This may seem a bit outside of the usual topics for this forum, but it is at least somewhat related to travel. I am going to Italy this June and have been trying to learn some Italian in preparation for the trip. I have gone through Duo Lingo's Italian classes a couple of times, and enjoyed it. But Duo Lingo is not geared toward travel. Any of you have tried and liked an Italian learning app more useful for travel that yo could recommend? Thank you.
Mei
Years ago I used My Daily Phrase Italian which is available on iTunes. I am also a big proponent of Pimsleur audios, which you might borrow from your library. The BBC has free lessons online.
Some Community Colleges offer Italian for Travelers courses.
Mei, this has come up before so its not an unusual topic I buy a set of audio CDs (Pimsleur makes a good one) for whatever country I'm going to, and listen to them in the car and practice while commuting. I just can't make the time to do interactive lessons on the computer.
Mei, I don't know if this is what you are looking for, but it worked for me. I did a 5 week online course: italymadeeasy.com. I did the course targeted at travel. It was a series of web videos to learn and practice speaking in situations for food, lodging, commuting , shopping etc. It is laid out to help you know how to communicate and what you will hear in travel situations. It's not free. I think it cost $97, but it really helped my comfort level engaging with Italians in Italy. Have fun! We really loved our vacation in Italy.
I used Coffee Break Italian before my first trip to Italy and found it useful. The instructor is Scottish so you also get to learn Scottish terms (aubergine instead of eggplant). But the Italian was functional if not conversational.
mel,
As Laurel mentioned, I'm also a big fan of the Pimsleur language series. There are four levels and while these won't make you fully fluent, you should be quite comfortable in Italian if you go through the entire series.
There's a subscription service called Babel which is supposed to be good, but I've never tried it. You could also try Rosetta Stone, although I believe that's more computer based. If you'll be traveling with a smartphone, you could have a look at Google Translate. I've found it doesn't always provide a perfect translation, but it's often close enough to get the meaning across.
Thank you all for your tips and suggestions. It looks like Pimsleur is very popular. I searched in my library's online catalog and found it does have the four-level courses and I have actually checked out their level 1 and 2 courses without knowing those are Pimsleur. :) I have placed a hold on the level 3 courses.
Laurel, thank you for mentioning the BBC online free lessons. I will definitely give that a try.
dcreeder02, it's exactly what I was looking for. Glad to hear that it worked for you. I will check it out.
KC, Scottish instructor for Italian? Cool! Does he have a Scottish accent when speaking Italian? I love learning how different English-speaking countries use different words/terms for the same thing. So this sounds like a two birds with one stone kind of deal.
Ken, I just started a 12-month subscription to Babel. I haven't gone very far, but I like it.
Not an app, but many libraries have beginner language books which are quite useful.
It's great that you are trying to learn a bit of Italian before your trip!
Enjoy
Deidre,
I fully agree with you. I did check out a couple of books on learning Italian from the library. They are really much more helpful on learning some basic grammar rules. I was born and raised in China, so English is my second language. As much as I love learning a new language, I have to admit that all these conjugations for the verbs, masculine/feminine forms of the nouns, and changing adjectives based on singular/plural/masculine/feminine of the nouns is making me dizzy. :)
I am using 3 learning apps now. Duo Lingo is one that I use frequently, the only issue I have with it is that the speech recognition is difficult, sometimes impossible, to replicate. Do not know if it is the program or some setting in my tablet. I like the way the content is organized, IMO having a program that only focused on travel would not be as useful or as much fun.
I also have the Italian for Beginners on my table, 22 lessons that teach vocabulary and some grammar, as well as basic phrases. I like the format for a quick lesson or review, starts with word list, then English to Italian reading quiz, then an Italian to English reading quiz, followed by 2 listening quizes, English to Italian and Italian to English. This is a free app.
And last I have an app called Mondly (google play) which gives a daily lesson and also has many different learning sets by topic, including lots of travel vocab, phrases, etc. Within each learning set, there is pronunciation/ speaking practice which I usually get a "correct" on my pronunciation.
There is repetition, of course, across all 3 programs I am using, but in learning a language, that is a good thing.
I have tried both Duolingo and Memrise. While both are good, I think Memrise works better for me because it lets you listen to native speakers in little clips which is often better for me to understand what I am hearing.
"Duo Lingo is one that I use frequently, the only issue I have with it is that the speech recognition is difficult, sometimes impossible, to replicate." - I got that too, and I assumed that it is because I couldn't make the rolled r sound very well. I chuckle when I saw the little message stating that I should move on for now. I imagine a teacher who's tried everything but in the end shook her head with a particularly dense student.
I went to the local library and got the Pimsleur audio CDs for Italian. I listened to them in the car while driving to and from work - listened a few times and really got a lot of it. (They have several languages)
I got just enough to greet folks in Italy and basic chat. Good way to meet people - all were very courteous to give me suggestions and polite corrections.
Frances,
I am doing exactly the same, listening to Italian CDs in my car to and from work. I also spend about 20 min everyday on one of the language learning apps. Hopefully I could achieve what you did, greeting people and having basic conversation.
cafetista.bruja,
Yes, I feel the same about repetition in language learning. It reinforces what's been learned and also gives me a sense of accomplishment when I already know the "new" word in a different app. :)
aquamarinesteph,
I downloaded Memris and started using it. Really fun app, almost addictive. Thank you for mentioning it.
I wish there were opportunities to practice with another person.
Mei- I think the host of Coffee Break Italian, Mark, actually speaks really good Italian. But it's fun to hear a different accent in between the lessons. They use a "learner" who is supposed to be learning along with you, plus a native speaker to help out. They have other languages as well, but the Italian was good. (I'm having a hard time with the German but it's probably more an issue with it being German than with the teaching).
re: coffee break Italian
That reminds me I had some of the coffee break Italian episodes. Listening yesterday, I remembered that Mark with the Scottish accent is from Barga in Tuscany. I have been to Barga on the train from Lucca.
Very interesting because there is a significant Scottish influence.
It is also a beautiful town, not on the tourist track at all and the train ride through the region is worth the trip in itself.
I am taking notes on Barga and dreaming about my next Italian vacation already
I used Italiano and I was so glad I did. It was extremely helpful when needing directions. You will see that has basic phrases and words. I was in Orte, Italy where only 2 people spoke English and I was able to communicate quite well. I found that people all over Italy appreciated at least an attempt at Italian. I also used the translation app which was great but you have to think ahead if you are not going to be online. Just put in the questions you think you will need to ask and it will speak for you in Italian.
I have been using Babbel.com and Duolingo mostly. I also have an app called Foreign Numbers, which helps you practice hearing numbers in other languages. I just stumbled across yabla.com, which is videos. Both Babbel and Yabla are subscription services.
Stacey - Thanks for the tip on Foreign Numbers app. It's definitely one of the toughest areas in getting comfortable with a foreign language. I still find myself counting in Chinese sometimes even though I have been living in the States for over 20 years and in general am quite comfortable with communicating in English. When I am listening to Italian, whenever numbers come up, I have to spend extra time/attention translating those into English in my head and as a result lose the words/phrases that come immediately after. I will try using the app and practice with numbers in Italian more often.
marionsher - I am curious, did you have trouble understanding the answers when you had to ask for directions, for example? I think I am ok with what I want to ask, but not sure if I can fully understand the answers that will be given. But worrying about that won't help. So onward with learning and practicing Italian.
Nice to learn the language before you go, BUT: To have conversations without knowing a great deal of the language, I download the free app called "Google Translate" to my smartphone. Simple to use: select the two languages, click the "conversation" button, then "auto" and the program speaks what either person speaks but in the other's language. Even has an intro (hand symbol in upper right corner) that suggests using the phone to talk to each other. Pretty cool!
Cheers,
Don
P.S. that should solve the "I can't understand the reply 'cause they are talking so fast" problem.
Don - Thank you for the explanation on how to use "conversation" mode of Google Translate. I have the app and have used it for simple translation of words and phrases, but not in a conversation mode. Now I can have all the fun but not the stress related to learning a new language. Thanks again.
Mei
