If you are considering learning Italian, congratulations! You chose an amazing language, considered to be the language of love and culture. We know, starting to learn Italian from scratch can be scary, but don’t worry: in this article we’ll try to shed some light on the Italian language. Here’s what you’ll discover:
- Why you should learn Italian;
- Where to start to learn Italian;
- Basic Italian vocabulary;
- Basic Italian grammar;
- Practice your reading and listening skills;
- Study with a teacher or a website;
- How to practice online with Global General.
Keep reading to find out the basics of Italian and how to learn them!
What Are the Reasons for Choosing to Learn Italian?
There are so many languages in the world and choosing which one to learn can be difficult. So, let us tell you why you should choose Italian! First of all, Italian is a very melodic language, often considered to be the language of love. Moreover, being a Latin language, it is an important and useful bridge to other languages such as Spanish, French and Portuguese, that have common roots with Italian. So, learning Italian will make it easier to learn a new Latin language in the future. Speaking many languages will also help you find great career opportunities in the international market. Italy is a very important nation in many different industries, such as food, fashion, tourism, wine, and so on. You could also consider studying in Italy, since it has some of the best universities in the world. You could go to Italy for an exchange or to attend an Italian university. What’s more, the Italian culture, literature and history are extremely rich. Learning Italian will give you access to this immense cultural background. Finally, speaking the language of the Latins will allow you to travel to Italy and be able to communicate with locals, visit ancient Roman ruins, experience great Italian food and immerse yourself in the culture!
Where Should You Start if You Wish to Learn Italian?
Italian is quite easy to learn. The alphabet is the same we have in English (differently from Russian or Chinese, that have completely different alphabets) and several English words actually come from Latin, which is the language Italian comes from. Italian can also seem easier than French, or any other latin languages.
Just like for any other language, you have to start from the very basics of vocabulary, grammar, listening and reading comprehension. In the following sections you’ll discover where to start to learn Italian and how to do that.
Here’s the list of the main topics we’ll discuss:
- Vocabulary: alphabet, numbers, greetings, date and hour, weather
- Grammar: articles, adjectives, verbs and conjugations
- Basic competencies: reading and listening
Let’s get started!
Basic Italian Vocabulary: Learn the Most Common Words
You can’t speak if you don’t know any words. That’s why you should start with vocabulary! To learn Italian we suggest you start with:
The alphabet
No matter which language you are studying, you always have to learn its alphabet first. Being Italian a phonetic language, learning the alphabet will help you pronounce words properly, since you read the letters as they are written. Here’s a great video to learn the Italian alphabet! Try to listen and repeat the letters, then read a few words.
The numbers
After the alphabet, you need to learn the numbers! Knowing the numbers is essential to communicate. For example if someone asks you “Quanti anni hai?” (“How old are you?”) you need to know the numbers in Italian, to be able to answer. Here’s a fun and useful video that explains how to pronounce numbers in Italian!
Greetings and introducing yourself
One of the first topics you need to learn are greetings and introductions. These expressions are essential to communicate with native-Italian speakers. “Buon giorno” (Good morning), “Buona sera” (Good evening), “Come ti chiami?” (What’s your name), “Piacere” (Nice to meet you), “Arrivederci” (Goodbye), and so on. Here is a super video to learn Italian greetings and this one will teach you how to introduce yourself like a native!
Date and hour
If you want to learn Italian and eventually visit Italy one day, you will of course need to learn how to tell the date and ask what time it is. To learn how to tell the hour in Italian, we recommend this video, while for dates you should watch this one. It’s important to learn the numbers before, so that it will be easier to learn how to say the hours and dates.
The weather
When you run out of topics, you can always talk about…the weather! This is also true in Italian! That’s why you need to know how to describe and ask questions about the weather in Italian. This short video is great to learn all the basic expressions about the weather in Italian!
Basic Italian Grammar: Learn the Most Important Rules
As well as vocabulary, grammar is essential to speak a language. That’s why you should start with the basics of Italian grammar!
The articles
In English we only have the article “the”. On the contrary, in Italian there are many more: “il”, “lo”, “la”, “i”, “gli”, “le”. Indeed, in Italian articles change according to the genre and number of the noun they accompany. In this video you’ll learn everything about Italian definite articles!
The adjectives
You’ve studied a bunch of Italian words. You can say “sorella” (sister), “amico” (friend), “albero” (tree), and so on. But what about adjectives? Learning them is essential to be able to describe objects, people, animals and feelings. Here you can learn the basics of Italian adjectives.
The verbs and their conjugations
Last but not least, in order to be able to speak, read and write in Italian, you need to learn the verbs and their conjugations. Italian is a bit more complicated than English because every person has a different form: “io credo, tu credi, lui/lei crede, noi crediamo, voi credete, loro credono” (VS English: I/you/we/you/they believe, he/she believes). Take a look at this video to learn everything about Italian verbs and their conjugations.
Practice Your Reading and Listening Skills in Italian
At the beginning, we recommend you to focus on reading and listening more than writing and speaking. Indeed, these two competencies are the easiest and help you gradually develop the other ones. Doing so will enable you to learn Italien faster!
Start by reading short stories, articles, blogs and listen to some Italian songs and podcasts. You can also watch cartoons, YouTube videos and movies: start with English subtitles, then switch them to Italian and finally switch them off.
Reading books and listening to Italian podcasts or audiobooks are great methods to learn new vocabulary, get used to the proper Italian pronunciation, revise grammar and learn new expressions.
You can find several online resources: YouTube channels, podcasts, audiobooks, books, and so on. Try to practice a bit everyday and you’ll see the results in a flash!
Study With a Teacher or on a Website if You Struggle
Learning Italian can be pretty hard in the beginning, so the best solution is to receive some help. We recommend you two alternatives:
Online courses
You can find high quality courses and resources for learning Italian online, which can support you in the learning process. The best solution is GlobalExam, an e-learning platform that offers an all-inclusive course: grammar explanations, vocabulary, practical exercises for reading, listening, writing and speaking skills, corrections, personalised feedback from native-Italian coaches, exam simulations, scores, and much more.
Native teachers
If you prefer a 1-to-1 approach, you can find a native-Italian teacher on platforms like SuperProf and iTalki. This can be useful to develop your conversational skills, but in the beginning it would be better to focus on grammar and vocabulary through reading and listening. Alternatively, you can move to a city in Italy to learn Italian.
Reach the Level of Italian You Want With Global General
To learn Italian and practice all of your competencies, what you need is Global General. This online course created by the e-learning platform GlobalExam offers a dynamic and modern yet effective approach. Global General is dedicated to beginners and intermediate-level students: indeed, our online course offers classes that go from the A1 to the B2 level. Which means that we have Italian learning resources even for your children! We have courses for 5 languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian and German. Every level of every language is developed according to the CEFR standards. Here’s our unique, dynamic and engaging offer:
- Countless flashcards to train your memory and learn new vocabulary;
- Simulations to help you train in real context, for all the competencies;
- A “did you know” section to help you deepen your knowledge of the language;
- 5000 detailed corrections;
- Personalised feedback from our native coaches;
- Online conferences with our coaches, with a practical part where you’ll be required to complete some exercises and you’ll be given immediate corrections;
- Validation of the acquired competences every 5 simulations;
- 150 hours of unique content and 500 audio tracks.
Why should you choose us?
Global General is the perfect solution to learn Italian from your home or office, whenever you want, at your own pace! You’ll receive all the tools you need to study Italian and progress in a quick and consistent way. All of our courses guarantee high quality content and personalised feedback from native coaches: a unique plus offered by GlobalExam! The added value of our innovative, all-inclusive program is that it is created to suit your needs and adapt to your schedule.
So if you want to learn Italian from scratch and become fluent in a jiffy, sign up and start learning Italian with Global General today!
