How to study Italian - The Chatterbox Studio

There are many methods to practice a language outside of the classroom.
Whether you are in your own country or in the country of the language you are studying. There is no right or wrong methodology.
All that exists is what is right for you!

Here you can find some suggestions to increase your language fluency.

Consider four areas to build language learning:

There are many methods to practice a language outside of the classroom.
Whether you are in your own country or in the country of the language you are studying.
There is no right or wrong methodology.
All that exists is what is right for you!

Here you can find some suggestions to increase your language fluency.

Consider four areas to build language learning:

Write your awesome label here.

Do not stress if you don't understand each single word.
It is totally normal, even in your language your brain has more focus on understanding the main meaning then each singular vocabulary.
Do not use too much a translator when you search for the meaning of the words, instead use an Italian dictionary. This will help you to understand the meaning trough an Italian explanation.
Do not plan to read a lot in one go.
One or two pages are enough to practice your daily study routine. You will feel less frustrated, therefore you will learn better.

Write your awesome label here.

Reading Italian is one of the most important activities that you can do in order to learn a language!

Leggiamo insieme.
You can participate to our Reading Group Workshop called "Leggiamo insieme". It will help you to commit and to achieve your goals.
Choose what you want to read.
It is better if it is something you are interested in:
an article, a magazine, a newspaper, a book, a blog, a post, a food recipe, a travel website, a label of a product...
Read and try to understand the main meaning of the text. If you interrupt too many time you might loose the flow of the story.
Write on a notebook the words that are completely new and search their meaning using an Italian dictionary.
Doing like that, rather then use a translator, you will stimulate your mind to think in Italian.
While you read it is important to highlight or note in a notebook the words that are new for you. After the reading time you can link a writing activity using the new words. You can invent and write some sentences using them.

Reading Italian is one of the most important activities that you can do in order to learn a language!

Leggiamo insieme.
You can participate to our Reading Group Workshop called "Leggiamo insieme". It will help you to commit and to achieve your goals.
Choose what you want to read.
It is better if it is something you are interested in:
an article, a magazine, a newspaper, a book, a blog, a post, a food recipe, a travel website, a label of a product...
Read and try to understand the main meaning of the text. If you interrupt too many time you might loose the flow of the story.
Write on a notebook the words that are completely new and search their meaning using an Italian dictionary.
Doing like that, rather then use a translator, you will stimulate your mind to think in Italian.
While you read it is important to highlight or note in a notebook the words that are new for you. After the reading time you can link a writing activity using the new words. You can invent and write some sentences using them.

Do not stress if you don't understand each single word.
It is totally normal, even in your language your brain has more focus on understanding the main meaning then each singular vocabulary.
Do not use too much a translator when you search for the meaning of the words, instead use an Italian dictionary. This will help you to understand the meaning trough an Italian explanation.
Do not plan to read a lot in one go.
One or two pages are enough to practice your daily study routine. You will feel less frustrated, therefore you will learn better.

Write your awesome label here.

Answer to our "Community" questions. The Chatterbox Studio posts every Monday and Thursday a question. You can answer in the comments area and wait the end of the day to see the correct answer or the suggestion of the teacher.
One word a day keeps the teacher away!
Pick a word that will make your day, use it for writing one or more sentences. You can write simple and/or difficult sentences, as long as you write something.
E.g.: Torta - oggi ho fatto una torta / la torta alle fragole della nonna e' la migliore di tutte!
Write a diary in which you can recount what you have done, what you feel, what are your dreams your thoughts, what you are going to do, etc... Therefore you will practise all the types of tenses.
You can listen to a dialogue from a movie, song or audio with subtitles and write it down. You can play it many time till you are quite sure that you wrote everything and then check the script.

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Do not cover your house of labels with the name of each object. It does not work. Instead say in a room with your Italian book and make a sentence.
E.g.: Ora accendo la luce del soggiorno.
Do not write type of text that you never met. If you want to write a formal email but till now you studied general Italian then it is better to read different models of formal emails, have an overview of the main vocabulary and then try to write it.
Do not write when you are too tired. It is not productive.
Do not use google translator, that would be writing in English. It is much better ask to the teacher to correct your text.

Write your awesome label here.

Do not choose too difficult resources compare your level.
Do not listen to a audio only once and get frustrated if you do not understand immediately. It is a long process and your hears have to adapt to the new sounds and pronunciations.
Do not listen to audio with a very slow speed, you will find hard to keep focus and understand the meaning.
It is ok to slow it down a little bit in order to better comprehend, but not too much.

Also for listening it is important to listen to something in which we are interested.
A documentary, a movie, a YouTube video, a Audio-book, a song, a interview, a radio channel, etc...
When playing what you are listening, try to stop it and repeat what your hears heard. Only after 2 or 3 times you are allowed to read the subtitles.
If the audio represents something that is physically active, do it!
E.g.: A cooking recipe video. If it says "taglia" you will say it aloud and do the action of cutting.
When you practice listening you can try to answer to these questions:
Who is speaking? Who is the main character of the story? What is the audio about? Where and when does it take place? How the events are evolving? Why do the characters are doing or not things?

Also for listening it is important to listen to something in which we are interested.
A documentary, a movie, a YouTube video, a Audio-book, a song, a interview, a radio channel, etc...
When playing what you are listening, try to stop it and repeat what your hears heard. Only after 2 or 3 times you are allowed to read the subtitles.
If the audio represents something that is physically active, do it!
E.g.: A cooking recipe video. If it says "taglia" you will say it aloud and do the action of cutting.
When you practice listening you can try to answer to these questions:
Who is speaking? Who is the main character of the story? What is the audio about? Where and when does it take place? How the events are evolving? Why do the characters are doing or not things?

Write your awesome label here.

Do not choose too difficult resources compare your level.
Do not listen to a audio only once and get frustrated if you do not understand immediately. It is a long process and your hears have to adapt to the new sounds and pronunciations.
Do not listen to audio with a very slow speed, you will find hard to keep focus and understand the meaning. It is ok to slow it down a little bit in order to better comprehend, but not too much.

Look the PDFs that the teacher delivered to you. There is at least one question in it. Repeat the question aloud till it seems natural and then answer with your words.
Participate in workshops and group lessons, they are the best to have a real exchange.
You can watch an interview and anticipate what the interviewed will say.
You can watch a video on mute mode and speak in place of the character while watching the scene.
Find a classmate, a friend or a person that is available to spend some time with you practicing speaking regularly.

Write your awesome label here.

Make sure to practise regularly and review what you have done last time.

There is not a right place where you can do it. It is up to your personality. Some people might feel overwhelmed in a silent room, for other it is the only way to focus. Therefore try to find your right place.

While you clean or cook, keep in your background Italian songs, programs, documentary, etc...

Make sure to organise your stuff: water, pens, pencils, rubber, headphones, light, etc...

You might choose a moment of the day in which you know you are free and can focus easily.

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