RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ITALIAN

Here are the resources I consider essential to learn how to speak Italian.

NATIVE
SPEAKERS:
67,000,000

OFFICIAL
LANGUAGE IN:
4 COUNTRIES

Full disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.



FAVORITE COURSES AND APPS TO IMPROVE YOUR ITALIAN

ItalianPod101 - Offers an innovative, fun, and easy to use language learning system that is designed to get you speaking from the very first lesson. Learn at your own convenience and pace with our short, effective, and fun audio podcast lessons, a comprehensive, state-of-the-art Learning Center, and a vibrant user community.

Glossika Italian - Sentences and repetition are used to teach. Glossika teaches you Italian in context by combining the "mass sentence approach" with an innovative spaced repetition system. This course is ideal for upper-beginner to advanced students.

Assimil Italian - The Assimil method for teaching foreign languages is through the listening of audio cd's and the reading of an accompanying book, one side native language, one side foreign language. This method is focused on learning whole sentences, for an organic learning of the grammar. It begins with a long passive phase of only reading and listening, and eventually adds active exercises.

Ling - Learn and play with Master Ling, an interactive platform filled with language courses, quizzes, and fun mini-games! Lessons are taught through engaging games, such as picture matching, flashcards, and sentence arrangement to keep you up and going. Plus, it’s got an engaging chatbot you can practice with!

Mondly - Is a great starting point for beginners, but it’s also full of lessons for intermediate and advanced students! Improve your Italian pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary with this handy app, as it arranges its lessons into short, digestible units. Complete with games and an achievement leaderboard, it’s the perfect platform to study and practice with! On top of that, you can use Mondly’s hands-free format to record and practice your speech.

Mango Languages - Mango utilizes its proprietary methodology, engaging interface, and easy, intuitive interactive tools to deliver practical conversational skills and valuable cultural insight for new languages. Lessons include strategically placed memory-building exercises to help users remember what they are learning in addition to critical thinking exercises, which help them to intuitively understand the language and adapt it to similar conversations.

Bluebird Languages - Bluebird uses the proven “spaced repetition” learning method to optimize both acquisition and retention. This, combined with instruction in 97% of the world’s most-spoken languages and our special building-block approach, will have you speaking and understanding the language of your choice in record time.

Mimic Method Italian - Helps you understand Italian's "sound system," so you can enhance your pronunciation and sound more like a native speaker. We all learn our first language by hearing it, so why not learn Italian by hearing it as well?

ITALIAN PRONUNCIATION

Forvo - Find out how to pronounce any Italian word. Simply put the word you're looking for into the search bar in Italian!

ITALIAN TUTORS: PRACTICE WITH NATIVE SPEAKERS

My method to learning a new language is to speak it from the beginning. I recommend the following tool for this:

Italki - On Skype, it links you with native Italian speakers for spoken practice. You may pay for (affordable) one-on-one video sessions with Italian teachers or discover a free language exchange partner! This link will take you directly to the site's Italian instructors.

ITALIAN GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY

MOSALingua - From absolute beginner to advanced level, this app uses audio flashcards to teach you Italian. The MOSA Learning® approach is founded on cognitive science principles, allowing you to learn Italian more quickly and effectively.

Wordreference - A dictionary with a twist, since each term includes a discussion thread regarding its nuances.

LEARN HOW TO READ AND WRITE IN ITALIAN

Living Language - Italian, Complete Edition is a unique multimedia course in Italian that takes you from a beginner to an advanced level in one convenient package.

Colloquial Italian - The Complete Course for Beginners has been carefully developed by an experienced teacher to provide a step-by-step course to Italian as it is written and spoken today.

Teach Yourself: Complete Italian Beginner to Intermediate Course - Complete Italian provides you with a clear and comprehensive approach to Italian, so you can progress quickly from the basics to understanding, speaking, and writing Italian with confidence.

Learn Italian The Fast And Fun Way - Barron's popular Fast and Fun Way foreign language learning programs are designed primarily for travelers to foreign countries but are also suitable for instruction in classrooms and language labs. Learn Italian the Fast and Fun Way is filled with cheerful illustrations, word lists, pull-out vocabulary flash cards, and language-learning exercises that take the form of games and puzzles. The book teaches appropriate words and phrases for greetings and introductions, finding one's way in cities, dining, shopping, getting hotel accommodations, telephoning, seeking medical help, reading road signs, and more.

Short Stories in Italian for Beginners and Short Stories in Italian (Intermediate) - Short stories has been written especially for students from beginner to intermediate level, designed to give a sense of achievement, and most importantly - enjoyment! Eight captivating stories will entertain you in a variety of exciting genres, from science fiction and crime to history and thriller - making reading fun, while you learn from a wide range of new vocabulary, and give you a feeling of progress when reading.

RESOURCES FOR INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED ITALIAN LEARNERS

LingQ - 1000s of hours of Italian podcasts, audiobooks, interviews, courses, and more immerses you in a world of engaging Italian material. Then, whenever you come across a word you don't recognize, you may use LingQ's SRS learning features to store it for later review.

Clozemaster - Answers the question: after Duolingo, what's next? Clozemaster aids in the quick expansion of your vocabulary by allowing you to learn Italian in context. You'll utilize the Cloze technique to fill in the blanks in thousands of Italian phrases. The sentences you'll learn are far more practical than the ones you'll learn on Duolingo.

START SPEAKING ITALIAN RIGHT NOW

Pimsleur – The Pimsleur method is perfect for you if you want to start speaking right away. Learn anywhere, anytime in just 30 minutes a day. Learn a language while cooking, commuting, exercising and more! Have the flexibility to practice when it’s convenient for you.