Becoming fluent in a foreign language is a long journey, so arm yourself with motivation and read this guide that will hopefully set you off to a good start.
Create an easy-to-follow plan
How to learn Italian fast? No achievement happens in a day. Thus, it’s better to make a step-by-step study plan. It’ll help you organize your time and show where you stand in terms of progress.
- Decide how many hours per week, you want to dedicate to studying a language. If your goal is to learn Italian fast, you should know that sticking to deadlines brings results faster. So, be sure that you know how much time you can spend learning Italian. Ideally, at least three hours a week.
- Reserve time each day for study sessions. Whether you study on the go, during your coffee break or after work, make sure you can stay focused all the time.
- Stick to your schedule! It’s your best friend in language learning. And you don’t want to let your friends down. So commit to your plan and use every chance to practice.
How often do you study Italian? Even if you have a busy schedule, you better start studying regularly if you want to see good results soon.
Start with the alphabet and sound system
Italian ABC is similar to the English one. So you will not come across any strange letters, yet the letters sound different than in English. The Italian alphabet has 21 letters: five vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and 16 consonants.
Unlike many other languages, Italian pronunciation rules are consistent. Most words are spoken the way they are written. The exceptions are few, so once you learn the rules, you’ll be able to talk and read with confidence.
You’ll also notice that double letters are pronounced strongly and more stressed. No matter of its position in the word, all letters are pronounced in the same way, except for c, g (depending on the following vowel) and s, z (they can be voiced). Such letters as j, k, w, x, and y are used rarely and can be only found in words of English origin.
Practice basic grammar
How long does it take to learn Italian grammar? Unlike the sound system, Italian grammar will most likely take months to learn. It makes sense to start with the basics and lay a solid foundation before you dive into more complicated grammatical patterns.
Here are some simple things to cover during your first steps:
- Word order. Similar to English, Italian sentences have the Subject-Verb-Object order. This means you can convert English sentences into Italian by replacing the words. You will also notice that the position of other words in a sentence is not restricted.
- Articles and nouns. Italian nouns have gender and articles associated with them. The article defines whether a noun is masculine or feminine, singular or plural.
- Verbs. Italian has three major groups of verbs, depending on their infinitive ending. These are -are, -ere, and -ire verbs. Each group has conjugation rules, which you have to memorize.
- Adjectives. Italian is a descriptive language, and adjectives play a great role in it. From the grammar point of view, an adjective agrees in gender and number with the noun and has several forms.
Build up your vocabulary
You probably heard some basic Italian words and phrases — like the well-known ciao, arrivederci, and buongiorno. If you want to expand the vocabulary quickly, you should start with the most commonly used Italian words you can use every day. Put them into practice, and you’ll start speaking with confidence in no time. Keep a notebook at hand to write down new words and repeat the ones you already know.
Make Italian fun
There are plenty of ways to learn the Italian language without getting bored. Consider numerous podcasts, videos of real Italian speakers on YouTube, flashcards, apps, and textbooks that will help you practice every day. Learning through lyrics, games, news media, and movies is useful for improving your fluency, too.
Create a little Italy around you
By speaking with the locals and getting to know their traditions, you’ll be able to speak Italian with more confidence very quickly. However, international travel isn’t always an option for everyone. If you don’t have an opportunity to travel to Italy, the best way to learn Italian is to immerse yourself in the language wherever you are.
For example, you can speak or read aloud and record yourself to improve your pronunciation. You can also write captions on Instagram or tweet in Italian using simple phrases. Once you have your vocabulary built up, you can use it in conversations with native speakers.
