Comments on: Finito Italiano

By: My Melange responds

My Melange responds — Wed, 14 May 2008 12:19:21 +0000

Amy~
Not at all!!! Check out Poughkeepsie High School Continuing Ed. Our teacher is wonderful!! I have taken other classes and this one is much better. She is off for the summer, but her classes will start again in September. Check out this link:
http://www.poughkeepsieschools.....nt_edu.php
Hope that helps….stop by any time
A presto!

By: Amy

Amy — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:43:54 +0000

Hello,
I live in Dutchess County and have been looking for a continuing ed. class that teaches Italian since we came back from Italy last month. Would you mind sharing where you go for the class??
Many thanks!!

By: Denise

Denise — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:51:57 +0000

We went to Venice and Rome last November for my 40th birthday. I didn’t want to leave – and didn’t have time to make it to Tuscany or the countryside. I would love to take Italian language lessons. Where did you take them?? Do you think it is harder than Spanish?
Have a great day!
Denise

By: My Melange responds

My Melange responds — Thu, 08 May 2008 01:06:16 +0000

Merisi~ Wow!! All great information!!! I did not know all of this. I will check our Sonsoni too
Linda~ Crepi! I can get RAI, we were thinking about it, but e troppo caro. Thanks for the news link;)
Erin~ You are too sweet!! I really don’t think of myself that way…but hey…If I can do it…than YOU CAN DO IT!!!!

By: Erin

Erin — Wed, 07 May 2008 22:58:16 +0000

I’m just so impressed with you and your passion to pick up the language!! I would love to learn either Italian or Spanish in my life time. I’m not sure what’s stopping me, but you are definitely an inspiration!

By: Linda

Linda — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:22:27 +0000

Good stuff Robin! One thing that really helped me learn Italian was watching the news. If you can get Rai International, I’d watch TG1 every day. That way you can hear standard (hopefully accentless) Italian and get a feel of what’s going on in the country. You can also see the news on internet (http://www.tg1.rai.it/SITOTG/HPTG1)
In bocca al lupo!

By: Merisi

Merisi — Wed, 07 May 2008 09:54:06 +0000

Bravissima,
auguroni!
Have you seen those little bilingual books around, one page Italian, the other English? They are really worth their while. You may even find them at your local library. Eons ago I used a Italian-French version with business letters. I really got a good insight into French business language simply by reading the French versions while being able to verify the meaning without having to resort to “translating” – real learning by doing, applying the won knowledge. I also used a “Legalese” dummy folder (we all know to eschew too much legalese from everyday language, on the other hand there are situations when you need to understand and know what your business partner is trying to tell you when he/she uses words like afforded, etc.) and Italian equivalents of Joseph Stevens’ “Legal Language, Plain and Simple,” depending always on the specific interests/necessities at hand. One other addition to your Languages Corner would be a “Dizionario dei Sinonimi e dei Contrari”, in my experience the one from the Istituto Geografico de Agostini Novara is an excellent choice (and do buy it in hard cover, it will get much use!). I think nothing beats reading this kind of dictionaries if you want to enrich your language skills.
I just looked at my books, the Business Letters are available also in Italian-English (Manuali Professionali, by A. Cantore, Guida pratica – Franco Angeli Editore).
These are of course only examples. If you have any questions or need help with finding Italian books, please let me know.
Btw, there’s an Italian Bookseller, SANSONI of Firence, that has a well earned reputation as an International bookseller. While I have worked with them and bought from them, I have no financial interest in promoting their trade, but I can highly recommand them for their professionality.
Tanti auguri,
Merisi

By: My Melange responds

My Melange responds — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:25:03 +0000

Erin~ Great idea’s!! I usually have the English subtitles on for the movie…never thought of doing the Italian
Joanne~ Grazie Mille Keep leaving some comments in Italian, that will help me
Maryann~ Yeah, s-l-o-w-l-y. Slow and steady wins the race, right?
Jeffrey~ Thanks for the nice words!! I just wrote them in a notebook and studied them every day. My teach suggested putting several words on large index cards..so it is like flash cards….but more *bang for your buck* Good luck with your studies in Espanol
Michelle~ Yep, Jessica @ JIR is taking the CyberItalian…it did sound like fun;) I talk to myself ALOT in English, so yeah why not make people think I am even crazier by doing in in Italian hee hee

By: bleeding espresso

bleeding espresso — Mon, 05 May 2008 17:02:01 +0000

Congrats on finishing the course and your awards
Yes Italian films are great, and also talking to yourself in Italian is fun too…dove sono le chiavi? for example
I’ve also heard someone else talking/writing of taking CyberItalian…sounds fun!

By: Jeffrey

Jeffrey — Mon, 05 May 2008 15:09:42 +0000

Sounds like you did a great job! 547 words is amazing…how did you study them? With flashcards or just repeating them over and over, in different contexts? I know that I just need to buckle down and do the same thing when I am struggling with Spanish…building my vocabulary is a huge confidence-builder for my oral language skills. I think I might do something similar to what you did, and reward myself at the end…it’s a good incentive to really get a good handle on the language!
Good luck with your Italian!