Ripeti con me! Italian Audio Course

If, while listening to an audio lesson, you already understand more than 90% of what you hear, you might want to skip a lesson or two.
If you understand less than 60% of what you hear, you might want to repeat the lesson and/or read the sentences in the booklet.
These standards apply to any text used to learn a language.

Experiment with the level of these Italian lessons to find the level that is suitable for you.

Feel free to adjust the playback speed. However, I recommend that you don’t slow down more than 10%, because you should get used to natural speed. I’d rather repeat the lesson than slow it down unnaturally.
On Windows, you can adjust the playback speed in Windows Media Player. On my smartphone, I use the free app Audipo.

Experiment with the speed of these Italian lessons to find the pace that is suitable for you.

Understand the method in order to set realistic expectations! You’re not supposed to memorize whole sentences, but phrases at most, usually words. And even that doesn’t happen instantaneously. While listening, some words will stick to your mind at once, some after a night of sleep, some after some repetition.  We all learn over time. This applies to all learning resources. Stick with your daily exercise and you’ll be surprised to feel how words pop up in your mind all of a sudden, when you weren’t even trying to recollect them!

If you’re human and you manage to memorize 8-10 words a day, you can already be happy. This applies to any source of vocabulary, not only this course. If you wondered, to achieve upper-intermediate fluency you need about 3,000 words. Yes, you can get there in less than a year!

If you don’t understand words, you can always recur to the booklet, repeat the lesson, and/or look up the word.

If you don’t understand why you should say that way, well, that’s grammar! And there’s plenty of books that explain it, without necessarily making you able to speak and use it. So, believe in the method and stick with your daily exercise. Sooner than you think, everything will make sense and become natural.

In any case, don’t go back and repeat only because you missed something. Only do that after you finished the lesson (the whole set of files A, B, and C), or if you repeat it, refer to the booklet. However, you should still repeat everything aloud while reading. Never read silently!

It’s totally normal if you get cut in the middle of a sentence. On the contrary, if you managed to repeat everything accurately, probably that lesson is too easy for you. So, don’t worry and keep speaking. Also, feel free to make mistakes. That’s how we learn languages!

In order to shadow the speaker, you don’t need to memorize either the sentences or their order. It’s enough to start speaking when you recognize the sentence after it started. If you listen to files A, B and C in a row, this will happen naturally.

There are two reasons for the apparent mismatch.
1. We don’t say the same thing the same way. For example:
a. This is Stefano and Alessia. They’re Italian.
b. These are Stefano and Alessia. They’re Italian.
Well, the Italian sentence sounds like b: “Questi sono Stefano e Alessia”!
2. There’s not always 1-to-1 correspondence of words and grammar patterns between languages. For example:
a. When do you (usually) go to school?
b. When are you going to school (today)?
Well, in Italian both sentences translate into “Quando vai a scuola?”

It’s true that the meaning of the sentences is rarely related to that of other sentences. They don’t make full dialogues. This because long real-life dialogues don’t allow the kind of structure that is needed for spaced repetition.

However, they’re not random because they follow a plan. Certain words are repeated during each lesson and, more importantly, throughout the course. Grammar patterns are repeated intensively during each lesson and add up throughout the course to build complex sentences. Vocabulary goes from basic to relatively advanced. Grammar patterns go from simple to relatively complex.

As a result, after this Italian audio course, you’ll be able to communicate because you’ll have learned how to handle the elements of virtually any sentence you might want to say, not limited to the sentences you heard in the course.

Listen to these Italian conversation bits. They’ll become elements to make your own sentences.

For this Italian audio course, I picked most of vocabulary from a list of the most frequent 1.000 words in Italian. The grammar patterns are also very common, and in fact are found in any serious language course, either written or in audio, roughly in the same order as in this course.

Understand the method to set your expectations: you’re not expected to use those exact sentences in real life. Actually, not even to remember them. That would be rote memorization and is neither expected nor desirable. After you add vocabulary and grammar patterns to your repertoire, your brain will know how to recollect them and put them together in sentences you’ve never heard before.

Experiment with these Italian sentences and adapt them to your interests.

Research proves that you learn better if you first rely on speech only. If you rely on text, your brain tries to process letters the same way it does with your native language. Refer to visual aids only after you’ve finished the lesson, or if and when you repeat the lesson.

This is not a typical language class or course, where first you quietly listen to a long explanation of grammar, vocabulary, grammar notes, culture notes… all in your native language. You diligently take notes and feel like you know it all. Then, you move on to drills. Practice is only a small part of study time and is usually done in a controlled environment based on contents that are typical of a classroom. This is how languaes are usually taught in class.

However, with this Italian audio course, you’ll be practicing Italian all the time. In fact, the entire course is a drill! And it’s based on situations that you’ll likely face during your trips to Italian or your chats with Italians. You’ll certainly make mistakes on the way, but in the meanwhile, you’re already communicating effectively in Italian. This is the most practical method that you can find.

Even though imagery helps memorize information, the focus of the course is more to think and speak directly in Italian than mere memorization. Thus, the absence of other stimuli like pictures is intended to let you focus on pronunciation and speaking.

This Italian audio course is a collection of MP3 files. It’s not an app. If you want to check your pronunciation, you can always record yourself with another device and review your recording after the lesson. In any case, don’t pause or stop the lesson to check your pronunciation.

We remember better what gives us a strong impression. If you have ever experienced a major earthquake, you certainly remember where and when it was, what happened next etc.

The same happens when you learn languages at an emotional level. Some sentences are earthquakes. Awkward, controversial or morally questionable. Take them for what they are – sample sentences that don’t reflect my views.

This is an Italian audio course, the cultural and geographic references in the sentences are biased towards Europe and the U.S. If you study Italian, you certainly want your material to be related to Italy. If you’re learning about Italy, probably you need to know about its neighbors. Most of the users happen to be from the U.S., which is a very influential country anyway. Other references are made occasionally to other major countries like Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, etc.

By the way, when I saw this comment I smiled thinking of another Italian audio course that is the source of inspiration for my course, where virtually no Italian or even European names appeared and instead all the names were from the Far East (because they made the course in Taiwan). A language course should make references to the country and the culture of that language, not be a mere translation of a standard script applied to all languages. Thus, this “bias” is an advantage.

There’s nothing awkward in studying. You’re taking an Italian audio course. It’s like a podcast, but you need to speak. I’d rather be impressed if I noticed someone doing that, regardless of your level.

Anyway, you don’t need to shout out your sentences in public. Speaking softly is enough, even without opening your mouth. But do pronounce everything you hear! Listening alone is pointless.

There are many learning resources out there and it’s trendy to learn Italian with an app. Podcasts are popular, too.

However, to use an app, you need Internet connection. If you’re online, it’s easy to get distracted by notifications, etc. If you switch your attention from learning Italian to anything else (checking email, social media…), you lose the flow and your progress will drop dramatically. Even the best learning resources are useless if not used correctly.

Beside that, you need something to force you to keep up with the pace that is necessary to think in Italian and bypass your native language. If you use an app, you tend to slow down to think in your language, or take a break to have a snack. Learn to be disciplined!

With this Italian audio course, you push “play” and keep speaking Italian until the lesson is over. Now, you can focus on listening, and learn Italian.

Listening to an audio course is the best way to get talking Italian fast even if you’re alone.

For similar reasons, I don’t have an Italian podcast. A podcast is content that you listen to. It’s passive listening.

On the contrary, this Italian audio course is a content that you listen to, then repeat. You actively produce speech and make your own podcast!

That’s the whole difference. You learn by speaking, not just by listening. A podcast can’t do that.

This Italian audio course uses the popular CEFR standard (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) for evaluation. The six reference Italian levels are widely accepted as the global standard for grading an individual’s language proficiency in languages.

CEFR Italian levels are used by all modern Italian language books and Italian language schools. It is recommended to use CEFR levels in job resumes (curriculum vitae, CV, Europass CV) and other Italian levels references. We list here the CEFR descriptors for language proficiency level.

Level A1 (Beginner)

Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. Can introduce him/herself and others in Italian and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has. Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help. Lessons 1-45 of this Italian audio course cover this level.

Level A2 (Elementary)

Can understand Italian sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment). Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment, and matters in areas of immediate need. Lessons 45-90 of this Italian audio course cover this level.

Level B1 (Intermediate)

Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst traveling in an area where the language is spoken, like Italy. Can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest. Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes & ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans. Lessons 91-120 of this Italian audio course cover this level.

Level B2 (Upper-Intermediate)

Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with Italian native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options. This Italian audio course will cover this level in future lessons.

Level C1 (Advanced )

Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognize implicit meaning. Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously in Italian without much obvious searching for expressions. Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organizational patterns, connectors, and cohesive devices. This Italian audio course will cover this level in future lessons.

Level C2 (Proficiency)

Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read in Italian (or other languages). Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations. This Italian audio course will cover this level in future lessons.

This Italian audio course forces you to speak and think in Italian everyday. That’s as close as it gets to practicing conversation or taking a lesson with a native speaker. In that sense, if you were to pick only one self-study method, you should go for this one.

On the other hand, you certainly need to develop a variety of skills that are not covered here by other methods (especially writing, and reading too). However, there’s no learning resource (app, podcast…) that alone can lead you to fluency. But, you could say that about any course.

Take this Italian course as an experiment. You’ll start to feel the results after a couple of weeks.

The advantage of an audio course is that once you’ve started it, you should feel compelled to keep pace with the audio, and that requires you actually speak Italian for 20 minutes a day, every day. You’re prompted to speak and less prone to laziness than if put in front of a book or an app. If you’re still not motivated enough, I don’t know any learning resource (app, podcast…) that can help you. You could always invest in a good teacher.

Did you download the audio files and the booklet of the Italian course? You find detailed instructions in the booklet included in the course.

Should you still have questions about this course, your level, or languages in general, you’re welcome to have a free 10-minute consultation on Skype. You find my username in the booklet.

Since this Italian audio course is a downloadable product, they’re no way to return it. Thus, refunds are not granted, for any reason. If you still have questions about how to use it, feel free to get in touch on Skype for a quick consultation.