How to Learn Italian, Properly
Am I the only language student who finds modern teaching methods unsatisfactory? The endless promises of “instant” learning and the implicit – if not explicit – message that grammar is for old bores both irritate and depress me. I’m thankful that at least one language school agrees with me More on this later.
Back in the Eighties, when I was at school, we used to conjugate our French verbs out loud, we knew why the word for ‘beautiful’ is sometimes ‘beau’ and sometimes ‘belle’; we were able to use the language because we understood how it works.
The traditional methods were not ideal, of course, and they were mistaken in their emphasis on writing and reading over oral communication. However, the thoroughness of the approach made it much more effective, in my opinion, than the lightweight courses available today.
Modern methods focus on speaking and listening, which is good, but what I find difficult and annoying is that the grammar is rarely presented in any systematic form. We tend to have the word(s) for “I am” on page 2 and “She is” somewhere further in. What I want is to see the whole of the present tense of the verb To Be conjugated in all its persons, in one table.
It is a manifestation of the current culture, craving instant gratification, that so many language courses offer Italian in a Week – or even a day! Learning a language is a considerable undertaking and it’s simply not realistic to pretend it can be done in less than a few months. If your idea of ‘speaking’ Italian is being able to say “buongiorno”, “grazie,” and “gelato”, then OK, you can achieve this in a day. However, if what you mean is being able to hold a conversation, even if only about what you did yesterday and what you like about Italy, then you need to settle down and study properly.
To learn Italian well, you have to be dedicated. It’s not very exciting at the outset, memorising verb endings, sorting out nouns and adjectives, getting your mind around the different words for “you”. But the investment you make in doing this will pay enormous dividends when you reach the next level.
Grammar is like a map: once you know how to use it, you’ll rarely go wrong. However, if you don’t know how to read it, it can’t help you. The first phase of your language learning needs to be understanding the ‘symbols’ and getting to know where they take you. When you know this, you can branch out accurately, with confidence.
Teaching materials, then, should provide clear explanations of how the language works, as well as lots of practice exercises, so we can check we have understood as we go along.
Three or four months ago, I bought an e-book called Italian for Beginners and I’ve just finished studying it. It’s taken me to probably intermediate level and, while there’s still more to learn, I’m confident that I really know what I’ve covered so far. Adesso parlo italiano abbastanza bene!
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