Variety in Language Learning is Key to Your Success in Italian
This really brings together everything that we have been saying.
Using a wide variety of learning materials and resources is the key to success in learning any language. There is such an abundance of resources and tools at your disposal, including all the things we have outlined in this “How to Learn Italian Fast” series.
There are two main reasons why variety is important:
(1 ) You will learn more and learn faster!
Your brain is an incredible creation, capable of absorbing and retaining so much new information. There is no Gigabyte limit of storage space in your brain – learning new skills and new information won’t “push out” old information from your brain.
Stimulating your brain using a diverse range of language learning tools will create new synapses or links within your brain's amazingly complex information highway that will increase your ability to absorb and retain the language!
(2) It’s simply just more fun!
Let’s be honest – if you enjoy doing something, you’re much more likely to keep at it and be willing to spend more time doing it, right?
Of course!
Think of any hobby, interest or passion you have and how much time you dedicate (or would like to dedicate) to it. Learning a language can be a hobby, interest or passion too and it should NEVER be a chore, and it should NEVER be a bore!
Variety is everything, because if you just rely on one method or on one resource, you will eventually get bored and lose interest, which might lead to you inevitably giving it up…and that’s not what we want!
So don’t just rely on one app or just a single textbook.
7 Essential Tools That Will Instantly Add Variety to Your Italian Learning
1. Flashcards
You can easily make your own at home. Choose words that you would commonly use in YOUR everyday life. Imagine that you love going to the beach. What are some key words you could create flashcards for?
Beach
Sand
Towel
Ocean
Swimming
Waves
Flashcards are best utilized with little pictures to accompany the word – don’t worry if you’re not an aspiring artist – as long as YOU know what the picture means.
Flashcards on sticky post-it notes are really handy too for learning and remembering everyday household objects.
Write “il tavolo” and stick it on the table.
Write “la porta” and stick it on one of your doors.
The same can be done all over your house. This way, every time you look at the door or the window or the cupboard, etc., you will see that word of that object and eventually know it by heart without much effort at all! Yay!
The lazy option is to order a deck of FlashSticks. These are pre-written post-it notes that are color-coded for noun gender and have a drawing of what the word means. And with the companion phone app you can scan the card and hear the pronunciation.
The best way, though, is to create your own FlashCards, so they are relevant to you. There are a ton of options online for tools that allow you to do just that.
The top three we recommend are:
Anki
Quizlet
Memrise
Anki is undoubtedly the most powerful tool that will come in very handy at later stages of your learning if you ever want to get into creating flashcards with audio cues from movies and automate the whole process. However, Anki is also the hardest one to learn how to use and, since we do not want you to let tech challenges get in the way, for most people, we recommend Quizlet.
2. Songs and Music
Find some of your favorite songs on Youtube and look for the versions with subtitled translations in Italian. You may also find many artists and bands that have done covers of many English songs IN Italian.
3. Books and Comics
No, we don’t mean textbooks! (Phew!) We mean children’s books and comics! For this, you need to put aside your pride and buy yourself at least a couple of books or comics in Italian aimed at Italian kids.
Why, you ask?
➜ The sentences will be very simple and short
➜ The topics won’t be too complicated
➜ The images and graphics will be a great cue to help you understand
➜ Let’s be honest, it’s more fun than a textbook!
4. Native Italian Speakers
As explained above, they are your best resource for authentic, real-world speaking practice! Find them and get speaking!
5. Smartphone Apps
Not much more to say here – just remember the main advantage of apps: Convenience and fast vocabulary learning!
6. YouTube
There are many charismatic YouTubers out there whose channels are devoted to teaching Italian.
Several of them I know personally through YouTube and with whom I have collaborated. We all differ in our own style, our level of experience and our qualifications.
If you are reading this, it’s because you are a fan of Italy Made Easy, and you like what we do and how we do it! However, for variety's sake, you can also check out some others to mix things up a bit and get a different perspective on a certain grammar concept or phrase.
7. Podcasts
Podcasts are audio files that can be downloaded onto your computer or any smart device. They come in many different styles and genres and are great for on-the-go listening practice. I’m sure you will find podcasts that suit you and your interests.
To find Podcasts in Italian just download iTunes, find the ‘Italian Marketplace’ and look for podcasts in categories that you are interested in. What do you like?
Remember, use as wide a variety of resources as possible when learning Italian to stimulate your brain, keep yourself engaged, and just make the whole experience of learning Italian so much more fun!
