So you’re thinking about learning Italian by yourself. While it may not always be easy, it’ll be worth it. Self-studying is the perfect method for those who are busy, travel a lot or have unpredictable schedules.
Teaching yourself a new language is a rewarding experience, but finding the right tools and methods to learn is essential. Read on for eight steps you can follow to essentially design your own Italian course.
If you’re going to self-study Italian, you’ll need some high-quality study material. The best way to get concise, easy-to-digest and well-organized material for studying Italian is with a good Italian textbook.
Your textbook should involve equal parts vocabulary building and grammar explanations. It should prompt you to practice reading, writing, listening and speaking and offer a wealth of practice exercises. Check out these options to get started:
“Living Language Italian, Complete Edition”is great for beginners. It combines three course books, nine audio CDs and online support. With the course, you also get access to online flashcards, games and quizzes!
“Italian Now! Level One” is a fantastic textbook for learning Italian one step at a time. This course focuses on the conversational use of Italian, and its glossaries are great for looking up a word translation or verb conjugation.
“Ultimate Italian Beginner-Intermediate”includes 40 lessons, each with a realistic dialogue. It offers great vocabulary-building, a complete overview of Italian grammar and quizzes to test your understanding.
2. Get an Italian Dictionary
In addition to a textbook, a good dictionary is necessary if you want to tackle Italian. A dictionary will allow you to look up new words and phrases when you need a translation and expand your vocabulary.
For starters, good dictionaries should include accurate translations. Some of the best dictionaries also include grammar glossaries and tips on pronunciation. Check out these recommendations:
Berlitz’s “Italian Pocket Dictionary” is easy to carry with you, but packs a lot into its small size. In addition to its translations, this dictionary also has lists of common vocabulary and verb conjugation charts.
Barron’s “Italian-English Dictionary”offers 100,000 entries! Each entry includes its translation, part of speech and pronunciation. In addition to the hard copy, you can also download the electronic dictionary for digital use.
WordReferenceis a great option for those who like convenient online dictionaries or apps. Its entries are in-depth and concise, and you can also engage with a wider Italian learning community for ongoing support.
You can also find Italian textbooks, dictionaries, phrasebooks and more in electronic format on VitalSource, where you can access books for a lower price using the convenient Bookshelf app.
3. Download a Language-Learning App
Italian apps can be a great way to learn and practice the language. Here are some of the best ones you can download today:
Duolingo is a popular app that offers gamified, themed lessons targeted to get you speaking, listening, reading and writing in Italian. It’s a fun way to practice Italian in short bursts every day.
FluentUis great for language learning with authentic Italian content. You’ll find an expansive library of short video clips from Italian media, complete with interactive subtitles and other learning tools.
FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.
Busuuaims to provide an Italian language course in app format. There’s a bit more of a focus on grammar than other apps. You can also link up with other Italian learners and speakers for practice.
Learning Italian by yourself isn’t just about using the right materials. It’s also about making a long-term commitment and coming up with a plan that you can stick to.
Making a schedule is one of the best ways to stay on track and reach your learning goals. This not only keeps you focused when you’re busy but also allows you to watch and maintain your progress.
For starters, I suggest a weekly schedule where you set out how many textbook chapters, app modules and exercises you want to complete in one week. This will help you get a well-rounded, steady Italian learning experience. You can always adjust your schedule as needed.
5. Take Baby Steps
Don’t overwhelm yourself by starting with a regimen that’s impossible to maintain. While you may be eager to cram as much Italian as you can as quickly as possible, you need time to digest, review and retain the information you learn.
Ultimately, you’ll find it’s better to cover small chunks of Italian at a time, especially in the beginning. That might mean one textbook chapter a week and two or three app modules or exercises until you get the hang of things.
Further, start off by aiming to learn 20 new words per week. Use an Italian flashcard app or make your own flashcards to help you practice. I also suggest writing your own notes on the textbook lessons to help you understand grammar concepts. Don’t forget to review these notes often!
6. Talk to Native Italian Speakers
It’s never too early to start listening to and conversing with native Italian speakers. In fact, this is essential to becoming fluent in Italian. If there are Italian speakers in your community, make an effort to practice with them!
If there are no Italians nearby, try meeting some online. Italki is a great place to find free Italian language partners and private tutors at affordable rates. You can practice your Italian skills with other learners and native speakers or take formal lessons.
If you need some more guidance in your self-studying, you can check out some sites specifically devoted to matching you with tutors. Wyzant and Verbling are two platforms that can help you find the right online tutor for you.
7. Consume Italian Media
Consuming Italian media will expose you to the language as it’s used by native speakers. It will also allow you to practice your reading and listening comprehension skills and will teach you a lot of useful vocabulary words.
Here are some ways to immerse yourself in Italian media:
Listen to an Italian podcast. There are podcasts available for all levels of Italian (including for beginners). The best part is that you can download many of these podcasts and their transcripts for on-the-go use.
Watch Italian videos on YouTube. Like podcasts, you can find videos on virtually any topic that interests you. Aim for videos with translations and subtitles to supercharge your watching experience.
Check out Italian video libraries and series. You can watch videos on a range of topics, view transcripts and translations and even do comprehension exercises on some videos to reinforce the content.
Our eighth step for learning Italian by yourself is perhaps the most crucial one: don’t be afraid to take risks and make mistakes.
Learning a new language is challenging even with the best materials and schedule. Try your best, but also be accepting of the fact that you’re going to make mistakes—especially in those nerve-racking conversations with native speakers.
However, don’t let fear or anxiety stop you. Most of the time, native Italian speakers will be ecstatic that you’re trying and will help you along the way!
With these eight steps, you’ll be well on your way to learning Italian by yourself. Just remember: slow and steady wins the race. Take your time and have some fun with it!
If you're as busy as most of us, you don't always have time for lengthy language lessons. The solution? FluentU!
Learn Italian with funny commericals, documentary excerpts and web series, as you can see here:
FluentU helps you get comfortable with everyday Italian by combining all the benefits of complete immersion and native-level conversations with interactive subtitles. Tap on any word to instantly see an image, in-context definition, example sentences and other videos in which the word is used.
Access a complete interactive transcript of every video under the Dialogue tab, and review words and phrases with convenient audio clips under Vocab.
Once you've watched a video, you can use FluentU's quizzes to actively practice all the vocabulary in that video. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you’re on.
FluentU will even keep track of all the Italian words you’re learning, and give you extra practice with difficult words. Plus, it'll tell you exactly when it's time for review. Now that's a 100% personalized experience!
The best part? You can try FluentU for free with a trial.
