Answers
Jul 03, 2013 - 12:08 AM
I am almost finished with Level 4, on my way to 5. I have been around Italian all my life so it's a different experience for me since I am getting the most out of Fluenz with the more advanced material of 4 and 5 ( I am 5 lessons away from starting 5). The majority of 1,2, and 3 I already had knowledge of and wasn't really teaching me anything I didn't know (but for a new learner, I could even tell how great it was). I will say that levels 1 and 2 provide a great foundation; levels 3-5 will, in my opinion, better prepare you to hold conversations as it expands on verb conjugations, vocabulary, grammar, and so on. I feel like levels 1 and 2 alone are ideal for a tourist in Italy who want to ask for directions or order a meal or not appear completely like a tourist; levels 3-5 are ideal for a learner who wants to now expand on the language. Try looking at some italian newspapers or television online; youtube is very handy for language learning..I think you will be surprised by how much you actually know from the first two levels. Don't stop now! :)
Jul 03, 2013 - 07:31 AM
Unlike Vincenzo, I really had little basis for Italian when I started this course, apart from knowing a few phrases.
I finished Level 5 of Italian before going on my trip to Italy. I would not say I am fluent, or even close to fluent. But, I do feel I have learned a LOT, can say quite a bit, and can create some reasonably complex sentences.
Comprehension is a whole other issue. I feel like my comprehension is far behind my ability to speak in the language. During my trip, I was able to communicate at a rudimentary level. Having context helped with the comprehension (e.g., there are only so many things you are likely to hear from a waiter). But there were certainly times where I had that blank look on my face when someone was rattling off something in Italian.
I do wish my comprehension was better, but overall I am pleased with my level of proficiency. And I continue to listen to Italian radio and subscribe to Italian newspaper pages on Facebook, and find that I understand a little bit more all the time. Some of that is moving away from trying to translate every word (which is too slow) and just going for the overall gist. Still a long way to go, and I think to become fluent, I would have to move to Italy. Hmmmm.....
Sophie mentions that you can have moments of fluency, and that happened once or twice on my trip (where words seemed to just flow and I mostly understood what was being said to me). I carried on a good conversation with the owner of an enoteca, and was mostly successful. Once in a while I resorted to English and then went back to Italian. More than once I felt like I was actually talking with someone in their language. Those are wonderful moments! But not the same as truly BEING fluent.
Good luck....learning a language is not an easy task.
I finished Level 5 of Italian before going on my trip to Italy. I would not say I am fluent, or even close to fluent. But, I do feel I have learned a LOT, can say quite a bit, and can create some reasonably complex sentences.
Comprehension is a whole other issue. I feel like my comprehension is far behind my ability to speak in the language. During my trip, I was able to communicate at a rudimentary level. Having context helped with the comprehension (e.g., there are only so many things you are likely to hear from a waiter). But there were certainly times where I had that blank look on my face when someone was rattling off something in Italian.
I do wish my comprehension was better, but overall I am pleased with my level of proficiency. And I continue to listen to Italian radio and subscribe to Italian newspaper pages on Facebook, and find that I understand a little bit more all the time. Some of that is moving away from trying to translate every word (which is too slow) and just going for the overall gist. Still a long way to go, and I think to become fluent, I would have to move to Italy. Hmmmm.....
Sophie mentions that you can have moments of fluency, and that happened once or twice on my trip (where words seemed to just flow and I mostly understood what was being said to me). I carried on a good conversation with the owner of an enoteca, and was mostly successful. Once in a while I resorted to English and then went back to Italian. More than once I felt like I was actually talking with someone in their language. Those are wonderful moments! But not the same as truly BEING fluent.
Good luck....learning a language is not an easy task.
Jul 03, 2013 - 04:19 PM
I finished level 5 of Spanish and French. I found this very useful when traveling to relevant countries, and I could rather easily make myself understood. I had little trouble coming up with vocabulary and expressions for most situations. Understanding what was said to me was much more difficult. I think that can only come with an extensive immersion, or possibly by continued exposure to films, newscasts, etc. Despite the very efficient way that the languages are taught by Fluenz, I think somewhere we are told that on finishing level 5 we would be considered at about an intermediate level of the language. After all, if you look at the total vocab that you have, it is a small fraction of the language. And we learn only two or three verb conjugations, when in fact there are many more.
Jul 03, 2013 - 10:24 PM
Thanks for the responses.. Well, I am Colombian so I do speak native spanish and I grew up in Massachusetts so knowing both English and Spanish is really helping me with Italian, vocabulary wise and with grammar. I'm hoping by the time I finish level 5 I could talk to my Italian friends in Italian. And if anyone has any question in Spanish I can help.. :)
Jul 07, 2013 - 04:49 PM
Unfortunately, listening and comprehending is the most difficult part of learning a language. The only real way is to expose yourself to spoken Italian as much as possible, either RAI, Italian radio, internet, or youtube. Concentrating on just hearing separate words without necessarily understanding their meaning is helpful. As vocab increases, then comprehension will as well.