So you’re learning Italian and you want to find some resources that will help you along the way? Well you’ve come to the right place. We’ve compiled a list of resources that you can use to help you learn Italian, with our top recommendations first.
Make sure you let us know what you think of the resources we’ve recommended. We’re always looking for feedback because we want to provide the most up to date information and tips for you.
Our favourite Italian resources
Duolingo. It is probably no surprise that Duolingo is in our top resources to learn Italian. Duolingo provides lots of language courses, but it’s strongest courses (in our opinion at least) seems to be with the romantic languages. Duolingo takes you through different modules, gradually increasing with difficult. It’s set up like a game, and it’s fun and interactive.
If you want to learn more about how Duolingo works you can read our Duolingo review here.
Italki. Italki is an incredibly useful website if you want to practise speaking Italian with native speakers. You can search on this website for people who have Italian as their native language and are learning English, and then organise language exchanges with them. You can also use italki to find teachers, or to practise your writing in Italian and get corrections from natives.
FluentU. FluentU is a great way to get access to video and audio. It has thousands of Italian videos that you can watch to help you improve your listening skills. You can even download the transcripts so you can read along while you watch. You do have to pay for an account, but if this method works for you, then it’s not that much money. You can also have a free trial to see if it does meet your learning style before you commit and pay for an account.
Apps to learn Italian
Here are some of the apps you can find to help you learn Italian:
- Rosetta Stone
- Busuu
- Hello Talk
- Babel
- Memrise
- Bravolol
- Mosalingua
We recommend you download them and try them for yourselves. Each person seems to have a different learning technique and different preferences. We’ve given you our favourite resources, so try these out and tell us what yours are.
Italian films and series
Films and series are so good to help you improve your Italian because they provide you with access to more natural speech and colloquial language, as well as giving you an insight into Italian culture.
If you have a Netflix account, then you have loads of untapped resources at your fingers. Netflix has a fantastic selection of Italian series and films for you to watch. And if you don’t like them then you also have the option of changing the audio and subtitles to Italian on an English series, so you can watch series you like but learn Italian at the same time.
Of course, I would recommend giving Italian series a go, because you get a feel for the culture as well as the language that way. Here are some of our favourite Italian series on Netflix at the moment:
Luna Nera
First Team: Juventus
Baby
Here are some of our favourite Italian films available on Netflix:
On my skin
Suburra
Influx
Textbooks for learning Italian
Why are textbooks useful when learning a language?
A lot of people find textbooks quite boring, and prefer a more practical learning approach, like getting out of the classroom and talking to people. But you shouldn’t underestimate the usefulness of a textbook. Obviously you don’t want it to be the only resource you’re using but a textbook can help a lot with teaching you grammar rules and giving you exercises to practise what you’ve learnt. Here are our top Italian textbooks:
We really recommend Complete Italian that you can find on Amazon here.
We’re also a fan of Italian grammar and practise which you can also find on Amazon.
Books for learning Italian
To improve your reading we always recommend graded readers. You could just pick a book you like and find the Italian version to read, but often the grammar and vocabulary will be above the level you’re currently at. Or sometimes people like to choose children’s books which are better suited to their level but contain boring stories with simple plots.
Graded readers are the best of both worlds. With a graded reader, you can access more interesting stories but with the grammar and vocabulary that matches your current level of Italian.
Our favourite Italian reader for beginners is:
Youtube series for learning Italian
Why are youtube series useful when learning a language?
Youtube series are great for lots of reasons. Firstly, people learn in lots of different ways, so some people are visual learners, while others prefer auditory methods and some need a more interactive approach. A youtube series can really help, because although it generally isn’t that interactive, you’re generally receiving the information visually and aurally, compared to a podcast where you’re just listening or a book where you’re just reading.
Also when you’re reading a textbook, you’re relying more on how you interpret and process the information, but when you’re watching a youtube series, a dynamic host can make the information so interesting that you take it in without even realising.
What makes a good youtube series
- Information that is delivered clearly
- Informative
- Dynamic hosts
- Clear video and crisp sound
- Relatively professional production quality
- Fun!
And we think we’ve managed to find some Italian youtube channels that tick all of these boxes. So without further wait, here are our top youtube channels to watch to help you learn Italian:
Learn Italian With Lucrezia
If you’re only at the stage where you’re thinking about learning Italian but you’re not quite decided yet then make sure you check our article on why to learn Italian here.
Final thoughts
Do you have other resources that you use or have used to help you learn Italian? If you do, then please let us know all about them in the comments below so we can check them out for ourselves.
Grazie mille
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