Do you ever think of objects as masculine or feminine, like chair, cloud, flower, sea? If you speak Italian you won’t notice anything strange. If you speak English, you probably won’t have a clue on how to know if an Italian word is masculine or feminine. The gender of a word is just a fact […]
Why are Italian words feminine or masculine? Read More »
Many would think that, in order to speak a language correctly, your grammar has to be impeccable. I was one of them, and to a certain extent I still am. I have studied 4 languages so far, and for years I have tormented myself with perfect grammar. What would people think of me if I
Is perfect grammar still a thing? Read More »
This is not my usual blog post, it’s an action plan. Totally doable, so before even reading, download this PDF. Why an action plan? Because we procrastinate, of course! So this time you have no excuses, I have outlined your action plan and you only need to fill it in with your personal goals. While
Don’t give up on your plan to learn Italian Read More »
Listen to this blog post (18 min) Omg! I have spent months studying the language and now that I’m in Italy I can’t understand a single word, how is that even possible? I’ll have to nod, pretending I agree with everything when in reality I have no idea what they are talking about! Don’t bother
What to do when no one speaks the Italian you learned in class Read More »
The first light turns on, pointing at you from the left. The second light turns on pointing at you from the right. The stage is fully lightened now and you are standing there in the middle, you can’t see the audience but you know they are there. You can hear them mumbling, their impatience growing
Why language mistakes aren’t as bad as you think Read More »
Let me start with a question: what do you find most difficult to learn in Italian? Verbs! That’s what you wanted to say too, right? Even Italians say it because they often need to double check their verbs. Is the mood correct? Is the person correct? Is the spelling correct? In Italian we say “mal
How to use only one tense in Italian Read More »
You love the Italian language, I know. And Italy. The places, the landscape, the food, the dolce vita… Italy, in the mind (and heart) of foreigners, is a happy place, where people enjoy a slow life, filled with scrumptious meals, sunsets with a view, music that lights up our days and evenings. How much of
A vibrant (and hot) summer in Tuscany Read More »
There are uncountable different methods, approaches, techniques when it comes to language learning. It seems all teachers have their proven method to bring you to the next level, or to skyrocket your fluency in one month, or to teach you basic Italian in just three days. I don’t believe in next levels, fluency boosters, and
Language learning is a personal experience Read More »
How many apps, sites, courses you know of that promise to have you go from zero to fluency? Because fluency is the main goal of every language learner, no? But what is fluency? It’s a fluid concept – yes, I know there are probably synonyms that could fit better, but I really wanted to use
The importance of being fluent Read More »
Listen to this blog post: Social relationships work because there is a mutual knowledge of certain elements like status and age, that require different degrees of politeness. The way we express politeness and formality in Italian is clearly marked by the use of tu and lei. Being able to discern when it is appropriate to
How to use tu and lei in Italian Read More »