Introduction:
Listening is the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication process. Without the ability to listen effectively, messages are easily misunderstood. So, it is important to develop a good listening habit to improve ourselves. And, this article is going to help you out on how to improve it. Before, let’s have a quick and short idea about the Italian Language. Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, Slovenia, and Croatia. In Switzerland, it is spoken in Graubünden and Ticino cantons in the southeast. In Croatia, it is spoken mainly in Istria County in the northwest, and it is spoken in the neighboring Istria region of southwest Slovenia.
There are also Italian speakers in other countries, including Malta, Monaco, Romania, France, Eritrea, Somalia, Brazil, Australia, and the USA. There are about 64 million native speakers of Italian worldwide, another 3 million people speak it as a second language. In Italy, in 2012 about 59 million people spoke Italian. Half the population speaks standard Italian as a native language, and the other half speak regional dialects and languages as their first languages and Italian as a second language.
Now let’s discuss some useful platforms from which you can improve your listening skills while learning the Italian language.
Ways to improve:
1. LEARN ITALIAN WITH LUCREZIA
This channel has hundreds of videos covering a wide array of topics for all levels. Lucrezia Oddone has been posting videos on YouTube for Italian learners for years and has built up a great following for a reason. You can start with one of her earliest videos on basic numbers or you can explore her playlists and vlogs for longer conversations and monologues. She does not provide any translation for her conversations or vlogs, so her channel is good listening practice for those who have already built up some Italian vocabulary.
2. ITALIANPOD101.COM
ItalianPod101 from InnovativeLanguage covers the basics through advanced levels of Italian. The episodes are exciting and immersive. One episode I particularly enjoyed is Must-Know Italian Slang Words and Phrases – Expressions to Describe Someone You Dislike. It was one of the most humorous episodes and I learned about how colorful Italian insults can be! The dialogues are presented by engaging hosts in a clear, concise way covering many grammatical features and cultural topics. On the website, you can sign up for premium content to access spaced repetition flashcards, PDF lesson notes, and a community forum.
3. NEWS IN SLOW ITALIAN
News in Slow Italian, an intermediate-level podcast, discusses world news, grammar, and expressions in the form of slowed-down audio. Every episode is a virtual immersion into the Italian-speaking world showing grammar and vocabulary in context. The hosts are engaging and they show you that the language is alive and vibrant and waiting for you to dive into it. The audio is very clear and easy to follow. On the website, there are transcripts for each episode available with grammar, expressions, pronunciation, and quizzes.
Hope this article gives you what you have been looking for to improve your listening skills. Also, you can visit www.multibhashi.com as well which gives learning languages to another level. Be consistent and don’t make a salad of all the possible resources. It will be counterproductive. Choose one or two listening sources that pick your interest. Work with them until you are comfortable listening and understanding that type of source.
