Answer Question
Let's talk about practice
Ciao tutti!
I am mid-way through Italian 3 and loving the experience. I am the BIGGEST Fluenz fan(atic) and tell everyone about it. It has been the single most important element in my journey.
I want to eventually become fluent in Italian so I know that I will need practice techniques and supplemental material along the way. I wanted to share what I've been doing, what has worked and hasn't worked, etc. I also have found a few resources, too. Then, hopefully others can share what they've done.
What is working:
* Full suite of Fluenz tools: flash cards, CD, podcasts. These are great and really help reinforce what I know. Anything I learned through Fluenz I always know solidly because of these tools.
* Flash card app called Anki. I have an iphone and bought the Anki app. It's pricey at $25, but it also comes with a computer interface which is so nice for adding content. I am up to about 2,000 flash cards and finally had to split them into categories (noun, adjective, verb, phrase...).
* Other apps:
---iVerbos is an app for verbs and conjugations. it's by no means complete but i like the flashcard nature of it.
---Google translate has an app which is good because a) it helps with phrases and b) it has a great feature that you can star and save searches (allowing you to later put them into aforementioned flash cards) I'm sure there are flaws in the translation quality, but it seems pretty good.
---Collins Italian-English dictionary. I like this one because it seems pretty complete, has verb conjugations and it does not need an internet connection - the whole thing is downloaded on your device
---WordRef Italian-English dictionary. This one requires an internet connection but the cool thing about it is it has community forums. So, when you look up a word, scroll to the bottom and there may be others who have had similar quandries about that word and have posted to a forum and received helpful answers from other learners or native speakers.
* Childrens' books - I have two young boys, ages 3 and 7 who are also learning Italian. We are seeking dual citizenship with US and Italy through my husband's Italian ancestry and want two languages to go along with our two passports. I have found Italian children's books to be amazing to help practice reading as well as gain confidence.
* In-person Italian class - I resisted this for a while because I thought Fluenz gives me everything I need! But, I found a "Italy-America" society in my nearest city (Philadelphia) and have begun with their classes. While a good deal of the material is not new to me, I have found the practical conversation exercises invaluable. And, a good jumping-off point to meet more language learners and get further into the Italian community here in the US.
* Google searches - This may sound simple and silly, but countless times I've gone to google to search things like: "italian qualche vs alcuni" or "italian reciprocal verbs" or "italian greetings" or "italian expressions fare"... It's been super helpful.
* Talking to myself or my kids in the grocery or other store - I know Sonia suggested very early on that we try this but at first I really didn't feel I was able to. Now, I'll look at my list and think/say, "posso trovale le uova? ... Dove sono le uova? ... Ehi, sono la`!" or "Sam, oggi vuoi le fragole o le mele?" or "va bene, adesso dobbiamo pagarli!" Like Sonia says, it boosts confidence in how much I really know how to say and it's such good practice!
* Grammar resource book: Soluzioni - I think perhaps someone else in Fluenz commons recommended this book. At first it's completely overwhelming, but when you accept the fact that it is NOT to be read cover to cover, it works well. It is a very thorough resource guide. It's VERY dense, so two or three pages will have you scribbling notes, holding your aching head and maybe even hyperventilating a little about how much you still don't know about Italian but it's really great for supplementing your other learning or seeking concrete explanations.
* "Easy Italian Reader" - Amazon kept recommending this to me and I have to say it's great. My (Philadelphia) italian teacher said the best way to expand your italian at my current stage of learning is reading and listening/watching. The vocabulary and rules will come later. This is basically as structured "reader" similar to a reading comprehension book you would have had in school. Paragraphs of italian writing followed by questions in different formats. I'm only a little bit into it but I think it's great.
What hasn't really worked:
I bought a few books that I've tried a few times to use to supplement my learning and they must be poorly designed, but I just can't make progress with them:
* Barron's Italian Now
* Italian Grammar Drills
* Italian Verb Drills
A few other resources: www.lafeltrinelli.it is an "italian amazon" and has a lot of good stuff. I've made a few large-ish purchases and when you do it that way, the shipping is really not too bad. I've also just tried www.amazon.it to purchase a couple of Geronimo Stilton books for me and my older son but the shipping seemed pricey and it hasn't arrived yet.
Ok, my gosh, I've written a lot, but hoping I'm "paying it forward" here. What have been your techniques for advancing your italian learning??
Thanks,
Dana
I am mid-way through Italian 3 and loving the experience. I am the BIGGEST Fluenz fan(atic) and tell everyone about it. It has been the single most important element in my journey.
I want to eventually become fluent in Italian so I know that I will need practice techniques and supplemental material along the way. I wanted to share what I've been doing, what has worked and hasn't worked, etc. I also have found a few resources, too. Then, hopefully others can share what they've done.
What is working:
* Full suite of Fluenz tools: flash cards, CD, podcasts. These are great and really help reinforce what I know. Anything I learned through Fluenz I always know solidly because of these tools.
* Flash card app called Anki. I have an iphone and bought the Anki app. It's pricey at $25, but it also comes with a computer interface which is so nice for adding content. I am up to about 2,000 flash cards and finally had to split them into categories (noun, adjective, verb, phrase...).
* Other apps:
---iVerbos is an app for verbs and conjugations. it's by no means complete but i like the flashcard nature of it.
---Google translate has an app which is good because a) it helps with phrases and b) it has a great feature that you can star and save searches (allowing you to later put them into aforementioned flash cards) I'm sure there are flaws in the translation quality, but it seems pretty good.
---Collins Italian-English dictionary. I like this one because it seems pretty complete, has verb conjugations and it does not need an internet connection - the whole thing is downloaded on your device
---WordRef Italian-English dictionary. This one requires an internet connection but the cool thing about it is it has community forums. So, when you look up a word, scroll to the bottom and there may be others who have had similar quandries about that word and have posted to a forum and received helpful answers from other learners or native speakers.
* Childrens' books - I have two young boys, ages 3 and 7 who are also learning Italian. We are seeking dual citizenship with US and Italy through my husband's Italian ancestry and want two languages to go along with our two passports. I have found Italian children's books to be amazing to help practice reading as well as gain confidence.
* In-person Italian class - I resisted this for a while because I thought Fluenz gives me everything I need! But, I found a "Italy-America" society in my nearest city (Philadelphia) and have begun with their classes. While a good deal of the material is not new to me, I have found the practical conversation exercises invaluable. And, a good jumping-off point to meet more language learners and get further into the Italian community here in the US.
* Google searches - This may sound simple and silly, but countless times I've gone to google to search things like: "italian qualche vs alcuni" or "italian reciprocal verbs" or "italian greetings" or "italian expressions fare"... It's been super helpful.
* Talking to myself or my kids in the grocery or other store - I know Sonia suggested very early on that we try this but at first I really didn't feel I was able to. Now, I'll look at my list and think/say, "posso trovale le uova? ... Dove sono le uova? ... Ehi, sono la`!" or "Sam, oggi vuoi le fragole o le mele?" or "va bene, adesso dobbiamo pagarli!" Like Sonia says, it boosts confidence in how much I really know how to say and it's such good practice!
* Grammar resource book: Soluzioni - I think perhaps someone else in Fluenz commons recommended this book. At first it's completely overwhelming, but when you accept the fact that it is NOT to be read cover to cover, it works well. It is a very thorough resource guide. It's VERY dense, so two or three pages will have you scribbling notes, holding your aching head and maybe even hyperventilating a little about how much you still don't know about Italian but it's really great for supplementing your other learning or seeking concrete explanations.
* "Easy Italian Reader" - Amazon kept recommending this to me and I have to say it's great. My (Philadelphia) italian teacher said the best way to expand your italian at my current stage of learning is reading and listening/watching. The vocabulary and rules will come later. This is basically as structured "reader" similar to a reading comprehension book you would have had in school. Paragraphs of italian writing followed by questions in different formats. I'm only a little bit into it but I think it's great.
What hasn't really worked:
I bought a few books that I've tried a few times to use to supplement my learning and they must be poorly designed, but I just can't make progress with them:
* Barron's Italian Now
* Italian Grammar Drills
* Italian Verb Drills
A few other resources: www.lafeltrinelli.it is an "italian amazon" and has a lot of good stuff. I've made a few large-ish purchases and when you do it that way, the shipping is really not too bad. I've also just tried www.amazon.it to purchase a couple of Geronimo Stilton books for me and my older son but the shipping seemed pricey and it hasn't arrived yet.
Ok, my gosh, I've written a lot, but hoping I'm "paying it forward" here. What have been your techniques for advancing your italian learning??
Thanks,
Dana