- LSRW practise (Listen, Speak, Read, Write). Read a lot of books, including children’s books. Watch online movies, videos, and soap operas to get a sense of the accent and how the words are pronounced. Use the shadowing technique to help you with your speech and accent. Spend a lot of time talking to your pet, a plant, or yourself in the mirror. Listen to as many reliable audiobooks, audio resources, documentaries, talk shows, and music as you can find in order to register the correct pronunciation of the word being used and, of course, to identify which word is being used in which context.
- Try to memorise as many new words as you can that are commonly used in everyday conversations.Learn how to use a word correctly. Understand the technicalities/grammar rules that govern how a specific word is to be used in various situations/contexts.
- Find trustworthy resources to assist you in your learning, whether online or offline. Apps for SRS (flashcards) such as Anki and Memrise are worth a look. Use the internet to its full potential. Make use of Mnemonics
- NEVER FORGET TO PRACTICE
- Learn through an immersive method. Label household items with their respective names in the target language. Change the language of your devices whenever you feel comfortable so that you can see it every day and be pushed to learn as a way to understand.
Let’s take a look at the most effective ways to learn Italian vocabulary. I’ve already mentioned a number of points that, as a general rule, can be applied to any language, including Italian.
Aside from these, I recommend gathering Italian vocabulary using the methods listed below.
To learn commonly spoken words in everyday life, you must first listen to reliable Italian music movies, talk shows, documentaries, soap operas, online audio, YouTube videos, and audiobooks from a reliable source. It may not make much sense to you right now, but once you have learned a little bit of the Italian language using this technique, you will understand the importance of learning the language by attempting to imitate the characters or actors in the videos or audio that you hear. Even if you can only effectively copy 10% of the pronunciations and accents heard in the audio clips for videos, to begin with, believe me when I say that’s a victory in and of itself!
Setting attainable short and long term measurable goals to learn new words consciously is the best way to begin! Setting attainable goals is another great way to stay motivated while learning a new language. And, while you’re at it, I recommend you spend at least two hours learning and practising the Italian language. If you are unsure what to do, I recommend that you follow the recommendations listed below:
- Begin with a single goal in mind.
- Make a list of your long and short-term objectives.
- When measuring actions and progress, be specific.
- Set goals that you genuinely want to accomplish.
- Be honest with yourself.
- Do not be overzealous or overambitious, as this will lead to the agony of burnout.
For a very simple reason, I also advise you not to be overly ambitious and try to learn complex words until you have a good grasp of the language. The majority of daily conversations held by Italian speakers do not include such complicated words. Instead, everyday conversation employs the most basic of words such as milk, dog, pen, paper, phone, and so on.
Keep a journal or a diary with you at all times so that you can record any new words or phrases that you come across while listening to or watching an online audio or video source on your way to or from work.
Another very helpful way for you to gather really good vocabulary for yourself so that you can hold your first conversation with the Italian speaker is to consciously look for phrases to add to your vocabulary rather than just words. Look for relevant phrases that include the new word. So, as you become more familiar with the words ‘good’ and ‘morning,’ I recommend adding phrases like Good morning, Good morning to you, Isn’t it such a good morning? or What a lovely morning! in your vocabulary bank. It may also be beneficial to learn related words in groups, such as the word’s synonyms and antonyms.
I also strongly advise Italian students to keep an English-Italian dictionary on hand at all times.
When you remove the prefix or suffix from a word, it may be worth a try to break it down into parts that help you memorise it. With this effort, you will also be able to recall the word’s prefix and suffix, as well as the context in which they were used. Breaking down a word also assists a learner in understanding the conjugations used behind the word.
Mnemonics could also be used to remember the pronunciation of an Italian word until a learner learns to write in Italian. A similar effect is seen in learning when students use flashcards to supplement their learning. These cards could be colour coded for nouns, verbs, adjectives, antonyms and synonyms, or anything else they want.
Reading magazines, newspapers, and children’s books in Italian will help you expand your vocabulary by introducing you to new words every day. I’d also like to point out that as you begin to learn these words, try to remember and jot down the context in which they were used. This will allow a student to register the correct usage of the word and remember it henceforth.
