Did Duolingo Italian help you?

I have used Duolingo to try and keep my semi-fluent Italian active. I like it, overall. The repetition is not as boring as some other programs and the grammar is taught not pedantically, but in use, as a child would learn speech parts like prepositions. I also like that it makes you practice listening, reading, and speaking so you get used to the pronunciation.

Admittedly, I have ad the benefit of classes as community college, Pimsleur self-study (excellent), and living and traveling in Italy. Still, for the price (free!) Duolingo is good. The upgraded paid-for subscription is, IMO, even better.

There are also some nice podcasts out there. You might explore those in conjunction with Duolingo and listen to them on you commute or while walking to get ready for all the walking you'll do in Italy.

Thanks Laurel. Do you have any recommended Podcasts in mind?

When the material is audio only I find that I want to see the words too. But realistically that's not what will happen in Italy.

I recently listened to a few Podcasts but they were way over my ability to follow. My guess is it helps to have some rudimentary Italian skills before venturing into short stories and such. But I could be wrong. I'm fine with starting at a 2 year old's level. :)

I haven't used Duolingo but I had access to Mango which I think is a similar on-line tool that teaches general basic Italian with something of an emphasis on directions, ordering, where you live etc. I found it really helpful but what I found I lacked was confidence and that was what help me back.

I was lucky enough to go to Italy both in 2022 and in 2023 and I studied essentially the same language program before both visits but the difference was having the confidence to actually use it the second visit. The first visit I had a number of times I wanted to say something but assumed I didn't know how and froze up. After the fact I realized I knew how to say what I wanted but I just kind of assumed I didn't. When I approached the 2023 trip I had studied much of the same material but I approached it with more determination and did fairly well. I only had to resort to Google translate once because the question I was asking was too complex for me in Italian and person behind the counter did not speak enough English to fallback to that.

I found that studying on-line made me better at making declarative statements but less good at conversation because I wasn't used to listening, translating and then answering in real time. But I found that the Italians are very encouraging and happy you are trying. I got a lot of "Italian is really hard, but you're doing well!" even when I didn't feel like I was doing very well.

The only other thing I'll add is that if you have been studying don't try watching Italian movies or TV to test your proficiency. When I watch Italian TV I feel like I speak zero Italian, but I was able to get around well enough so don't compare turistico needs with native speaking. I start Italian 101 at the local community college in about two weeks, wish me luck...

Italians will appreciate any effort with the language so I encourage you to try,
=Tod

I haven’t used Duolingo for Italian, but I did use Wesleyan University’s free Italian for beginners course. It helped a lot and enabled me to speak to Italians. Another good resource is Coffee Break Italian. The podcast is excellent and allows you to practice and build your abilities gradually.

Thanks for the idea of Coffee Break Italian podcasts. I found the seasons on Amazon Prime Podcasts (Amazon Music app) which I can download to my iPhone. Might work out as a nice complement to Duolingo on my walks in the park where cellular is spotty at best. I think this is ad free listening too.

The Washington Post recently ran this story about how Duolingo is increasingly using AI to construct its lessons, and users described in the Comments section that they are noticing nonsensical answers. (gift article so there should be no paywall)

Not free but excellent is Dartmouth's Summer Italian intensive: an online, 5-day course offered over 1 week once each summer. It was taught in mid-July in 2023 and 2022, so I'm assuming the same for 2024. If you have the time available, it would give you Italian just in time for your trip! Dartmouth's Rassias Method creates a learning environment that's fun and safe from embarrassment and focused on getting you to think in the language. Emphasis is on speaking and understanding. They offer multiple levels and this is one of the keys to their success - you will be well matched with your groupmates in terms of how much Italian you already have, and so you make a lot of progress together in a short time. Dartmouth also offers a semi-intensive online from Jan 23 to Feb 29 on Tues/Thurs evenings Eastern Time. Registration deadline has already passed but they can sometimes/often accommodate late registrants. Dartmouth's method of teaching was more effective for me than any other format (college way back when, asynchronous online course, podcasts, weekly private tutor, weeklong classroom course in Italy).

Besides Dartmouth, I've gotten the "next most" out of Italian with Davide, a (paid) structured asynchronous online course - but registration only opens once or twice per year so if you are interested, sign up to be notified. I heard about Davide from an interview Sarah Murdoch did with him a few years ago and I thought his beginner course was really well organized and useful.

I did Coffee Break Italian for a while, and liked their format of "little bites" - it's offered both in podcast or on YouTube/their website. The benefit of watching the video for me is that I can understand better if I can see the speaker's face and see their written notes. But it's also good practice for me to try to understand just by listening.

Whatever you choose, buona fortuna e buon viaggio!

People worry far too much about learning Italian prior to going there, and years ago I did the same. Italians and most Europeans start learning English in school at a very young age, and generally any European younger than 45 or so is fluent in English. That has been my experience after many trips. Yes, it’s fun to learn some new words in a foreign language, but using your new words is difficult unless you can follow up quickly when they respond to you! IF they don’t respond in English. So have fun with your Buongiorno and grazie but don’t worry about much more than that.

I used Pimsleur Italian up thru level 3 (it goes up to level 5) before a trip last fall. I'll give it mixed reviews. It was great for producing sentences. There were a bunch of things I could say as easily as I'm typing this now. But I had little ability to understand responses. The sad thing was many responses were mostly or completely words I knew but when spoken at conversational speed and pronounced correctly in Italian I did not recognize them. So Pimsleur has it's place but isn't the complete solution.

The linguist John McWhorter wrote a NYT article recommending using Glossika, which has several thousand sentences in graded levels of difficulty. By listening to them repetitively the idea is that they can come to seen as natural as production does using other programs. I'm going to give it a try before another trip to Italy this fall.

Hi Les, I applaud your desire to want to learn more of the language.

I love visiting Italy and staying in over thirty Italian cities, it’s definitely been used! And it has been wonderful to be able to speak some Italian, even if I am still a beginner level. And it’s certainly appreciated from locals both as being courteous and to show we are interested in their community.

I used to practiced languages with Duolingo, some game CD’s, Italian for Dummies, YouTube language videos, etc. when I was getting ready for my next trip. Preparing for staying 32 days in more remote Italian regions this year, I have been seriously studying with Duolingo. I’m on consecutive Day 136, (purchased a year two months ago), spending at least an hour each evening on it and am at their top Diamond level. I took it as a good sign when I could say a few Italian sentences in my mind if I wake up during the night - LOL!

I do have two sheets of paper where I wrote out sentences that I would like to be speaking in hotels, in restaurants, train stations, a museum, etc. For example, “I would like a table for two, please.” “Could we make a reservation for dinner tonight?” “Could I have my key, Room #123, please?” I like writing it out myself to help with the memory, and I reviewed that page on the plane and in my room the first few nights. By then, it should be familiar.

If you study Duolingo for awhile, some of the comments about food in the Italian lessons are quite entertaining!

The typical tourist who spends a week or two in the major cities in Italy does not need to worry about communicating with the locals in Italian.
Yes, it’s fun to learn more and to use it but that takes a lot of studying and patience from native Italians when you do try to converse.

Google Translate app gives you the option of saving many phrases, of your own devising , in many languages.
You can also hear each one as well.
You could do this , and practice saying them all before your trip.
I also like Mango, we get it through our local library website.
Perhaps some language cd’s from your library might help, too?

Good for you for trying hard to learn before your trip!

I am using Mango as well through my library's free access for a tour de France/Paris Olympics trip this summer, and I am hopeful. I think I am focused on learning French because the last time I traveled in a country I didn't speak the language (I know general Italian and Spanish) was over 15 years ago (France and Germany) and I feel very different in a place I can't communicate well in. I don't know if I will have time to learn to my general knowledge of Spanish (definitely not as good as Italian, but I will be in Nice first so I will probably be able to ease into the French with a bit of Italian hahahah) but I want to be able to be at least a general step above the basis of "politeness". Here's to hoping!

Even though last time I was in Italy I said "do you have space for two?" in Italian and the waiter said "You speak great Italian!" when I literally only said 4 words, I want to be able to at least converse in a restaurant and get directions to places in France.

But for the OP, check what your library card can get you access to, as using in conjunction with duolingo might help even more!

Also, getting used to just HEARING Italian will help, I am concerned about just identifying words in French at the moment, much less even translating them, but I am certain that your PBS station/app has a lot of Italian shows with English subtitles (sottotitoli! I like saying that hahaha) you can get used to listening to.

I have been watching a French one and I for sure can identify the word for "today"! (from that show as well as tour de France French interviews hahaha)

I used Duolingo German and found it very helpful. It gave me a good foundation with which to branch out to Coffee Break German (I see you've already discovered the Coffee Break series) and to Easy German on YouTube (check and see if there is Easy Italian; there probably is). I learn best with a combination of structured grammar lessons and listening to/participating in coversations and Duolingo was perfect for that part of the combo. I haven't found anything else that worked as well for me. I know some people really hate on Duolingo, but I never went into it thinking it would make me fluent. I wanted to learn some basic grammar and vocab for a trip and just six weeks of Duolingo made such a difference in my first trip to Germany that I continued to study it somewhat seriously up until 2021.

Thanks very much for all your replies. Have given me some good ideas to follow up.

Keep them coming. :)

Hi Les,

My husband and I traveled to Italy last year for the first time. It's been decades since either of us have needed to navigate not in English, but once upon a time I could have a broken conversation in French and he's had some Spanish. I found Duolingo to be perfect for what we needed -- I practiced daily for about 5 months before we left. What I found the most helpful about what I learned is that I could mostly read the signs -- I could figure out how to buy a ticket or read a menu or tell if that sign meant the hiking trail was closed or it was only closed between X-Y days and we were there on day Z. I definitely didn't know enough to have a conversation, but I learned enough to be able to comprehend other's questions of me.

Carrie

Carrie, good point. I have used the Google Translate and camera in that app to read some signs and menus. But sometimes it is a bit hard to get the app to read the fonts on the menu. Or at least it was in the past. Would be nice to know more Italian words right off the bat. And I could also read Italian advertising ... well a mixed blessing indeed. :)

Good for you, Les, working to improve your Italian. as so many people here have noted, more capacity with the language will enhance your experience.

Can you get along without it ? Yes. Is it a lot more fun and a richer experience with it ? Also yes.

I agree that if you're staying in bigger cities you don't need to know Italian, but I think it helps open the culture up to you if you can manage some of the language on your own. I know Italians appreciate the effort and you never know what opportunities might open up to you if you can manage a conversation with a random stranger or shop owner.

We were in a non-touristy town and stopped in at il bar one afternoon for a chinotto and sandwich and the lovely woman who ran the cafe brought our food and was really upset explaining that she had dropped half my panini taking it out of the press. She was making me another one and had brought me the surviving half. It was absolutely not a big deal but she seems really upset. Thankfully my Italian did not abandon me in that moment and I was able to say "Non si preoccupi" which is "Don't worry about it" (formal) and it really seemed to help her calm down. I'm still glad I managed to say the right thing at the right time. It's a small victory but it helped me feel like was more part of the local scene a little bit than just a tourist.

Another phrase I recommend you learn is some version of "L'inglese è il mio preferito" meaning "I prefer English". This helps when you walk into a place and speak Italian and get a stream of Italian in return that you can't understand. They will quickly figure out from your 'deer in the headlights' look that they should change languages but this phrase will let you speak for yourself. Also in the north where German tourism is popular I was mistaken for Germain more than once and I was asked if English was okay as the compromise language and I was able to say "Yes" using this phrase.

The only other thing I will say is that even if you learn some Italian the differences in towns will keep you off balance. In Bologna I was greeted with "Ciao, salve!" walking into stores rather than "Buongiorno" and they insisted on using the word calice for a glass of wine rather than bicchiere which I had never heard. When I asked in Venice they said they would use bicchiere as I had expected.

And some places you order at the bar and pay upfront, some you order at the bar and pay later, and others you order at the table. Italy will always keep you guessing and you need to embrace it and just roll with it. Learning some Italian will help but I still always felt like Italians were dancing to some music I couldn't hear. They breeze into restaurants, grab tables and order drink while I'm still trying to figure out who to talk to. Just roll with it and admire the Italian bella figura with tehir ease and grace without being too jealous.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

Thanks for telling those Italy stories Tod. Those small connections with the natives can make for a richer trip experience.

hiredman "l'inglese è il mio preferito" means "English is my favourite".
The correct translation of "I prefer English" is ",preferisco l'inglese" which sounds a little too "direct" if used as a request.
A more formal way of asking to switch to English could be: "mi scusi, possiamo parlare inglese?" or "si potrebbe parlare inglese per favore?"

Duolingo was fun to work with while at home, but brain lock kept me from actually using much of it verbally. Same with Babel & Italian for Dummies. One point to consider, all these teach Italian. Vast numbers of "Italians" actually primarily speak their local dialect, so learning Italian to speak to them is learning their secondary language (English being their 3rd - got to admire their ability to move between languages). And don't even get me started on Sicilian (my family's heritage). However, all those teaching resources did - as others have mentioned - help me understand written words on signs and menus, so that was useful.

Thanks Tobia, that is one of the limitations of taking an online course without real exposure to the language. In Italy I find salve to be a fairly common greeting but have never heard it mentioned in any formal Italian course I've taken. I had an Italian tell me that if you use salve Italians may assume you are a better Italian speaker than you are.

I should have been more clear because my usage of "l'inglese è il mio preferito" would come after we had exchanged pleasantries in Italian and were moving onto more substantive discussions. They would ask me something too complicated or fast for my Italian and I would ask them to repeat it more slowly "Ripeti lentamente, per favore" and then we would generally start the language negotiation. One funny way to say it I learned from my American friend who has a place in Italy is say "Piano, piano" accompanied by a kind of double hands up open and closing motion. I have no idea where it's from but it never fails to make Italian people laugh and also they understand that you're struggling with the language.

Also as I mentioned I was mistaken for German more than once and was asked essentially if English was okay as part of a preemptive negotiation and later they were surprised to find out I was American. In Arezzo I was asked if I spoke German by a shopkeeper and I said "Ich spreche ein bisschen Deutsch" because I took high school German but again it turned out English was the common language we both spoke but she had been learning German and was looking to try it out on a native speaker.

So the good news for Americans is that English has become the common language in Italy that shopkeepers will try to land on for tourists from all over the world. But I struggle to learn what I can of the local language because I'd like to be as inside the culture as I can.

Buon viaggio,
=Tod

In my first Duolingo lessons, "salve" is used rather then "buongiorno". Different users might be experiencing a different plan structure or also the lessons may have been updated.

To the OP's question: yes it helped me. Yes, there are probably better, but it was free and convenient. I did Duo Italian for 180 days straight during COVID as part of my morning routine. Much of that has been lost since, but I'd go back to it if I was going to Italy anytime soon.

@hiredman - Yes, it is always tempting to ask an Italian you are trying to converse with to slow down with their speech, however, I try not to ask anymore after being told by an Italian acquaintance in Italy that “Italians HATE that!” which maybe depends on the person, but I certainly stopped asking him!

oooo! Talking about "salve" vs "buongiorno"!

So you are supposed to greet all shopkeepers when going in and out of their stores, usually a "hello" of some sort, and then a "grazie" on the way out. I would always say "buongiorno" during the morning times, but since neither "buon pomerriggio" or "buona sera" (as my friends said was ok for anything after noon) felt right, I settled for a "salve" all times between 12pm and 5pm :)

Perhaps this is a regional thing, but when I stayed at Allogia Barbaria in Venice in 2017, the owner told me that 'salve' was more impersonal. He said that's how he would greet "the tax man." :-)

And, I completed Duolingo's Italian course, and am now working on the French. Certainly not necessary for travel, but, for me, it does make it more fun to be able to engage locals in their own language. Haltingly, at times, but I've found the effort to almost always be appreciated.

Hi Les, circling back on your post. I mentioned that watching some YouTube videos for beginner’s traveler’s Italian from native speakers were really helpful, too. One of them shared “Va bene?” which I used often in the smaller cities and even in Venice last time. It means “All right?” or “Is it good?”, so when you want to sit at a table in a piazza to have a drink, catch the eye of the waiter and ask it, pointing to the table you would like. It saves them time, and you also have been courteous.

I have tried Duolingo for 10 days. Probably a bit too much repetition of very easy cafe talk. It is kind of fun. And maybe the repetition will be good for me.

I also have been trying Mango as suggested above by others. It seems to be better in that there is more explanations and also so far an emphasis on formal rather then casual vocabulary. As an older adult traveling I am not going to hit the young nightlife and already have a wife. :)

Coffee Break Italian podcasts are good for my walks.