On-Line Language Course

Terri,

You could try this - https://www.babbel.com/ . I believe it's a subscription service, with a monthly charge, and they also have a smartphone app.

If you can find Pimsleur courses at your local Library, those are also a good option. I don't know if they're available online? I found that the Pimsleur approach worked best for me, but it's limited to four levels.

Some others you could look at.....

• https://www.duolingo.com/
• https://www.rosettastone.com/

Good luck!

Mango languages - online through your local library (free)

I liked Coffee break italian podcasts. Maybe not so structured but worked well for the first trip to Italy.

I have been viewing the YouTube series with “The ABC’s of Italian Travel- The letter A” as one of the videos. Sorry, I don’t know her name, but she’s a woman with shoulder length brunette hair. I’ve found several of her videos to be very helpful for travel preparation.

Thanks for the suggestions - I am checking into several. The You Tube videos (ABCs of Italian Travel) are great!

Another vote for Pimsleur . I used it for Italian and it helped me a lot on a trip to Italy. Borrowed it from the library./
Frances

Here is one I've toyed with but not taken - online courses from the University for Foreigners in Siena. They are very highly regarded for in-person study and are one of a handful of licensed language certification providers in Italy. (The link I have bookmarked is for the Italian version of their site, sorry I couldn't find an English version.)

Some other resources I've used and enjoyed are News in Slow Italian and yabla - both are more for ear training from an advanced beginner level. I've found a good teacher locally, so I've drifted away from pure online courses. If you want some good course books to do it yourself, check out Alma Edizioni. They publish several different graded series that I've used and thought were very well done, including Nuovo Espresso and Magari. And for something a bit different, to really improve your pronunciation but not vocabulary, grammar etc., have a look at Mimic Method. I think the guy's approach is very solid, and most North Americans have a lot of difficulty reproducing the Italian sounds well.

An important part of language study is actually talking. I've used two online conversation tutors and there are many more free ones where you exchange speaking your target language with someone else who wants to speak English. Dante Learning and Italki are the paid ones I've used. Try hellotalk for a free version.

I have tried and strongly dislike Duolingo and similar language "game" apps. Games are just not my thing and not enough like real conversation to me.

For many more ideas about effective language acquisition, check out Benny Lewis' Fluent in 3 Months website and programs.

My friend Mary is currently doing the Duo Lingo FREE online course in French in preparation for our trip. She really enjoys it and it can be quite entertaining. I have been surprised at how effective it is. And it's free.

While I have enjoyed using Duolingo, the vocabulary you acquire isn't prioritized to match the needs of travelers who may want to learn just a little of the language. So it depends on your goals.