How I got a B2 in Italian in 1.5 years
Anon requested me to share my secrets with you and I will try my best to do so. I donât use all of these resources very regularly, but I think they could all help you with your studies. Some of these resources will be in Dutch, because that happens to be my native language. I included them because there might be Dutch speakers reading this and some resources might also exist in other languages.
Invest in a good dictionary!
Online dictionaries can prove very useful because theyâre faster, but books are often more accurate
I use both, but am yet to find a good online Dutch-Italian dictionary
(For native Dutch speakers: I highly recommend Van Dale)
Vocabulary and grammar (app/website)
Took me about 6 months to finish
Use the desktop version: itâs where you can find the grammar
Take notes of the grammar!!
Itâs not always 100% accurate but the basics are explained very well
Write down the vocabulary
I made a word document that went article + Dutch word/article + Italian word/article + Italian plural
(shoot me a message if you want it!)
I finished the tree before starting books, because I donât like the idea of working with two (or more) different âfullâ resources at the same time
With âfullâ I mean that theyâre not additional information you look up so you can understand a concept better, but actual resources that youâre going to study as a whole
This app is also from Duolingo: for Italian, theyâve got flashcards for the Duolingo tree, so you donât have to make them anymore! Sadly I only discovered this months after I finished the Duolingo tree so it wasnât useful for me anymore, but honestly I think thatâs a blessing if you want to repeat vocabulary!Â
You can also make your own flashcards: you can keep them private or not and theyâve got audio.
I heard a lot about it, saying it was good for vocabulary so I thought I should give it a try.
I didnât like it, I donât really know why: I think itâs a good app, it just didnât work for me.
Make your own flashcards or use decks made by others.
There are also other things like diagrams but I havenât tried that so I wouldnât know how it works
Conversation practice (app)
Itâs an app to chat with natives of the language youâre learning
Possibility to send voice messages, thereâs an in-app dictionary, you can send pictures, you can video chat or call and most importantly: if there might be any problems, you can report and block.
I have not encountered a single person who is not there for learning, a problem that apparently exists on other apps.
You can also pay to get classes by teachers on there, and theyâve also got Tandem Pro without adds and probably some other advantages, but the free version is great as well
Itâs mostly short stories and fairy tales
Some are paying, some not
You can turn on the audio
I turned on notifications for this one, so I can see what the important stuff is in Italy right now
I donât often read whole articles, but I should because itâs great reading practice + you learn about politics, cultureâŚ
Newspapers often use a more difficult language, so I recommend this to people who are intermediate
Vocabulary + grammar (book)
I started this after finishing the Duolingo tree and then itâs not useful, because it starts from scratch.
Good alternative if you donât like using apps like Duolingo
(Got it from @lovelybluepanda)
Vocabulary + grammar (book + CD)
I only got the book and not the CD (I got the book from lovelybluepandaâs account, idk if sheâs even got the CD?)
I liked it, although too easy because I had already finished Duolingo.
Very good grammar explanations
Just plain grammar, but great explanations
I started taking notes from it, but rn Iâm redoing it because 1) I should revise my grammar 2) the first notes I made were awful 3) I didnât even get to 1/3 of the book
Itâs a lot, but I love it
It has a workbook! Great exercises!
I also got this one from lovelybluepanda
Snelcursus Italiaans: grammatica
As you might have guessed, itâs in Dutch. But because itâs a translation from German (Durchstarten in Italienisch-Grammatikk) I thought there might be other translations out there :)
I use it to look up stuff, not so much to actually study from
Qui Italia piĂš: corso di lingua italiana per stranieri: livello medio (quaderno di esercitazioni pratiche)
This one is completely in Italian
Nuovo progetto italiano: quaderno degli esercizi
Grammar, vocabulary, exercises (book + CDâs)
Got this one at my language school in Rome and I quite like it (I got the B2 version)
Lots of different exercises, listening practice, reading, conjugationsâŚ
Iâm not the type of person who keeps a diary but Iâm trying to keep one for Italian and Norwegian. Just talking a bit about your daily/weekly activities, feelings⌠can make you feel more familiar with the language
If youâve got a bullet journal, maybe you can do it in Italian?
Easier said than done? Youâre right about that.
Iâve recently spent 3 weeks in Rome with a language school while staying in a host family and honestly I learned so much. I donât speak Italian with anyone here and speaking Italian all day long improved my level so much.
So if you have the possibility: plan a trip to Italy, talk with natives (in my experience: theyâll be more than happy to chat with you).
If people start to talk to you in English, donât be scared to switch to Italian. Most of the time theyâre very excited you speak the language!
Switch your phone/tablet/computer/⌠language to Italian
A thing I was too lazy to do so after 1.5 years I still donât know it and believe me, that can be annoying
Look for other resources! Especially in your native language!
Do not solely rely on this one post please
Follow as many Italian langblrs as you can: search for Italian vocab lists/grammar posts/⌠and follow the people who made them, there are also posts out there with lists of Italian langblrs (Iâll make a list with the ones I follow below)
Translate: I like to translate parts of wikipedia articles, Dutch to Italian or Italian to Dutch
Make a topic jar: lovelybluepanda has got a post with topic ideas
Listen to music, podcastsâŚ
Watch Italian tv! Italian tv is unbelievably shitty but I like to watch quizzes in particular because if you donât understand one part, thatâs no problem: the next part will be about something different.
Read books! You can start with childrenâs books, from B1 books like the first Harry Potter books are doable, What I also find a good idea is reading a book in Italian that youâve already read several times in your native language. That way you already know the story line and itâs not a problem if a certain part is too difficult for you
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