Variations on Learning Italian

After resuming the study of Italian sometime last spring I have done a number of things. I found my old textbook (Da Capo), my Italian/English dictionary and the indispensable “201 Italian Verbs” and started self study. Of course I was inspired to do this after attending the biweekly Gruppo Italiano meetings at which coffee is drunk and the language is spoken. Alas, the lovely Mira is off to Argentina for some unknown period of time. Whether she is overcome with the desire to Tango, is yearning to dramatically improve her Spanish language skills or just has itchy feet may remain a mystery. In any case without her guidance I have fears that the Gruppo may become dormant until (and if) she returns. There is nothing like actually talking with people to improve your skills and especially your confidence to speak the new language. That confidence is important. I have found that the thought of sounding like a 3 year old because of my poor language skills can hold me back from speaking and therefore learning more quickly.

If not talking to people, then exchanging emails certainly helps as well. It can expand your vocabulary, sharpen your grammar and give you a better feel for how people actually use the language. On Facebook I found the Tandem Language Learning BOLOGNA that led me to my first correspondent. Paolo is an orthodontist from Bologna and, like me, is studying a different language in this case English of course. The formula for this kind of exercise is for each of us to write in both English and Italian. Then when responding, I correct his English and he corrects my Italian. It is a tad painstaking but I thought worth the effort. Not, however, for Paolo since he stopped responding after two or three weeks.

Next,  just by chance, I met Rita when playing bridge (you know, the card game) online. She is Sicilian and speaks no English. She is an attractive widow of 74 and nonna of the year 2000 according to her Facebook page!  We corresponded via Facebook for quite a while and may do more yet when she returns from her extended vacation. That has certainly been a different experience and I enjoyed the exchanges. Then there was Sandra who is 25, lives in Bologna and only wrote for about 2 weeks. Finally I have a fairly long correspondence going with Massimiliano who is 39, lives in Turin and works for Fiat and was not offended when I told him the American experience with Fiat (when they were still sold in this country) was summarized by saying that F.I.A.T.  meant Fix It Again Tony. He said that he bleeds black and white, the colors of Juventus, the famous soccer team from Turin. It’s this kind of stuff that makes the interaction fun. I like Massimiliano and hope that our conversations continue for a long time. The photos below are in honor of Massimiliano!

Recently I met Antonio, a chef from Naples. He married a woman from this area who was living in Italy for, I think, 6 years. They moved back here some time ago and his English is still a bit weak. We are trying to get together at least weekly and talk some in both languages. How does he live here without knowing the language as well as he’d like? He is very busy with his work and apparently has little trouble in the kitchens because so many of the staffers in the kitchens speak Spanish and it is not all that difficult for Spanish and Italian speakers to communicate. Of course he is also married to a woman that speaks Italian well. I want to help him with his English and really like being able to talk to him in Italian and get corrections in the process.

Of course most people, including me, take classes and I just started a new one now. The teacher is great, a Roman to her toes. She’s a real kick and keeps the class moving. It’s just about the right level and I can hardly wait for the weekly give and take of her class.

One last item. I mentioned above the the Tandem Language Learning BOLOGNA Facebook page. If anyone reading this has stumbled across anything similar to connect with Italians who want to work on their English I’d love to know about it in a comment. What ways have you found helpful in learning another language?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 18th, 2010 at 4:15 pm and is filed under Language. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.