How I learned Italian

come ho imparato l’italiano

Since most of us are finding ourselves with extra time on our hands, I thought I would share my language learning journey. When I realized how much time I would be spending at home when coronavirus arrived in the states, I decided I would use some of my extra time studying Italian. It turns out that I have been busier at work and don’t necessarily have a huge amount of ‘new’ time, but I still enjoy studying Italian at night to take my mind off things and escape into the beautiful language. 

If you have recently decided to learn a language, I hope this post can help you find ways to better the new language and have the most success. I wanted to share my journey with you, and at the end I’ve included a list of how you can best learn a language, too. 

I studied Spanish through grade school and high school, then was able to use it a little at one of my college jobs (but not very well after so many years of learning the language at school). During my spring semester of junior year I studied abroad in Florence, and started teaching myself Italian. Unfortunately I was ill-advised before going abroad that I shouldn’t take Italian, plus didn’t have room in my course schedule. But the minute I landed in Italy I knew I wanted to learn the language so that I could fit in. I also knew the experience would be deeper if I was able to converse with the people who actually lived there. 

Throughout that semester I used a phrasebook to get by, along with help from my friend who was in Italian class and one of my Italian professors who loved to share new phrases with us. At one point I jokingly yelled ‘andiamo!’ to my classmates, purposefully over-exaggerating the word for ‘let’s go’ and he was so proud, responding with ‘brava!!’ I’ll never forget that. I was happy with how much I had learned until I visited my friend and her host dad Paolo was shocked by how little I knew. My friend defended me, saying I knew more than most students (which was unfortunately true). Still, the moment stuck with me. 

Coming back from Florence I was determined to continue learning the language. It made me grin when I spoke it, and had the most beautiful rhythm when I heard it in the street. So, I enrolled in classes for my whole senior year and learned the groundwork. I listened to Italian music all the time, even though I couldn’t understand the lyrics yet, and I occasionally texted with some people I had met in Florence. 

Post-graduation I found myself wanting to move back to Italy (I wanted to be back the minute I had left, no surprises there) and so I enrolled in an art class taught in Italian at the Italian Cultural Center here. I also had been scouring the internet for any possible job that would get me back. I was offered one position as a travel promoter right after graduation but the timing wasn’t right and I didn’t have the funds to realistically finance a transatlantic move. Plus, I was hesitant about spending time with hordes of American students, whom I had so carefully avoided during my time abroad. 

So I spent that fall taking art class with just ten others, all over the age of 55. It was on Tuesday afternoons (I was working retail at the time and had that day off), and we drank prosecco and snacked on Italian treats, usually homemade. I learned more and loved the opportunity to practice conversing. Then when I found a flight deal to Dublin for January, and cheap connecting flights to Italy, I took the chance to finally make my return and practice what I had learned. 

That trip ended up being so much more than I had imagined. My friend and I made our way from Dublin to Venice, then on to Florence and Rome before returning back to Ireland. It was the best nine days and I can’t even describe the happiness I felt being back in Europe (I tried to, on this photo on Instagram). As fate would have it, I ended up using my Italian before we even made it to Italy, in Galway of all places. That small interaction gave me the courage I needed before landing in Italy. 

Throughout the four (!!) days we had in Italy I tried to speak Italian as much as I could, and relished in being able to understand more than I had when I lived there. It was so exciting!! Though I made some mistakes, including ordering a 30 euro bottle of wine and accidentally asking a bartender out (who later became my boyfriend, no joke), it was all for the better. I wrote about that trip in my post Leave Yourself Behind if you’d like to read more about it. It was life changing in the way travel can be sometimes, and I’m so grateful for it. 

That spring, life would hand me the perfect opportunity to make a change in the form of being fired from a (very toxic) job. I turned 23 a week later, March 2 of 2019, with a blank slate rolled out before me like I had never seen before. It was at this time that I started seriously pursuing my move back to Italy. Eventually I settled on au pairing as the right way for me to get back at this time in my life, and plans were made later that spring and early summer. I continued learning Italian on my own, continued conversing with Italians I had met for practice, and was always listening to Italian music. 

By the time I moved to Rome to become an au pair in September of 2019, I had a pretty firm grasp on the language. I quickly found out I was missing a lot of vocabulary, but that would be righted with the help of my host family. I can’t even begin to tell you how much this complete immersion helped my Italian. I was living and breathing it every day, and with the help of my host family and a couple months with an Italian boyfriend, my language skills improved tenfold. Being in Rome also lent me the opportunity to learn the everyday phrases and slang that make up Italian. I never had the chance to learn those things before, and knowing those aspects of a language make it that much more fun.

In Rome I also had friends from Germany and Holland who were learning the language or already knew it, so when we went out together we blended in in a way that I had only dreamed of before. Often I would sit down at restaurants and the waitress would ask ‘Italiana?’ to which I would respond something along the lines of no, but I can speak the language. Then I would be handed an Italian menu instead of the English one. I had weekly conversations with our housekeeper and the kid’s nonna, both of whom spoke no English, and I made it through.

One moment where I felt like all my work had paid off came on my host dad’s birthday. We headed to nonna’s house for dinner with his sister, her husband and their daughter. It was a true Italian dinner and the conversation was non-stop. I found myself understanding almost everything. I could laugh with everyone else, I could follow along to the stories being told. All of the months, years really, of dreaming about moments like this and now they were coming alive in front of my very eyes. It was so rewarding to realize this, and I felt grateful for the journey that had led me here, to this place and these people and the beauty of life in Italy. 

By the time December rolled around and my stress migraines about returning to the states arrived, I had gone on a couple dates speaking only Italian (things didn’t work out with my aforementioned boyfriend) and I could understand memes and cultural slights in this beloved second language of mine. Throughout my three months living in Rome, I definitely had moments where I was frustrated with myself about not knowing more. In those moments, I had to switch around my thinking and remember how much I knew. Especially considering where I had started, with nothing. Often I had to pump myself up to be confident. I knew the words and phrases but would sometimes shy away in the moment for fear of saying something wrong. But in the end, I would regret more what I didn’t say. So I had to throw my fear away in order to express exactly what I wanted, when I wanted to. 

As I flew away from Roma, heading home to Minnesota for Christmas with big, fat tears rolling down my cheeks, I vowed once again to continue learning the language and to return as soon as I could to the country I love. Now I find myself nearing the date I had hoped to be back, after my brother’s wedding in June, and the world is in ruins. My plans are put on hold, as are many around the world, and all I can do is wait and hope for a fast end to this global pandemic. I know it won’t be quick though, and I know that some of us will come out of this in a worse state than we could’ve imagined. The uncertainty often fills me with grief, especially because I feel stuck in a life I don’t want to live. But when my thoughts fall to this, I remind myself how lucky I am and how many things I have to be grateful for right now, even if I’m not living life as I would like. It seems selfish to even think of these things as people are dying and health professionals are literally risking their lives every day. And so I commit to waiting and praying and dreaming of a future that will be more beautiful than anything we’ve ever collectively experienced as a world. Because this will change us. 

After life in Rome, I have continued to work on my Italian, with friends and music and my own study books. In addition, I follow Italian accounts on Instagram and watch their stories, mostly comprehending their words. I read in Italian, and I practice with new friends through the Tandem language app. This is what has worked for me and I’ve actually found myself improving my Italian and learning new things, whereas my goal was just to maintain the level I was at when I left. So that makes me happy, to know I’m improving even without the daily immersion. 

I hope my story inspired you to dive deeper into whatever language you’re learning. One thing that has remained a motivator for me is the passion I have for Italy. If you have that passion for whatever language you’re learning or the country where you’ll be able to use the language, then it will continue to be a rewarding journey. Every time I make a new advancement and up my level of understanding, it’s as if a secret new world is being revealed to me. This is the excitement that comes with linguistic and cultural understanding. 

Below I compiled a list of the ways I have found learning to be the most beneficial, and if you have any more ideas please add them in the comments below! 

HOW BEST TO LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE

Take classes at university or a cultural institute. Even better if you can afford private tutoring. 

Live abroad. Whether this means studying or doing a cultural exchange such as au pairing, this full immersion is the best way to learn.

Listen to music in your target language. Podcasts are great too! Even if it’s above your comprehension, you will absorb what you’re listening to and later on understand. 

Follow people on Instagram who speak your target language. This is a great double hit because it allows you to practice both reading and listening. 

Watch YouTube videos in your target language. For Italian, I highly recommend Learn Italian with Lucrezia. Back when I could go to the gym, I would watch while walking on the treadmill. 

Make a language exchange. This can be done in person or over video. If you are living abroad, there are typically Facebook groups where you can find partners. I’ve even made great friends doing this.

Use the Tandem app. It allows you to chat with people around the world in your target language. You can create a profile and start conversations with whoever looks interesting! I’ve also made friends through this app, and we’re now connected on Instagram or WhatsApp. Since I mainly chat with people in Italy, I’m also learning even more about the culture and life there. 

Read out loud, even if you don’t understand what you’re reading. I bought a secondhand Italian book that I’ve been making my way through. When I was in Italy in the fall, I would buy a magazine at the train station and work through the articles inside. It helps to learn new vocabulary and you’ll feel good understanding more. 

Set a study goal. For me this is reading out loud before I go to bed, or working out of my vocabulary book once a week. 

Find an organization near you dedicated to your target language/culture. I go to events by the Italian Cultural Institute and come out of them feeling so energized and ready to recommit to my studies. The event I look forward to all year is the film festival, and often I see my Italian professors there! I’ve also gone to an art lecture by an award-winning art historian. 

Watch movies and TV shows in your target language. I’ve rewatched the same show (Baby) and the same movie (Slam) over and over on Netflix and each time I catch something new. 

Don’t be afraid! This is the most important thing. It’s okay to make mistakes and honestly they usually turn out to be something to laugh about (or you end up on a date on your last night in Italy on a quick Euro trip). Be confident and don’t miss opportunities to speak your new language. The world will open up to you in ways you never would have imagined.