Live & Learn Italian Immersion

Surrounding yourself with Italian words, sounds and music will be the very best way to learn. Of course living in Italy itself and using the language daily is the best way to immerse yourself, but if that isn't possible for you right now, do your best to immerse yourself where you live, using the following suggestions…

1. Use a dictionary to print words like “table”, "door", "window", "kettle", "bed", "chair", "mirror" etc and stick them onto those items around the house. Over time these words will automatically become part of your vocabulary, without even trying to memorize them! You could also in time join some verbs, like eat, open/close, wash, boil, sleep, sit, look, etc so as to associate them with the objects. Try it!

6. Use www.Google.com/intl/it/ instead of Google in English… and set your search options so that only pages in Italian come up... OR use Google’s translation tools to turn English pages that you’re familiar with into Italian, and get to know the word equivalents that way.

7. Listen to Italian music and look for the lyrics to your favorite songs! Here is a song by Luna Pop called Un Giorno Migliore, and here are the lyrics (open the expandable box):

Lyrics

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Cosa mi aspetto dal domani? di sole in faccia no ma in fondo io ci spero ancora che tu ci sia nel mio domani e se ti incontrerò spero di sfiorare le tue mani Soli eppure in mezzo alla gente io e te riscaldati dal calore di una "Benson and Hedges" Se mi vuoi domani sarà un giorno migliore vedrai... Se mi vuoi domani sarà un giorno migliore vedrai! E cosa dire di noi forse che in fondo non importa se tu mi vuoi Cosa mi aspetto dal domani beh credo che sia giusto dirti che non voglio niente senza te E tu sei molto di più di quello che tu sai sei sole e pioggia negli inverni miei Se mi vuoi domani sarà un giorno migliore vedrai Se mi vuoi domani sarà un giorno migliore vedrai! Aspetta almeno un minuto non dirmi che non mi vuoi devo trovare un appiglio prima che tu te ne vai da me Ohh... apri le tue ali e vola via con me... Cosa mi aspetto dal domani? di sole in faccia no in fondo io ci spero ancora che tu ci sia nel mio domani e se ti incontrerò spero di sfiorare le tue mani Soli eppure in mezzo alla gente io e te riscaldati dal calore di una "Benson and Hedges" Se mi vuoi domani sarà un giorno migliore vedrai... Se mi vuoi domani sarà un giorno migliore vedrai!

8. Take professional or private lessons. Do you have the internet, a headset, and are you familiar with using skype? Then you could be two steps away from learning italian with a native speaker... check out this website for more information on getting in touch with teachers that are available, etc. You might even find one in your area and then you could possibly have lessons over a normal phone or even in person.

Feel like getting involved in an online community where you can swap language skills or get some real-time practice with native speakers? Live Mocha's your place online. Sign up for free and you can get learning and practicing with native speakers right away.

Follow the BBC's Italian Steps program. It is available online with grammar tips and also a 12 week program whereby you receive free emails for 12 weeks and receive a certificate at the end. Not bad!

9. Listen to podcasts. We recommend listening to and/or reading Worldnomads which provide a regular feed of updated stories written by bloggers/travelers in South Africa. This will keep your interest in the language and that part of the world alive, until you can go there on a trip or live there for some time.

10. Go on a short trip to Italy. If moving to the country or going on a formal immersion course is out of the question, then this is our next best suggestion. See our Go Abroad! section for more details on planning a vacation or trip to the country.