5 main activities in an effort to kickstart my studies again. If you’ve been following me for a while, you might be surprised to hear some of the ways that I plan on relearning the language. Over the years, how I learn best has changed, and I’m now approaching my studies with a lot more flexibility, fun, and grace than I ever used to.

Curious to hear what you think, and I would love to hear what you’re trying to relearn the language as well!

Can’t see the video player above? CLICK HERE to watch it on YouTube.

RESOURCES Get Free Weekly Italian Lessons | https://icebergproject.co/italian/free-lessons/

Language Learners Mentioned:

Luca Lampariello: https://www.lucalampariello.com/

Olly Richards: https://iwillteachyoualanguage.com/

Benny Lewis: https://www.fluentin3months.com/

Kevin Morehouse

Lindsay Does Languages: https://www.lindsaydoeslanguages.com/

Kerstin Fluent: https://www.fluentlanguage.co.uk/

Other resources mentioned

Italki language lessons: https://www.italki.com/i/ref/A0Affd?hl=en (affiliate link)

Anki flash cards: https://apps.ankiweb.net/

YouTube channels mentioned

Learn Italian with Lucrezia: https://www.youtube.com/c/lucreziaoddone

CALLMEDIDI: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfa7G6yuCpg5HUcJ0az-cgQ

Cosa mangiamo oggi?: https://www.youtube.com/c/Cosamangiamooggi

Chiara Facchetti: https://www.youtube.com/user/kiascricc

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Hello! Lindsay Williams of Lindsay Does Languages here. Cher has kindly let me hop onto the site to share this post with you.

I’ve been co-hosting Women In Language now for over 2 years. Women In Language is now heading for its third major annual event, and we can’t wait to bring it to you live 17-20th September 2020.

If you’d like to join us live for this year’s Women In Language event, you can!

The 4 day event happens online, so you can join from anywhere in the world. And, best of all, tickets are just $29. Learn more and get your Women In Language 2020 ticket here.

And it’s good news for Italian learners this year! In this post, I’ll share 3 ways to boost your Italian at Women In Language 2020.

Number #1: Our Italian Dream Team! We’ve been impressed with Elfin Waters, Barbara Rocci, and Silvia Perrone’s dedication to their podcast for Italian learners, Con Parole Nostre.

It’s all about casual conversation between three Italian friends, there to give Italian learners the natural exposure to the language they need, wherever you are in the world.

That’s why we’ve invited them to speak this year together, as one of our first ever Dream Teams!

Their session is called How Listening to Friends Talking Will Make You a Better Speaker of Italian (or Any Foreign Language).

Here’s how they describe the session in their own words:

You can’t hope to truly learn a language without friends. Or anything else really. So what if that were your starting point?

Con Parole Nostre is a podcast for Italian learners based entirely on conversations between real-life friends Elfin, Barbara and Silvia.

We laugh, we cry, we argue and most of all chat without any script whatsoever.

In this presentation, Silvia, Barbara and Elfin share how friendship and community are key in becoming fluent Italian speakers and how by speaking spontaneously, we give a more accurate and helpful portrayal of Italian language and culture but also emotions.

Number #2: Learn Italian With Lucrezia Lucrezia Oddone teaches Italian online primarily via her YouTube channel. With video lessons there as well as vlogs of her daily life in Rome, it’s a great resource for all Italian learners.

Lucrezia’s session this year is Case Histories: How Jhumpa Lahiri Found Her Voice in Another Language.

In it, Lucrezia explores more about Jhumpa Lahiri and her personal journey with the Italian language.

Here’s what Lucrezia has to say about her presentation:

We do not choose what language is going to be our native or first language, the context where we are born and/or grow up decide it for us. But what would happen if we realised that it is not really representative of who we are? That is a life-changing moment, one that has characterized Pulitzer winning author Jhumpa Lahiri’s life.

She has found her true self in Italian language and decided that Italian would be her language. During my talk I will tell you more about the extraordinary decision the author made a few years ago and hopefully inspire you to start learning a language just because you love it and not because you feel obliged to study it. I’m an Italian teacher and most of my students study Italian because they want to. This can be applied to any language you might want to learn.

There’s nothing more empowering than doing something for yourself, something that truly makes you happy. And learning a language could be this something!

Number #3: Live Italian Language Exchanges This year at Women In Language, we’re bringing something new to the event…open online language exchange!

Our two Speak Easy sessions across the 4 day event are for learners of all languages at all levels.

When joining the call, we ask which language you want to practise and open breakout rooms for each language.

Think of it as a super friendly chance to speak Italian out loud with other learners!

We’re really excited to be bringing language exchange sessions to Women In Language for the first time.

BONUS: 25 Other Amazing Reasons to Join Women In Language 2020! This is just a snippet of the incredible line up at this year’s event taking place 17-20 September 2020.

You’ve also got 25 other sessions to enjoy with your ticket!

There are two panels taking place. One on the topic of Heritage Languages, which might be interesting to those with family roots in the country. And our other panel this year is about Confidence as a Language Expert. Ever wanted to share your own Italian experience publicly and with confidence? This one’s for you!

Other Dream Teams this year let you explore mindfulness with María Ortega García and Jessica Tefenkgi Ruelle, and learn about the Quechua Collective with Elva Ambia & Jessica Huancacuri.

And we’re still barely scratching the surface of everything you’ll get to enjoy, both live and on catch up with the recordings for those sessions you can’t make live. It’s basically every language lover’s new Netflix.

If you’d like to join us for the event, tickets are available for just $29 at womeninlanguage.com.

See you there! Ci vediamo!

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One of the most common questions that we get is if we have any teachers or tutors to recommend both while students are abroad in Italy and while they’re home.

To answer that question, I turned to all of you – the members of The Iceberg Project community – to ask about your most highly recommended Italian teachers and tutors… and you definitely came through.

Below you’ll find a list of 20 options. Some are native speakers in Italy. Others are native speakers in the US or Canada. And some are English speakers that could offer a different perspective on learning the language.

When possible, I’ve included their full name, location, contact info, and any tidbits about them that readers provided (although I did not include their names for privacy). They are in no particular order.

If you think your tutor or teacher should be included in this list, leave a comment below and we’ll add them!

Finally, to be clear, I’ve only worked with a few people on this list and have not personally vetted them myself. The people I have worked with and LOVED are Blessy, Beatrice Massaro, and Manuela Andragna.

I hope it’s helpful!

TUTORS / TEACHERS 1) Matteo and Katie of Joy of Languages

Website: joyoflanguages.com

Contact: katie@joyoflanguages.com

Student comments: “I am doing a year long online Italian course through joyoflanguages.com – the founder of the school and head teacher is Katie Harris. I can not recommend her highly enough. As an experienced ESL teacher, online developer and “professional student” of languages I can highly recommend Katie’s approach in terms of content, instructional design and delivery. She and her partner Matteo really make learning Italian a lot of fun and I look forward to each new topic. They also make Easy Italian and 5 minute Italian podcasts which are great.”

2) Rachele

Contact: https://www.italki.com/teacher/4305174

Location: Milan, Italy

Student comments: “I would recommend Rachele on Italki. She is anything but boring, we laugh a lot and share bits of our lives. She often emails out links to resources she has found to give additional help to her students. She is based in Milano, has young children, if any of these things matter to people.”

3) Riccardo Cristiani

Website: dante-learning.com

Contact: info@dante-learning.com

Location: Milan, Italy

Student comments: “I have been having Skype lessons with Riccardo for 5 years. I’m 68 years old. My 32 year old daughter has also been learning from him for 2 years. He is an intelligent, adaptable, approachable, interesting teacher. Once you have signed up for lessons, you also receive his challenging and well researched grammar blogs in your inbox every second day.”

4) Irene Caracci

Website: https://www.duespaghetti-yib.com/

Contact: There is a contact form at the bottom of her homepage on her website.

Location: Milan, Italy

Student comments: “I would like to recommend my teacher Irene Caracci. She lives in Milan, and does Skype lessons. Very fun and knowledgeable.”

5) Ema

Website: https://www.italki.com/teacher/3115093

Location: Rome, Italy

Student comments: “I highly recommend Ema. In particular she specialises in Italian and modern art and fashion and builds this into her lessons.”

6) Martina Scattolin

Website: italianbites.org

Contact: https://www.italianbites.org/contact/

Location: Venice, Italy

Student comments: “My recommendation for Italian tutoring is, with no reservations, Martina Scattolin. I highly recommend this accomplished, creative, innovative woman.”

7) Rossella Chiolini

Website: http://www.illuminalanguages.com/

Contact: rossella@illuminalanguages.com

Location: San Diego, CA

Student comments: “I have been taking private lessons with Rossella for years, both in person and now via zoom. I have been studying Italian for the last 20 years and she is the best teacher that I have ever had! I highly recommend her.”

8) Raluca Berger

Contact: ralucaberger@yahoo.com

9) Claudia Cevoli

Contact: allyoucanlearn@gmail.com

Location: Italy

10) Simona Giustini

Contact: simona.giustini@gmail.com

Location: Montreal, Canada

Student comments: “I live in Montreal, Canada and I met her through the Italian Consulate where she teaches. She is from Rome. Beautiful, sweet and a great teacher!”

11) Beatrice Massaro

Website: www.italianoconbeatrice.com

Contact: italianoconbeatrice@gmail.com

12) Blessy

Contact: https://www.italki.com/teacher/1353852?hl=en

Location: Rome, Italy

Student comments:

“Organized and on time
Patient and insightful, helps me think outside the box
Uses Google docs which is extremely helpful
Puts images on the Google Docs and asks that I create a story or dialogue
She has very good questions that make me think
You have a copy of the Google Docs to study following the lesson
Extremely helpful with grammar, giving many good sentence examples
She is relaxed, speaks slowly enough to understand.
Immersion: Probably the most important part of her lesson is her Insistence on speaking only in Italian and when you struggle for a word, she asks you to find another one in Italian that is similar. Discourages defaulting to English.”

13) Laura T.

Website: http://www.learn-italian-online.net/

Contact: https://www.italki.com/teacher/3132050

Location: Padua, Italy

Student comments: “I love my tutor and have met her twice in Italy, once in Milan and once in Florence.”

14) Antonella Calvo

Contact: aoneal@odu.edu

Location: Norfolk, VA

15) Santino Santinelli

Website: www.italianskypelessons.com

Contact: italianskypelessons1@gmail.com

Location: Ascoli Piceno, Italy

16) Sara Zanelletti

Contact: sarazanelletti@gmail.com

Location: Los Angeles, CA

17) Manuela Andragna

Contact: https://www.italki.com/teacher/5763861

Location: Toronto, Canada

18) Monika Dorfmann

Contact: Monika.dorfmann@gmail.com

Then… there were a couple of people who offered up their services, and I want to make sure they’re included too!

19) Emily Rothenberg

Contact: emily.rothenberg@gmail.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/emilybrothenberg

She says: I am not a native speaker; however I have done professional translation, some interpretation, worked in Italy multiple times, and am an experienced language teacher and private tutor (English, Italian, Spanish). For Italian, I am most comfortable working with people at a beginner through intermediate level. I usually make my own curriculum but can accommodate what someone’s specific needs are (business, conversation, study abroad, etc.).

20) Niki Nicastro

Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niki-nicastro-37226115/

Contact: nikinicastro@gmail.com

Location: NYC

He says: “I am a professional native Italian tutor and translator and I have taught Italian for the past 9 years, on all levels, from absolute beginners to advanced, in groups or privately.

I am “diplomata” in Languages and I have also studied Literature and Philosophy at the University of Bologna. In Italy I also took diction courses, so I speak Italian precisely, correctly, and without any regional accent. My English is also excellent, so I can explain questions regarding grammar and vocabulary to beginning students. I always personalize lessons depending on the age, level and goals of my students. I do have a method and always try to create new ways to learn this wonderful language, however, all the lessons and the programs are custom for each learner. I am based in New York where I have been living for 10 years, and I am available to teach online via Skype, Zoom or Facetime. At the moment I have students everywhere in the states and abroad, and the age of my students are from 4 to 80 right now!

21) Erika from Italian Art Pods Website: https://www.italianartpods.com/about

Contact: info@italianartpods.com

“Alongside the podcast she also gives personalised lessons. I can attest that she is an excellent teacher that is very responsive to her students needs and language goals.”

Resources 1.) Italki Italki (referral link) is an online community of language learners and teachers to help you take whatever foreign language you’re learning to the next level. What’s cool about it is that you can learn directly from home on your own schedule and skip the traditional school curriculum – which I love because I’ve always been a rebel.

It’s totally affordable, too. I spend between $10 – $20 an hour, and the lessons are based on what I want to learn, which helps me retain information because I’m genuinely interested.

This style also encourages me to take note of the areas I need to strengthen throughout the week when I watch Italian movies, read books or newspapers, and talk to friends from Italy.

Signing up with Italki is completely free, and you can use the site to find language partners for free until you feel ready to hire an informal or professional teacher. Go to Italki.com (referral link) and start tackling those problem areas you’ve been dealing with alone, like those pesky prepositions, the endlessly confusing sentence structure, and that subjunctive tense that’s been driving you crazy.

Memrise uses mems, audio, and constant practice to help you learn.

You can choose mems that are most likely to stick in your memory, and you can make them as well, which will earn you extra points for contributing. It has a game-like feel as you are moving up levels, racing against the clock and gaining points.

2.) Duolingo Duolingo – Duolingo is cool because it’s free + useful. You determine your level, go through levels, unlock higher ones, and then translate some text that ends up being translated on the interwebs for the people reading in other languages. I also love that they have an Events feature, so you can have conversations, play games, or talk about your mutual interests all in Italian.

3.) Contexto-Reverso Contexto-Reverso is a mix between a search engine for sentences and a dictionary.

Type any word or phrase into the search bar, and it will bring examples of that word/phrase used in a sentence for you.You’ll learn more from context and be able to put together sentences that Italians would actually say as opposed to what you might translate from English.

4.) Dictionaries: – WordReference – Word Reference is my go-to dictionary for all things Italian, Spanish, and French. It hosts other languages too, but I don’t use them as much. I also have the iPhone app. There are times when their expressions are outdated or just plain wrong, but it’s definitely more accurate culturally than online translators.

– Corriere della Sera – Basic dictionary in Italian

– L’espresso | Slangopedia – I don’t use this one as often as I should, but it’s like the Urban Dictionary for the Italian language. It’s great, basically.

5.) Blogs: – Diario di Studentessa Matta – Besides being one of the kindest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting online, Melissa is amazing because she’s committed her online space to flexing her Italian language muscles. Props. Read her posts. They’re good for practice.

5.) Podcasts: – ItalianPod101.com – The Fastest Way to Learn Italian Guaranteed (referral link) – If anything, you should listen to this podcast for the fancy opera intro. No really, the content that they have is valuable for the fact that they’re quick and help you develop your ear with vocabulary.

– 2 Minutes 2 Italy – “Italian language and culture decoder, Rachel has spent over 10 years living in Italy, plus she has a bachelors in Italian language and a Masters in Italian art history. In this podcast she will take you on a two minute trip through all things Italian. From food, to famous paintings, cities, Italian political figures and more, if you’ve ever wanted a crash course in the “bel paese” this is the podcast for you.”

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We get a lot of readers who check out Cher’s top 10 books she loves in Italian and many who read about how to discuss these beloved (or hated) libri but both of these articles are for the more advanced learner.

After seeing emails come through asking for beginner books, we thought it would be great to compile a list of easier-to-read books that we’ve enjoyed as well as some for the more advanced readers.

Here are some of our favorites for all levels.

11 Beginner – Advanced Books to Help You Study Italian 1) Rachele e il mare – A cute pop up book about a girl and her adventures under the water. You can learn lots of new Italian words pertaining to sea life from this read! (Level: Beginner)

2) Pezzettino – A heartwarming story with a great message about being yourself. (Level: Beginner)

3) Le sei storie delle emozioni – Six stories about six different emotions. Another great book for learning new vocabulary! (Level: Beginner / advanced beginner)

4) Piccole storie per bambini di 2 anni -Don’t let the title scare you (a two year old’s vocab is pretty vast), this a great read to practice your Italian and increase your level. Practice reading it out loud for double the learning whammy. (Level: Beginner / advanced beginner)

5) Storie della buonanotte per bambine ribelli. 100 vite di donne straordinarie – An amazing book on famous and fabulous females. This is a great book as it has many different sections to read (100 different women) and is a bit more challenging than Rachele e il mare. (Level: Advanced beginner / intermediate)

6) Io e il papu – This is heartwarming story about a boy and his special relationship with Pope Francis. (Level: Intermediate / advanced intermediate)

7) Per questo mi chiamo Giovanni – A fascinating read (chapter book) about the killing of the great anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone and a boy who was named after him. (Level: Intermediate / advanced)

8) Il grande libro delle fiabe – Reading fables is a great way to revisit childhood favorites and exercise your brain in Italian. Plus, it’s fun to spot the tiny differences in their versions and ours. (Level: Intermediate / advanced)

9) Il sentiero dei nidi di ragno – Italo Calvino is a classic, famous Italian author and this is one of his best known books. Truly worth a read and to appreciate the fantastic writing. (Level: Advanced intermediate / advanced)

10) Che idea! Le invenzioni che hanno cambiato il mondo -The only book not originally in Italian on this list, still an interesting and mid-level read. I like books that are broken down by separate stories, and this is a great one for that as it allows you to read it piece by piece. (Level: Advanced intermediate / advanced)

11) La luna e i falò – A book about the return home after the liberation in Italy, and the struggles of returning to a country changed, this is considered one of the best books by Pavese. (Level: Advanced)

What books would you add to this list? Do you remember the first book you read in Italian?

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When you think about sports in Italy, I’ll bet the first one that comes to mind is the infamous calcio, or soccer. And if you have spent any length of time obsessing about Italian culture or in Italy–or both–team names like Juventus and Gli Azzurri will come to mind. But beyond calcio, there are lots of popular sports played in Italy, and if you want to be able to talk about the sports that you practice (or practiced in those golden years of yours), here are ## phrases to throw around in your Italian conversations.

Vocabulary Words for Talking About Sports in Italian L’atletica – Athletics Athletics is a more generic field that covers things like:

La corsa – Running
La corsa campestre – Cross-country
Il footing – Jogging
La marcia – Foot race
Il salto in alto – High jump
Il salto in lungo – Long jump

— Faccio corso campestre. – I run cross-country.

— Facco la marcia perché è meno dannoso per il corpo rispetto alla corsa. – I do speed-walking (?) because it’s less harmful for the body compared to running.

Il baseball – Baseball While baseball isn’t hugely popular in Italy, it is present–with roots dating back to World War II–and there are leagues and a championship called Lo Scudetto.

Here are five vocabulary words you might find interesting:

Il fuoricampo – Homerun
Il guanto – Mitt
Il lanciatore – Pitcher
La mazza – Bat
La prima/seconda/terza base – First/second/third base

— L’hai visto!? Ho battuto un fuoricampo! – Did you see it? I hit a homerun!

— Quando avevo 9 anni, facevo il lanciatore. – When I was 9 years old, I was the pitcher.

For more vocabulary words and phrases related to baseball, check out this article.

Il ciclismo – Cycling The Giro d’Italia (also simply called Il Giro) happens every summer and is ranked as one of the top three cycling events in Europe.

Here are five vocabulary words you might find interesting:

La bicicletta (la bici) – Bicycle (bike)
Il ciclismo su pista – Track cycling
Il ciclismo su strada – Road cycling
Il mountain biking – Mountain biking
La sella – Bike seat
La borraccia – Water bottle

— Voglio iniziare a fare ciclismo, ma non riesco a trovare la bici giusta! – I want to start cycling, but I can’t find the right bike!

— Preferisci le mountain bike, le BMX, oppure il ciclismo su strada? – Do you prefer mountain biking, BMX, or road cycling?

For more information related to il Giro, check out this article.

Il calcio – Soccer Even if you’re not a big sports fan, attending a calcio game in Italy is a cultural must, so when you do that, here are a handful of words that may be useful to you.

I calciatori – Soccer players
I tifosi – Fans
La partita – Match
Il portiere – Goalie
L’arbitro – referee
La curva – Part of the stadium where the ultras (=hooligans) fans prefer to buy tickets
Segnare un gol – To score a goal

— Il calcio è lo sport piu praticato e più seguito in tutta Italia. – Calcio is the most practiced and followed sport in all of Italy.

— Il numero di calciatori variano di squadra in squadra, ma sicuramente sono più di undici. – The number of players vary from team to team, but there are definitely more than eleven.

You may also hear about a game called calcio storico, or historical football, that dates back to the 16th century.

For more information related to il calcio, check out this article.

La ginnastica – Gymnastics While the term “la ginnastica” can be translated to the English understanding of “gymnastics”, in Italian, it can also be thought of basic exercise and can often be substituted with “fare sport – to do a sport” or “andare in palestra – going to the gym.”

Here are five vocabulary words you might find interesting:

La ginnastica aerobica – Aerobic gymnastics
L’elasticità – Flexibility
La ginnastica ritmica – Rhythmic gymnastics
La ginnastica artistica – Artistic gymnastics
La ginnastica acrobatica – Acrobatic gymnastics

— Faccio ginnastica, ma non dimagrisco! – I’m exercising, but I’m not losing weight!

— Hai visto la ginnastica delle Olimpiadi ieri? Gabby Douglas era fantastica! – Did you see the gymnastics section of the Olympics yesterday? Gabby Douglas was amazing!

Il nuoto – Swimming Here are 5 key vocabulary words:

Il costume da bagno – Swimming suit
Gli occhialini – Swim Goggles
La piscina – Pool
Nuotare a farfalla – Butterfly stroke swim
Nuotare a stile libero – Freestyle swim

Lo sci – Skiing There are beautiful areas in Italy for winter sports, like skiing and snowboarding, from the Italian Dolomites in the north to Mount Etna in the south.

Here are 5 key vocabulary words:

Le bacchette – Rods
La discesa – Descent
La neve – Snow
La pista – Track
Gli sci – Skis

— Vai sulle Dolomiti quest’anno? Io, sì, infatti ho comprato un nuovo paio di sci. – Are you go to the Dolomites this year? I’m going, in fact, I bought a new pair of skis.

— Mi piace sciare, ma a dire il vero, preferisco fare snowboarding. – I like to ski, but to tell the truth, I prefer to snowboard.

Other sports: * La danza – Dance * Il motociclismo – Motorcycling * La pallacanestro – Basketball * La pallavolo – Volleyball * La pesca sportiva – Recreational fishing * Il tennis – Tennis * L’equitazione – Horse riding

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I have a confession to make:

I hate language learning flashcards.

Well, I used to, anyway.

Before you reach for your pitchforks, hear me out:

The traditional vocabulary flashcard suffers from two key problems. Flashcards are, in my opinion:

— Cumbersome – Flashcards take up space, and lots of it. If you’re using index cards, you not only have to make the flashcards, you need to store them, organize them, and actually use them in your day to day life.

— Inefficient – They focus only on the connection between written word and translation, while ignoring other key elements of language, like pronunciation and context cues. Furthermore, most flashcards focus only on single words, when natural language always couches words in the larger context of phrases and sentences.

These problems seem insignificant at the beginning, when the number of words (and therefore flashcards) one has to worry about at any time is only in the dozens.

At the intermediate and advanced stages of learning, however, the number of learned nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, phrases (and more) can easily number in the tens of thousands.

It’s said that the average 20-year-old native speaker of English knows 42,000 words.

Can you imagine creating 42,000 flashcards for Italian, one word at a time?

As the saying goes, ain’t nobody got time for that.

So what do we do, then? Do these problems mean we should ignore flashcards entirely, and use other methods for vocabulary learning?

Not quite. Let me explain.

The Power of Flashcards Despite my above-stated complaints about flashcards, I still believe they can be extremely important and useful tools in the language learning process.

Why?

Because of something called Spaced Repetition.

Spaced Repetition is a memorization technique that works with your brain’s tendency to most effectively learn when new information is absorbed over a period of time, rather than all at once.

The mechanics of the technique itself can get pretty complicated, but at its core, there are really only two essential rules:

— Information that is harder to remember (or completely forgotten) is reviewed more often.

— Information that is easier to remember is reviewed less often.

Flashcards are ideal for spaced repetition because they divide information into discrete units, which can be learned, tested, and reviewed at specific intervals, according to your ability to memorize them.

The one problem with physical flashcards and spaced repetition, however, is that you need to manually manage the review intervals for each individual card in your deck.

With hundreds or thousands of cards at your disposal, this can easily get out of hand. This applies even when using the simplest of Spaced Repetition systems, like the box-based Leitner system.

So, what now? The connection with Spaced Repetition means that flashcards can provide some truly potent vocabulary-learning advantages.

However, we still need to overcome the fact that:

— Flashcards can be inefficient

— Flashcards can be cumbersome

— Spaced repetition is hard to implement

Can we do this? Even better, can we find a way to get all the benefits of flashcards and spaced repetition, with none of the disadvantages?

You bet!

Building Better Flashcards Using Spaced Repetition Software In recent years, a new class of computer programs have emerged that have revolutionized the concept of the vocabulary flashcard. These programs are known as Spaced Repetition Software.

Spaced Repetition Software (SRS) turns using and reviewing flashcards into a fully-digital experience. Just like music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music have replaced the need to purchase and store massive collections of vinyl records and CDs, SRS programs have replaced the need to ever handle or organize decks upon decks of language learning index cards. With SRS, flashcards are all digital, all the time.

Because of this, digital flashcards are no longer cumbersome. In fact, they take up no space at all. No matter whether your SRS deck has 42 cards or 42,000, the only physical space you’ll need for them is enough desk space for your laptop or pocket space for your cell phone. In most cases, this means you can take your entire deck with you anywhere you go, which means more learning in the long-run.

SRS programs also offer a number of features that make digital flashcards much more efficient than their physical counterparts. These include:

— Audio Playback – While physical flashcards are limited only the the written word, most SRS programs allow for audio files to be included with each card, helping you practice both listening and pronunciation skills.

— More Context – Physical flashcards can only be so big before they lose portability. This means you are limited to the amount of information you can include on each one. Not so with digital flashcards, which give you the space to include phrases, single words, or even entire paragraphs of language on each card. On top of that, each digital card can also include grammar explanations, pronunciation guides, and other notes alongside the words you are learning.

— Built-in Spaced Repetition – SRS automatically calculate when you should next review each card in your deck, according to the complex algorithms provided by Spaced Repetition research. This means that you get all of the memorization benefits of Spaced Repetition, with none of the math!

Getting Started with Digital Flashcards The two most popular SRS programs available today are Memrise and Anki.

Memrise is a free browser-based SRS program which can also be linked to a free smartphone app. The interface is friendly and inviting, and enables you to create your own flashcard decks, or download pre-made decks made by others. If you’re a beginner with digital flashcards, go with Memrise.

Anki is a free desktop-based SRS program, which also has a free browser-based companion, and a free/paid smartphone app, depending on your specific platform. Cosmetically, Anki is much simpler than Memrise, but comes with a wide-range of customizable functionalities, including various downloadable add-ons. If you’re already an advanced user of digital flashcards, go with Anki.

Pick a program like the one above, and you’ll finally be free from the burden of physical flashcards. Thanks to the flexibility of SRS programs and the power of spaced repetition, you’ll soon learn to love flashcards—just like I do!

Do you still use physical flashcards, or have you already made the jump to digital? Let me know in the comments!

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Click play on the player at the bottom to listen to this podcast or listen to it on Stitcher or Apple Podcasts. We snaked our way through the streets of Florence as we made our way to il mercato di Sant’Ambrogio. I turned toward Mary, “Com’è andata la tua lezione? – How’d your lesson go?”

She responded, raising her voice slightly so I could hear her above the clamor, “È andata benissimo, Beatrice è un’insegnante fantastica. – It went well, Beatrice is a fantastic teacher.”

These natural walking conversations had become such an integral part of the immersion retreat experience that Rachel & I decided to build more structure around them so students could get more of out of them.

Now, every participant who comes on the trip receives a situation-specific workbook that gives them phrases and vocabulary to study before coming on the trip to help them prepare for these spontaneous conversations.

I thought it might be cool to give you all a sample of what’s included in this workbook, too. Below you’ll see vocabulary and phrases for talking about Italian lessons.

And if you’re interested in coming on one of our trips, read more details and apply for one of the six spots here.

Worksheet: How to Talk About Your Lessons Verbs — Dovere – To have to / must
— Imparare – To learn
— Insegnare – To teach
— Sentire – To listen / to hear
— Dire – To tell / to say
— Dimenticare – To forget
— Migliorare – To improve
— Consigliare / Suggerire – To suggest / advise
— Fare errori – To make mistakes
— Sbagliare – To be wrong
— Ripassare – To review

Vocabulary — L’imperfetto – Imperfect tense
— Il passato prossimo – Past tense
— Il congiuntivo – Subjunctive mood
— Il condizionale – Conditional tense
— Le preposizioni – Prepositions
— I pronomi – Pronouns
— Test di ascolto – Listening test
— I compiti – Homework

Phrases — Cos’ hai imparato oggi? – What did you learn today?
— Abbiamo fatto pratica con il congiuntivo. – We practiced using the subjunctive mood.
— Hai finito i tuoi compiti? – Did you finish your homework?
— Beatrice mi ha detto che devo esercitarmi con l’imperfetto. – Beatrice told me that I need to practice using the imperfect tense.
— Roberta mi ha consigliato di ascoltare dei podcast in Italiano. – Roberta suggested that I listen to some podcasts in Italian.
— Ho continuato a dimenticare come usare correttamente il passato prossimo. – I kept forgetting how to use the past tense!
— Continuo a sbagliare / continuo a fare errori il congiuntivo. – I kept making mistakes with the subjunctive mood!
— Abbiamo ripassato le preposizioni semplici. – We reviewed simple prepositions.
— Devo imparare più vocaboli per descrivere il mio lavoro. – I need to learn more vocabulary around (my job).
— Devo migliorare l’ascolto. – I need to improve my listening skills.
— Roberta era fantastica! Mi piace tantissimo il suo metodo di insegnamento. – Roberta was fantastic! I really like the way she teaches.
— Beatrice mi ha aiutato tantissimo. – Beatrice was really helpful.

Sample Conversation Cher: Che cosa hai imparato oggi? – What did you learn today?
Mary: Abbiamo ripassato l’imperfetto e il passato prossimo. – We reviewed the imperfect and the past tense.
Cher: È difficilissimo! Faccio ancora degli errori… uso spesso l’imperfetto quando dovrei usare il passato prossimo. – It’s really difficult. I still make mistakes… I often use the imperfect when I should use the past tense.
Mary: Anche io!! – Me too!!
Cher: Ma ora la differenza è più chiara? – But is the difference clear now?
Mary: Sì, però penso che io abbia bisogno di più pratica. – Yeah, but I think I need more practice.
Cher: Piano, piano. Hai dei compiti? – Slowly you’ll get it. Do you have homework?
Mary: Sì, Beatrice mi ha dato un test di ascolto. Lei vuole capire meglio il mio livello. – Yes, Beatrice gave me a listening test. She wants to understand better what level I’m at.
Cher: Ahh, interessante! – Ah, interesting!

EXERCISE: FILL-IN-THE-BLANK 1) Cos’ hai ___________ oggi? – What did you learn today?

2) Abbiamo ___________ pratica con il congiuntivo. – We practiced using the subjunctive mood.

3) Hai finito i tuoi ___________? – Did you finish your homework?

4) Beatrice mi ha detto che devo ___________ con l’imperfetto. – Beatrice told me that I need to practice using the imperfect tense.

5) Roberta mi ha ___________ di ascoltare dei podcast in Italiano. – Roberta suggested that I listen to some podcasts in Italian.

6) Ho ___________ a dimenticare come usare correttamente il passato prossimo. – I kept forgetting how to use the past tense!

7) Continuo a sbagliare / continuo a fare ___________ il congiuntivo. – I kept making mistakes with the subjunctive mood!

8) Abbiamo ___________ le preposizioni semplici. – We reviewed simple prepositions.

9) Devo imparare più ___________ per descrivere il mio lavoro. – I need to learn more vocabulary around (my job).

10) ___________ migliorare l’ascolto. – I need to improve my listening skills.

11) Roberta era fantastica! Mi piace tantissimo il suo ___________ di insegnamento. – Roberta was fantastic! I really like the way she teaches.

12) Beatrice mi ha ___________ tantissimo. – Beatrice was really helpful

To download this worksheet in PDF, click here.

Listen now Have questions? Leave me a comment below.

Like the podcast? Leave a review in Apple Podcasts! If you like the podcast, I would appreciate it a TON if you left a review. You can hit a star rating in your Podcasts app on your iPhone or go to the iTunes store and click Leave a Review on the show page.

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No matter whether it’s your first foreign language or your fifth, the rules of the Italian language can be really confusing. Plus, there isn’t a whole lot of material out there in Italian that offers comprehension practice targeted at English speakers. That’s why I ask my team to create original content in Italian constantly, like with these recipes and these dialogues.

It’s also why I asked Beatrice Massaro, one of the tutors we worked with during the Not Your Typical Tourist Language Immersion Retreat, to write this article about false friends in Italian. I’ve definitely made a few of the mistakes on her list. (I’ve probably made more of them than I can remember!)

This article is completely in Italian, so if you need assistance with translation, I recommend using both Context Reverso and WordReference as dictionaries.

You can read more about Beatrice and get in touch with her at www.italianoconbeatrice.com.

Buona lettura!

Ho cominciato a insegnare italiano 12 anni fa, e lavoravo prevalentemente con americani. All’inizio il mio inglese non era molto buono, e mi sono successe un sacco di esperienze divertenti e ambigue a causa dei così detti “falsi amici”.

I falsi amici, quando studi una lingua, sono quelle parole italiane che sono terribilmente simili a un’altra parola inglese, ma che hanno significati completamente diversi!!

Per evitare, quindi, di fare errori con gli italiani, di essere frainteso o di creare situazioni imbarazzanti, è bene conoscere almeno quelli più comuni!!

I Falsi Amici Più Comuni

1.) parenti / parents

La famiglia, si sa, è una delle cose più importanti per gli italiani, e allora dobbiamo fare ben attenzione a chiamare tutti con la giusta parola! Se un amico italiano ti invita a conoscere i suoi parenti, preparati! Non sono solo la mamma e il papà, (cioè i genitori), ma dovrai “affrontare” tutta la famiglia: i nonni, gli zii, i cugini, i fratelli e le sorelle, ecc.

E attenzione: si sa che in Italia le famiglie sono abbastanza numerose quindi…preparati ad una lunga giornata!

2.) cocomero / cucumber

Il cibo, dopo la famiglia, è un importante argomento in Italia. Ma attenzione ai falsi amici: se vai in un mercato e vedi uno stand di cocomeri, non devi pensare che i prodotti italiani sono enormi in confronto a quelli americani, sono solo dei comunissimi watermelon!

Se stavi cercando i cucumbers, invece, prova a chiedere dei cetrioli, vedrai che hanno una dimensione “normale”!

3.) caldo / cold

Tutte le persone che arrivano in Italia per la prima volta scoprono questo fondamentale falso amico attraverso un’esperienza sensoriale diretta!

Tutti, infatti, durante la prima doccia italiana se aprono il rubinetto con la lettera “C” di caldo, avranno la sorpresa di avere l’acqua hot! E se invece provano ad aprire il rubinetto con la “F” di fredda avranno finalmente l’acqua cold!

Dopo la prima esperienza, nessuno si sbaglia più!

4.) morbido / morbid

Se un tuo amico italiano tocca il tuo maglione ed esclama: “com’è morbido!” niente panico, non c’è nulla di sbagliato nel tuo maglione, anzi! Sicuramente è di buona qualità proprio perché il tuo amico lo ha apprezzato perché è così soft!

5.) fare senso / make sense

La prima volta che uno studente, dopo un lungo discorso, mi ha chiesto “faccio senso?” non ho potuto fare a meno di scoppiare a ridere!

Stavo ascoltando le sue parole, non stavo assolutamente guardando il suo aspetto fisico e soprattutto lui non era disgustoso o schifoso! Basta cambiare un semplicissimo verbo per cambiare completamente il significato, quello che lui aveva detto “aveva senso” certo, ma lui non “faceva senso”!

6.) noioso / noisy

Confesso una mia grande sorpresa quando lavoravo in centro a Firenze, uno dei primi anni. Un mio studente americano ha detto “questa classe è noiosa!”. Ricordo molto bene come mi sono sentita triste perché cerco sempre di mettere tutte le mie energie per fare una lezione interessante e divertente, poi lui si è alzato e ha detto “Posso chiudere la finestra, così non è noiosa?”.

Ecco, allora, spiegato tutto!

Se vuoi evitare di rattristare l’insegnante è bene dire che la classe è rumorosa a causa del traffico nella strada, e quindi è meglio chiudere la finestra. Se, invece, la classe è noiosa, quindi non è divertente, allora forse la tua insegnante deve davvero migliorare qualcosa nel suo metodo!

7.) fattoria / factory

Una mia studentessa ha realizzato che la parola fattoria non è assolutamente simile a factory, quando alcuni suoi amici l’hanno invitata a vedere una fattoria in Toscana e si è trovata in una casa di campagna con una coppa di contadini che coltivavano frutta e verdura, e molti animali come mucche, cavalli, polli e maiali…

I casi sono due: o le fabbriche in Italia sono molto diverse dalle factories negli Stati Uniti, oppure semplicemente la parola fattoria è completamente diversa dall’inglese!!

8.) camera / camera

La prima volta che in classe ho detto “vado a dormire in camera” gli studenti americani sono rimasti in silenzio perplessi. Forse hanno pensato “è vero che gli italiani sono bassi e piccoli ma…come possono entrare dentro una camera per dormire??”.

Anche se la parola è identica una camera italiana è la stanza in cui dormo, mentre per fare una foto quello di cui ho bisogno è la macchina fotografica!

9.) cantina / canteen

“Noi negli Stati Uniti al college mangiamo spesso in cantina”. Quando una mia studentessa mi ha raccontato questo, visto che non ero ancora mai stata negli USA, ho pensato che fossimo due paesi con abitudini culturali davvero diverse. Le ho spiegato che noi nella cantina (che di solito è nel semi interrato) mettiamo il vino, le biciclette e tutto quello che non mi serve nell’appartamento, mentre gli studenti nella pausa pranzo mangiano a mensa.

Dopo questa breve spiegazione abbiamo aperto il dizionario e…abbiamo scoperto un nuovo falso amico!

Insomma, imparare l’italiano è divertente anche per scoprire quali sono le differenze e le similitudini con l’inglese. E come si può vedere dalla mia esperienza, conoscere i falsi amici fra le due lingue non è utile solo per evitare incomprensioni e fraintendimenti per gli studenti americani, ma anche per gli insegnanti d’italiano…!!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR – BEATRICE MASSSARO

Beatrice Massaro: mi sento fortunata di poter dire che sono una fiorentina DOC, nata nel 1982 e cresciuta nel luogo dove è nata e cresciuta anche la lingua italiana! Ho studiato linguistica italiana e mi sono abilitata per insegnarla agli stranieri; i primi anni della mia carriera ho iniziato insegnando la mia lingua fuori dall’Italia, poi sono tornata a Firenze e…ogni volta che mi sposto in bicicletta per andare da una lezione all’altra e passo davanti a Palazzo Vecchio o attraverso il Ponte Vecchio, penso che non solo gli studenti hanno scelto una bellissima città, ma anche io ho la fortuna di lavorare in un luogo meraviglioso!!

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It can happen quickly. You miss a few days of studying here and there and then you look up and realize that you haven’t really studied in something like three months. Or you hit a plateau and you start wondering what the point of all of this studying is for.

While there may be lots of reasons this happened (burnout from too much intense study, lack of direction, etc.), what do you do when you need to get yourself back in the game?

Most importantly, once you decide to get back into studying, how can you be sure that you stick with it over the long term

Here are 4 suggestions that I’ve taken over the years as I’ve had gone up, down & all around with my Italian studies.

Don’t feel guilty. Whatever you do, try your best to not blame yourself or talk down to yourself about the time that you’ve missed studying. Guilt doesn’t help anybody get anywhere and the past, unfortunately, has already passed. Give yourself a break and make some space to start again.

Find the fun. Instead of immediately getting back to your textbook or your Michel Thomas program, which are both lovely, let yourself do just the fun things in Italian for a while. So, watch movies, translate song lyrics, and watch Italian reality TV shows that make you roll your eyes (but that you can’t stop watching). Remind yourself how fun it is to learn Italian before you try to set up a study regime again.

Make a new, identity-based goal. Change is difficult, and the reason lots of students don’t stick to studying or reach their studying goals is because the objectives they create for themselves often don’t match up with the work they’re doing on a daily basis. When you look at how behavior changes or how people accomplish things, it comes down to what they are doing in their daily routine. So, instead of saying that you want to learn 500 words in the next month, aim instead to become the kind of person that studies Italian vocabulary every single day. It is more effective if the goal is based on your identity as opposed to some intangible level of Italian achievement.

Start small. While it will be tempting to jump in with daily two-hour study sessions, I strongly recommend that you scale back and start small.

If you’re very busy, you can even start with reviewing one flashcard a day. If you have some more time, you can start with 15-minute study sessions. The point is to ease yourself back into learning the language so you’re able to create a habit of studying and stick with it over the long-term instead of starting big and flaming out.

It’s critical that you build and maintain a study streak.

When you’re able to consistently stick to a certain amount of time, you can gradually increase the time you spend studying in the same way someone who starts with only being able to do one pushup moves up to three, six, and then ten pushups. In the habit creation world, this is called success momentum, and it’s the most beautiful thing that can happen when it comes to creating behavior.

If you need more advice for how to create a study schedule or optimize your learning, you may want to check out these resources:

— How to Efficiently Use Your Study Time to Learn Italian (An Interview with Leanne Pressly)

— How to Start Learning Italian as an Absolute Beginner: A Guide by The Iceberg Project

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Click play on the player at the bottom to listen to this podcast or find it on Apple Podcasts. Ciao ciao! Benvenuti sul podcast “30 Minute Italian”, oppure trenta minuti di italiano.

Oggi abbiamo il secondo episodio che è completamente in italiano. Il primo episodio trattava delle sagre, e questo, invece, tratta delle cose che puoi fare nei tempi morti, cioè il tempo in cui stai facendo qualcos’altro che non è impegnativo per la mente.

Per esempio, mentre stai guidando, facendo il bucato, lavando i piatti, stirando o preparando la cena. Puoi cercare gli appunti di questo episodio al icebergproject.co/italian/192.

Ok, cominciamo.

Numero uno Ascolta i podcast dei madrelingua. Due di questi podcast sono Al Dente e ItalianIndie Il primo è un podcast per gli studenti che vogliono partire dal livello A2 a B1 Mi piace il modo in cui Francesca parla, e i temi sono sempre interessanti Il secondo pubblica degli intervisti degli imprenditori che fanno business online

Sono lunghissimi e pieni di saggezza, accenti diversi, e ovviamente, la lingua parlata. Se vuoi cercare un podcast che parla delle cose che ti piacciono, mi raccomando, vai su iTunes e digita una parola, come “viaggiare” nel negozio dei podcast e ne cerchi uno.

Numero due: Ascolta la radio italiana. Esistono tante app che permettono a tutti di accedere alla radio italiana. Ci sono molte stazioni con la musica, i talk show, e sicuramente, gli annunci.

Numero tre: Parla a/con te stesso/a te stessa. Mentre guidi, prepari la cena, o fai la doccia, comincia a descrivere tutti i dettagli intorno a te. Dopo pochi secondi, ti renderai conto che non sai tante parole di apparecchi random o un paio di strutture di grammatica È un esercizio davvero molto utile che fa sempre aprire gli occhi a chi sta studiando una lingua straniera Infatti, ora mentre sto registrando questa puntata, vedo almeno cinque cose di cui non so la parola in italiano

È più utile se tu crei/scrivi degli appunti per ricordare meglio quali sono le parole che dovrai cercare più tardi Se non è possibile perché stai guidando o stai facendo la doccia, non preoccuparti

Numero quattro Ascolta un episodio del 30 Minute Italian Ok, scherzo…ma veramente.. ascoltane uno Numero cinque Ascolta musica italiana. Ci sono tanti musicisti bravi, quindi prenditi del tempo di cercarli. Se non riesci a trovarne uno che ti piace, vale la pena di provare di nuovo. La musica è sempre un portale per imparare la lingua in un modo piacevole.

Here is a list of our native Italian editor, Carlotta’s, favorite Italian musicians: – Mannarino

– Max Gazzè

– Daniele Silvestri– Neffa

– Lucio Dalla

– Lucio Battisti

– I Subsonica

– NEK (Especially the song ‘Se io non avessi te,’ which is perfect for learning the conditional!)

– Marco Mengoni

– Laura Pausini

Numero sei: Fa’ un piano in anticipo e crea materiali. Creare del materiale per imparare, che è tutto tuo, è di solito, più interessante e ha più significato per te quando studi. Per crearne uno, basta che tu scrivi una composizione di un tema su di te e chiedi ad un madrelingua di correggerla e poi di registrarla.

Puoi anche chiederlo ad un amico o un’amica, un language partner, o la tua insegnante e quando hai dei tempi morti, ascoltala.

Sulla stessa linea, puoi registrare la tua voce leggendo un libro o un articolo e ascoltarla per sentire meglio dove la tua pronuncia suona strana.

In questo modo, diventi più consapevole del tuo accento e degli accenti degli italiani.

Prima di dire ciao, ecco un breve riassunto delle cose da fare durante i tempi morti.

Uno.) Ascolta dei podcast dei madrelingua.

Due.) Ascolta la radio italiana.

Tre.) Parla a te stesso/a te stessa.

Quattro.) Ascolta un episodio di 30 Minute Italian.

Cinque.) Ascolta musica italiana.

Sei.) Crea i tuoi materiali in anticipo.

Ok, per finire, abbiamo come sempre, un fatto interessante da dire ad altre persone ad un cocktail party.

Sai dov’è nata la prima libreria in Italia? Si chiama Libraccio e aprì nel millenovecentosettantanove.

Sai dove? A Milano!

Ora è la più grande catena di libri usati e scolastici in Italia, quindi se hai tempo durante il tuo viaggio a Milano e sei un amante dei libri, vai subito a cercarla!

Per oggi è tutto. Per il trascritto di questo episodio, vai a icebergproject.co/italian/192.

Ciao ciao! Ci sentiamo presto!

Listen to the Episode!

Italian with Cher: Recent Episodes