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Article By: HenriettaLaurenston
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A Reliable Way to Learn Italian
Am I the only language student who finds modern teaching methods unsatisfactory? The endless promises of "instant" learning and the implicit - if not explicit - message that grammar is for old bores both irritate and depress me. I'm thankful that at least one language school agrees with me More on this later.
My 1980s schooling gave me a good grasp of French. The verb tables that I learnt off by heart, agreement of adjectives, the various ways to form a question I have forgotten none of these things, because they were clearly explained and made sense.
The traditional methods were not ideal, of course, and they were mistaken in their emphasis on writing and reading over oral communication. However, the thoroughness of the approach made it much more effective, in my opinion, than the lightweight courses available today.
The strength of modern methods is the concentration on speaking and listening. The weakness is the sloppy attitude to grammar. Yes, making yourself understood is what matters but if you don't learn the correct forms in the early stages, it will be almost impossible for you to speak the language smoothly later on.
It is a manifestation of the current culture, craving instant gratification, that so many language courses offer Italian in a Week - or even a day! Learning a language is a considerable undertaking and it's simply not realistic to pretend it can be done in less than a few months. If your idea of 'speaking' Italian is being able to say "buongiorno", "grazie," and "gelato", then OK, you can achieve this in a day. However, if what you mean is being able to hold a conversation, even if only about what you did yesterday and what you like about Italy, then you need to settle down and study properly.
The first two or three weeks or so are a grind. We have to accept that. Committing to memory all those endings, not confusing verb endings with noun endings, getting to grips with genders and all the different words for "the" It's hard work. But it is SO well worth it!
After the first few weeks, it all gets more interesting but it's really no good trying to skip that initial phase. If your Italian has not got firm foundations, it will be shaky for ever. However, if you put in the effort at the beginning, you will develop into an accurate, confident speaker of this beautiful language.
Teaching materials, in my view, should contain thorough, clearly laid-out explanations of all aspects of grammar (as well as functional language, such as how to tell the time), along with plenty of exercises so we can check our progress as we go.
I highly recommend Italian for Beginners, an ebook written by a language school in Manchester. I bought it 3 or 4 months ago and have now just finished working through it. I've still got some way to go before I can discuss politics in Italian, of course, but I feel very secure about what I've learnt and I know I've got a solid base on which to build further. Sono molto felice!
Article Source: ArticleZones.com
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If you are interested in Italy and want to speak Italian accurately, visit Italy Info and download Italian for Beginners.
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