Want to learn Italian? Spend some time in Italy!

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by: Andrea Esposito
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Date: Wed, 15 Jul 2009 Time: 10:18 AM
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If you have ever watched Italian films and listened to the melodic sounds of the language it is hard to not want to learn to speak Italian. The undulant pronunciation and abundance of vowels make almost anything sound like poetry when spoken in the Italian language. Learning to speak another language requires some time. So why not spend that time in Italy?

Visiting Italy is always a fabulous experience and the desire to learn Italian is ample reason to take an extended trip there. As one of the top travel destinations in the world, and home to countless student exchange programs, the country offers ample opportunity to learn in Italian in Italy.

Your lessons can be arranged to take advantage of your travel time as well. Perhaps you want to split time between a number of destinations? You can learn Italian in Florence, and then use your acquired language skills traveling to smaller villages and gorgeous beach towns where finding lessons is difficult.

Arrangements can be made to do group lessons and learn Italian with 10 or 12 other tourists and students. Or, if you prefer, schools have the same certified instructors give private lessons as well. The intensity of the programs can also be varied. If your goal in Italian language learning is to become as fluent as possible as quickly as possible you can combine group lessons with private lessons. After just a couple months the progress in an intensive program is amazing.

If your goal is to travel and soak up the country by night and weekend and develop your language skills during the day, then an ideal choice is to learn Italian in Florence. With Milan, Rome, Bologna and the beach all less than two hours away by train you can spend the morning practicing all your restaurant vocabulary and be in Rome putting it to use ordering Saltimbocca that evening.

An additional benefit for those that want to soak up the fabulous culture and scenery of the country is the abundance of outside activities and classes that can be arranged by most schools. Half of the fun when you learn Italian in Italy is putting it to use immediately. A class on Italian wines, a class in traditional Italian cooking and maybe a Sunday trip to one of the beautiful local beaches can round out a week of classes and studying.

The beauty of the country is the perfect backdrop for learning what is arguably the most beautiful language. A few months spent in a country steeped not only in rich cultural and artistic heritage but also offering a vibrant interpretation of what it means to live well is a great reward. When you include the addition of becoming conversational in another language while broadening your cultural perspective then that is the icing on the cake, and a wonderful addition to a resume.

You will return home with hundreds of photos, a bevy of new found friends and the ability to speak Italian. You will renew or acquire an appreciation for all the aspects of "la bella vita", and no one does that better than Italians.

About the Author

Andrea Esposito is an experienced instructor who works for http://www.linguaviva.it , an educational group which offers people the chance to learn Italian in Italy. Andrea teaches in one of the most important Italian language schools of Linguaviva, helping his students in Italian language learning.