The Importance of Learning How to Speak Italian
Why are you learning Italian?
I’m pretty sure it’s because you want to be able to SPEAK Italian!
This is the most crucial skill when learning a language as it allows us to physically communicate with native speakers and enter their world. As adults, we often inhibit ourselves from practising our speaking skills due to our own self-consciousness and fear of making mistakes.
Don’t fear mistakes, embrace them and learn from them!
This is a great philosophy for life in general, but also specifically for learning a language.
Try and be more like a child when learning a language. Don’t stress too much about it, just say what you want to say! One thing toddlers and young children do have on us is their lack of inhibitions and their concept of “embarrassing”.
Start speaking Italian now, regardless of how ‘correct’ it is!
Now the question arises, “Who do I speak to then?”
Improve Your Italian Speaking Ability with Self-Talk
Talk out loud to myself?…
Don’t worry, this won’t mean that you’re crazy! Most of us don’t live in Italy and so are not surrounded by an abundance of Italians with whom to converse. This shouldn’t stop you, though.
Speak in real time on topics relevant to your actual actions and mood.
Even when you are just starting out with Italian and have a limited vocabulary, use the language you already know to say something, even if it seems really simple.
Example:
➜ Say “Buongiorno” to yourself or to your partner when you first wake up
➜ Ask yourself, “Come stai oggi, Jane?” and then reply to yourself, “Bene, grazie!”
➜ If you are about to leave the house and are looking for your keys, you could ask aloud, “Dove sono le mie chiavi??” and say, “Ah, eccole!” when you find them.
The possibilities are endless! Just try and use the vocabulary that you have learnt so far and practice speaking it from day one. When learning a language, sometimes you need to be your own best friend!
Speak with Italians to Get Invaluable Italian Speaking Experience
This is, without a doubt, the most useful practice you will get.
Speaking with a native speaker will be a great opportunity to hear Italian spoken in the most natural and authentic way and will put your listening and speaking skills into spontaneous action.
➜ Don’t worry about how little of the language you think you know, just put into practice what you already do know.
➜ Don’t be embarrassed about what they might think – Italians will be delighted that you are at least making the effort to communicate with them in their language.
Even the simplest phrase will go a long way.
For Example:
➜ Let's say you meet an Italian friend of a friend down the street – try and introduce yourself!“
Ciao, mi chiamo (David). E te?”
“Ciao, mi chiamo (Giovanni). Piacere!
“Piacere!”
➜ There is a local coffee shop with an Italian barista
“Scusi, quanto costano due cappuccini?”
“Quattro dollari.”
“Quattro dollari? Allora, prendo due cappuccini, per favore”
“Grazie, buona giornata”
“Buona giornata!”
Where Do I Find Italians to Practice My Italian Speaking with?
Italians are everywhere!
Other than the countless 2nd and 3rd generation Italians whose families immigrated decades ago (and who probably speak a dialect, rather than Standard Italian), there are many Italians living overseas who still speak Italian as a first language – and have that beautiful, charming Italian accent that we all love!
You could find them:
➜ At the local Italian restaurant
➜ At the local coffee shop or bar
➜ Many towns and cities have language exchange groups – at the local library or bookstore
➜Try putting up your own advertisement for a free language exchange!
➜ Colleges and universities are a hub for international students – many language and cultural exchange organisations exist in educational institutions
If you have really looked hard and believe that your local area is unfortunately Italian-less, no need to despair!
Improve Your Italian Speaking with Native Italian Speakers Online
The internet has enabled speakers of all languages to come together.
There are many free language exchange websites and apps available that enable you to practice your language skills with native speakers.
Remember that, as it is a free service, the participants are generally not language teachers, but are all learners like yourself – they want to learn English and you want to learn Italian! So don’t expect to receive any professional instruction or lessons – it’s literally just to practice speaking.
So have fun!
Here are a few online tools that offer language exchange:
WEBSITES
MOBILE APPS
Tandem
HelloTalk
There is a well known website called italki.com, where you can find language teachers who provide live private lessons and charge a varying hourly rate.
This is advantageous if you don’t have the time to do an English-Italian exchange and just want a lesson that focuses on your Italian speaking and learning. However, a service of this sort can vary greatly – in terms of the structure and content of the lesson and also in terms of the competence, experience and methods of the language “teacher” in response to your individual learning needs.
For these reasons, we don't recommend taking actual Italian lessons on italki as a way to actually learn Italian.
Personally, we think that Italki is mainly useful for students who have at least a lower-intermediate level, who can already communicate to some extent in Italian and just need a cheap way to practice Italian conversation.