STEP UP YOUR ITALIAN GAME (PART II)
ACTIVATING THAT LANGUAGE MUSCLE…
In the pre-pandemic times, my tip number 1 for practicising speaking skills would have been a language tandem. I am sure you can find people interested in exchanging their Italian for your Polish/English/[insert your language] in any big city. If you feel like doing this, go for it. Post on one of the expats or language exchange groups on social media and let people know you’re keen to learn from them and teach them something in return too. Too shy to do this? Try and think of any colleagues you may have at work that speak Italian and ask them directly. It doesn’t even have to be Italian native speakers, you might be surprised by how many hidden talents (and hidden languages!) people have :)
Ok, now, if you’re not entirely convinced about setting up a language tandem, here’s a couple of other things you can do. Try the shadowing technique which Helena has described in more detail here to enhance your pronunciation and flow. Feeling more creative? How about you set some time at the end of each day (it doesn’t have to be long, a couple of minutes will do) to give yourself a little speech about what you’ve been up to on that day? In Italian of course! Record yourself and listen back to your recording - look out for errors, mispronunciations, things that sound off. Take notes of all the things that have gone wrong and try to improve them next time. Don’t worry about flatmates/partners/family members thinking you’ve gone absolutely bonkers as you start your monologue in a language they probably don’t understand. The aim of this exercise is to get you talking and boost your self-confidence in Italian. So, how does it feel when you listen back to your recording and hear yourself actually talking in Italian? It’s crazy how fluent you sound, ha? :)
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| Photo by Rahul Chakraborty on Unsplash |
And finally…the AL BANCO method
Fear not, I’m not suddenly changing subjects to talk about finance and banking! ‘Al banco’ refers to the way of drinking your coffee in Italy - at the bar. This is also possibly the best way to ensure your Italian will skyrocket in no time. You can have your coffee whilst reading the latest edition of ‘La Repubblica’, chatting to your Italian friends or even making new acquaintances. Full immersion right there! You’d be surprised by the wide variety of topics covered during the al banco discussions. It can range from the latest weather forecast to the history of Poland and Polish-Italian relations. Yes, I’ve had the pleasure to discuss these with an elderly Italian gentleman during my most recent trip to Bari in the Apulia region in the South of Italy. What I’ve found during my 12-year long Italian learning journey (blimey, how has it been 12 years!?) is that Italians love when you speak their language to them. It doesn’t matter that you make mistakes, what counts is that you TRY! They’ll appreciate your every effort so make the most of the opportunities their openness and enthusiasm create. And I know that the AL BANCO method may not be immediately available to many of you due to travel restrictions but I do wish every single one of you, dear readers of this article, to have a chance to visit Italy at some point this year. It may not even be for language learning purposes - I simply wish all of you the chance to bask in the Italian sun. Because it will make you feel good. :)
Author: Natalia Kwiecień
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