Learning Italian can be easy and fun if you use the right resources. Websites are a great method to learn a language: they are interactive, comprehensive, professional, and fun. But online there are so many, that the risk of choosing the wrong one is really high. To be sure you pick a good online course, read this article carefully. Here’s what you’ll discover:
- The best websites to learn Italian for free;
- The best websites to learn Italian paying a fee;
- Advantages and disadvantages of learning Italian with a website or with a book;
- The best blogs to help you improve your Italian;
- Our top tips to learn Italian online;
- How to learn Italian online with Global General.
Ready to discover everything about the best language learning websites? Read on!
The Top Best Websites for Learning Italian for Free
If you are just starting out learning Italian, you might not want to spend money on a course. Free websites are a good way to start learning Italian and see if you really like it. Let’s take a look at a few of them:
GlobalExam
GlobalExam is an online e-learning platform 100% dedicated to language learning. It is developed by teachers and language experts and offers exercises for all levels from beginner to advanced for 5 languages, including Italian. It has a free version, that includes one exercise with corrections (that you can repeat all the times you want), a free level test, and countless vocabulary lists. It also has an extended version available for a fee (we’ll talk about it in the next section). You can easily learn Italian all on your own on the platform.
Duolingo
This app is completely free and offers exercises for both young and adult learners. It also features corrections and sends you regular reminders to keep you motivated. It includes all the grammar basics and has many exercises to help you practice all of your skills.
Duolingo can be used via either the website or as an extremely responsive and sophisticated app for phones or tablets. It is basically a series of quizzes that increase in difficulty as you progress. With Duolingo, there are no lessons, just quick, five-minute tests that exercise your skills in vocabulary and retention by having you translate sentences.
Live Lingua
Live Lingua uses the same materials that are used by the United States’ Foreign Services Institute, the institution that prepares diplomats and other foreign affairs officials for speaking with foreign leaders and citizens around the world. By making the institute’s materials available for free on their site, Live Lingua is opening up a whole new level of language learning to everyone, regardless of their government clearance level. Some of the resources include free downloadable audio files, e-books, and a recording feature that helps you to be sure that you are pronouncing words correctly.
The Best Paid Websites for Learning Italian Online
GlobalExam
We already mentioned it in the previous section: GlobalExam is an e-learning platform dedicated to language learning offering 5 languages. It has a free limited version, and an extended version available for a fee. The complete version offers a comprehensive learning experience, including grammar explanations, exercises for reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills, word lists, exam simulations, level tests, personalized feedback and correction from native coaches, and much more!
Rosetta Stone
This paid website is great for learning Italian. It lets you choose which topics you want to learn and has vocabulary lists with useful expressions. This course is a full immersion in the Italian language since it doesn’t have any explanations in English: a great opportunity to force yourself to speak Italian!
Memrise
Memrise is a paid website that uses a fun approach to help you learn Italian. It features a strong vocabulary database and helps you to remember words by pairing them with helpful pictures. Memrise is especially great for visual learners. It offers Beginner to Advanced levels. Visual learning is good because it allows your brain to learn Italian even while you sleep!
Advantages and Disadvantages of Learning Italian on a Website or Book
If you are skeptical about learning a language with a website, you should read the following advantages and disadvantages lists, comparing traditional grammar books and modern online courses.
Let’s start with books:
Advantages
- Traditional
Books are a method we are all used to: who didn’t use them to study at school? Being familiar with them, we feel comfortable when studying on books. There are many books for learning Italian on all topics out there. - High quality
To publish a book, you need to do a lot of research, develop an efficient method, and get it approved: that’s why books guarantee (almost) always top-notch content
Disadvantages
- Old-fashioned
Tradition is a double-edged sword: if it’s true that it represents a sort of comfort zone, it is also true that sometimes books are quite old-fashioned and that the methods they use are no longer working or at least obsolete. Indeed, they are impossible to update: you need to print (and buy) a new version if you want the latest updates. - Heavy
Yes, knowledge can be a burden. Books are heavy to carry around and if you like to travel light, they are not a good idea: you need your grammar book, practice book, vocabulary book, and so on.
Let’s now analyze the advantages and disadvantages of websites:
Advantages
- Easy to carry around
Knowledge can be a burden, but it doesn’t have to also be heavy: with websites, if you have your smartphone, tablet, or laptop with you, you don’t need anything else! For instance, you can watch YouTube videos in Italian anywhere you are. - Flexible
Websites allow you to optimize your time: during the lunch break at school or on the train to get to work, you can study Italian with your favorite online courses, or you can even watch Italian movies and improve your Italian if you wish to. - Easy to use
Modern websites are very user-friendly: it will take you just a couple of minutes to figure out how they work.
Disadvantages
- Connection
If you don’t have an internet connection, you won’t be able to access your online course. - Screen
Spending too much time on a computer screen is not ideal for the eyes, so you should alternate screen supports and paper ones.
The Top Best Blogs to Help You Improve Your Italian
Blogs are a great resource: they are written by language teachers, experts, or other students, so they can give you authentic, useful tips to learn Italian.
Let’s see which blogs you should follow!
GlobalExam
GlobalExam’s blog is an amazing source of knowledge. It includes basic grammar rules, pronunciation tips, Italian vocabulary, and more. It also recommends useful resources to use to learn Italian (and four more languages), along with practical tips to learn languages in a fast and effective way. It also has sections dedicated to certifications (Cambridge, IELTS, etc) where you’ll find information about the structure of the exams and even practical examples. GlobalExam offers amazing language courses and the amazing blog is just the proof of their top-notch quality.
Learn Italian with Lucrezia
Lucrezia is a language learner who helps Italian language learners experience the beauty of the Italian language and culture. Her blog is appropriate for intermediate-level students: it is almost entirely written in Italian, and it offers topical posts on conversational Italian, Italian books, and Italian idioms. It also offers blog posts about Italian traditions and everyday Italian life. Grammar isn’t a focus of her blog, but by reading her posts you can learn new structures.
I Learn Italian
This language learning blog is a great resource for students at any level. There are courses you can sign up for, but also free exercises. This blog often talks about music (lyrics of Italian songs, stories about famous Italian singers and musicians, etc). This is a great way to not only learn the language faster but also have more fun and learn about Italy from a musical perspective in the process.
Our Top Tips to Implement for Learning Italian Fast
If you want an easy way to learn Italian, here are a few tips you should follow.
In this article, we recommended a few websites. Now, we want to give you further information about online Italian courses. If you just want to verify if you like the language, a free course could make the deal. But if you really want to learn Italian and become fluent, have solid grammar bases, and strong vocabulary, it won’t be enough. A free website is always very limited. If you choose to pay a fee and have access to all of the features offered by the website, you will certainly not regret it: you get what you pay.
Another tip is to follow a study plan. If you are not organized, and you don’t commit to studying Italian, results won’t come. Indeed, when you attend a language school, you are disciplined: you have to go to school X times per week, do your homework, etc.
If you have trouble finding motivation for learning Italian, you can try out some fun methods. For instance you could find some entertaining Italian apps, or even some Italian learning games. You also have the possibility of watching the famous Italian TV shows! Lastly, if you wish to multitask you can check out some Italian podcasts, which will allow you to improve in Italian while driving or doing other similar things.
An online course will not give you these obligations, so you need to be self-disciplined and follow a schedule. Choose three, four, or more days per week and stick to your plan. This way, you will feel more motivated!
Learn Italian Online at Your Own Pace With Global General
You have a lot of options available for learning Italian. However, Global General is the perfect solution for you!
This e-learning platform developed by GlobalExam is tailored for beginners and intermediate-level students to learn Italian completely online.
Global General offers 5 languages: Italian, English, Spanish, French, and German. Every language goes from the A1 to the B2 level, according to the CEFR standards.
What’s included in our program?
You’ll find countless flashcards to help you learn new vocabulary and train your memory in a fast and fun way; simulations to practice all of your language skills in a real context, for all the competencies, through speaking, reading, and listening exercises. Every exercise has a detailed correction you can use to learn from your mistakes! Our native coaches will also provide you with personalized feedback and tips! Use the scores for every exercise to understand your level and progress
Moreover, you can benefit from a “did you know” section to deepen your knowledge of the language! Our website also features 500 audio tracks and 150 hours of exclusive content! You’ll also find online conferences with our native coaches, with a practical component where you’ll be required to complete some exercises and you’ll be given personalized corrections!
Sign up on our website and start learning Italian today with Global General by GlobalExam!
