Learn Italian Online: Free Resources and Study Opportunities
Listen to
Pronunciation is crucial when learning a new language. Especially in Italian, incorrect pronunciation of certain words (e.g., "gnocchi") reveals your language level. How can you improve? The best way is by listening. Whether through Italian radio or television, listening is a great way to learn. We've listed some useful links below:
TuneIn Radio : This fantastic website lets you listen to radio programs from around the world. Listen to different shows until you find one you can easily follow.
BBC Italian : They offer a variety of free exercises for beginners and advanced learners.
Podcasts:
Podclub : On this website, you can listen to Italian podcasts. The written text is displayed alongside, so you can read along if it's too fast. Audiobooks:
You can find Italian audiobooks on LiberLiber . Among them are numerous Italian classics, such as Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron and Dante's Divine Comedy. News:
Listen to Italian news broadcasts. If the Italian news anchors speak too fast for you, check out Slow News in Italiano
YouTube
Beginners: Unfortunately, there are hardly any German YouTubers offering Italian lessons, which is why we've listed some Italian YouTubers here as examples. They primarily target an English-speaking audience and share their lessons partly in English and partly in Italian.
Italy Made Easy : Manu is Italian, and his passion is helping people learn and understand his native language, Italian. On his channel, you'll find the playlist "From Zero to Italian" for beginners, as well as the series "Italian Accelerator" for advanced learners. He also uploads travel tips for Italy and everyday vlogs. All his videos have subtitles.
On Sundays and Thursdays, Lucrezia uploads a new video to her channel, Learn Italian with Lucrezia.
She focuses on the little things, explaining the differences between similar-sounding words. So, for example, if you're having trouble deciding when to use "bello" and when to use "buono," you should definitely check her out.
Like Italy Made Easy, her videos are also divided into different playlists. Besides the playlist for beginners, you'll also find a playlist with vlogs and stories from everyday Italian life. Lucrezia particularly impressed us with her friendly personality.
ItalianPod101 is a YouTube channel that accompanies the website of the same name. A diverse group of people offer videos on various topics. Many of the videos have a direct connection to everyday life; in addition to classic learning videos, there are also videos on topics such as "the most frequently used Italian break-up lines" and "the top 10 phrases you need to learn to impress native speakers."
Advanced: These two YouTubers conduct their Italian lessons directly in Italian, so they will be too difficult for beginners. However, those who already speak Italian can check them out to improve their pronunciation and grammar.
Sgrammaticando was originally intended as a YouTube channel for Italians who wanted to learn more about the grammar of their own language. However, when YouTuber Fiorella noticed that more and more non-Italians were following her channel, she adapted her videos to suit her new audience.
Oneworlditaliano. Veronica is an Italian teacher who has also been posting videos on YouTube about learning Italian since 2008.
Apps
Mobile applications are a new method of language acquisition. They allow you to learn languages from anywhere: whether on the train to work, in the waiting room, or comfortably at home on the sofa. We would like to recommend these practical apps to you:
With the free Duolingo app , you can learn Italian through short games or lessons. The app reminds you daily to continue learning. It trains your reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills, as some exercises consist of listening and repeating.
Memrise: This app was developed by brain researchers and promises that you'll never forget a new word you learn. See for yourself how quickly you can learn new vocabulary with this app!
If you're willing to spend a little money, you can also check out the Babbel app . It works similarly to the two apps mentioned above, but it's not free.
Blogs
Blogs offer an exciting and often funny alternative to regular newspaper articles. Below, we've listed five blogs that can help you learn Italian: On Mein Italien (My Italy) , you'll find not only numerous vocabulary words and the most important Italian phrases, but also Italian swear words, slang, politically correct expressions, and book recommendations. What are the Italian days of the month, and how do you count in Italian?
You'll find out this and much more on The Italian Experiment. Ilearnitalian.net: This blog offers many exercises that you can do. The blog is divided into the sections "Blog," "Grammar Lessons," and "Songs." In the "Songs" section, you're encouraged to try learning the language with simple Italian songs. Alberto lists tips for learning Italian on his blog, Italianoautomatico. Among other things, he recommends books and videos for learning Italian and has also uploaded his own podcast. Italianeveryday : On this Tumblr account, you learn a new Italian word every day.
Read Books in Italian
Children's books are well-suited for language beginners learning a new language, as the texts are usually written in a simpler style. On The Italian Experiment, for example, you can read the fairy tales "Little Red Riding Hood" and "The Wolf and the Three Little Pigs" in Italian. If you feel confident enough to read more than just children's books, you'll find a list of Italian book recommendations for beginners and advanced learners on My Italy .
And you?
How good is your Italian? Find out by taking our Italian test. Of course, you can also learn Italian online with Sprachcaffe.
Can you recommend any other websites, blogs, YouTube channels, or podcasts? Feel free to send us a message on Facebook or Twitter to help us expand our offerings.
Italians are known for using their hands a lot while speaking, expressing much more than you might think! If you want to understand what these hand gestures mean, then watch this informative video. Enjoy!
