In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[quote=gavinb;107351]Any restaurant tips for Calabria most welcome , also ideas of where best to get started learning the language.[/quote]
Gavinb do you want to learn Italian in Calabria? I can suggest the Dante Alighieri University for Foreigners in Reggio Calabria (L’Università per Stranieri “Dante Alighieri” di Reggio Calabria) I spent a very beautiful period there many years ago. The staff is well prepared and extremely friendly! It's not that expensive either! The spring /summer is the best period to come. They also organize trips around the region etc....
If you are of Calabrese origin like me the courses are offered free of charge by the Regione.
PM me if you need more details.:yes:
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Buy Earworms Vol I and II and learn the basics of Italian very quickly. It is put to rhythm/music and taps in the music/best memory part of the brain. It sticks quickly. Then move onto other things. Read the reviews on amazon - they are true. Nothing will be quicker. Just put it on 3-4 days a week when in the car, on the train, when cooking and you will astonish yourself. It gives you the basics to jabber away with confidence.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Cool - and cool website too - [url=http://www.earwormslearning.com/intro.html]earworms mbt® is a revolutionary accelerated learning technique that takes the hard work out of learning.[/url] Many thanks Signora Teapot.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Dov'e' la tua valigia Sally? :bigergrin:
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[quote=Sally Donaldson;107967]Cool - and cool website too - [URL="http://www.earwormslearning.com/intro.html"]earworms mbt® is a revolutionary accelerated learning technique that takes the hard work out of learning.[/URL] Many thanks Signora Teapot.[/quote]
You are most welcome. One TOP TIP though, I first started with their Spanish courses, and being eager to learn I put the CD on before reading the very thin booklet that came with it. Later on I moved onto Italian. This time I read the booklet. It told me that for the very first listen I should read the words, a minimum of only once whilst listening , and I did, just the once. Forever after I could picture the spelling of the word and I learnt even faster and much easier than I ever had with the Spanish, when I had not bothered looking at the spelling of the word, even once. This has helped now with written Italian.
It really does work, just do it 3 times a week intially then just refresh yourself once a month. There were phrases I thought I had forgotten, that would suddenly appear to me when I needed them in Italy. I stunned myself. I even floored 7 members of my family (all their chins dropped at once - it was great) when I held a lengthy conversation with an Italian couples and make a joke and they laughed!
However, sadly Earworms does not extend past vol II, so after that you need to find another course or other method. I have banked so many words and sentences that I find I can look up new words now and they are added instantly to my memory bank as I'm not struggling with overload.
Hope that helps.
Mrs Teapot
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
i have used lots of italian books, cds etc and yes i recommend earworms in fact this has been passed on to my family in the uk who want to get understanding and also michel thomas, he is great for grammar banging as i call it but easy listening 5 mins a day is [url=http://www.learnitalianpod.com]Learn Italian Language with Podcasts - LearnItalianPod[/url] this is a podcast that ranges at different levels and also uses vocabulary you will hear in Italy and perhaps not in the classroom also on the internet there is [url]www.livemocha.com..This[/url] is very disciplined
Probably [B][url]www.firstlanguagechoice.com[/url][/B] - they need a good plug too. :winki: