One of my few goals in life is to learn to speak Italian before I die.
I can only hope I live really long, because I am a dunce when it comes to learning foreign languages. I've been pecking away at Italian for 10 years and although I can get by, I still can't really carry on much of a conversation, especially when it veers away from my stock story (Mia familia abbiamo vestuto a italia tre volte.)
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Of course, the way I'm going about this is pretty lame. I get one of those self-help "Learn Italian in 20 Minutes" books and do it religiously until it gets difficult, and then I stop.
For the past month, however, I have been taking private lessons (i lezioni privati...but then anyone could have known that one) and it's been thrilling. Once a week mio professore Joel makes me think in Italian, speak only Italian, and he encourages me to figure out what he is saying.
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It's the sort of language learning experience that scientist have just tested. Two groups were introduced to a new language of 13 words. One group was taught the "language" in a formal classroom setting while the other group played a computer game using the words. Months later, both groups retained the language and brain patterns of learning a new language, but the immersion group's brains showed the compete wiring of a native speaker.
In other words, immersion makes you think and speak like a native speaker rather than a student of the language.
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That's why I want to go live in Venice for many months. I'd like to fulfill that dream of really conversing with someone in Italian and I need an immersion experience to take what I've learned to the next level.
For now, I get only one hour a week to do that, and it's a slow process. For example, the sentence I will be using the most this week con mio professore is: Lo ho guardato su (I looked it up).
I can only hope I live really long, because I am a dunce when it comes to learning foreign languages. I've been pecking away at Italian for 10 years and although I can get by, I still can't really carry on much of a conversation, especially when it veers away from my stock story (Mia familia abbiamo vestuto a italia tre volte.)
Of course, the way I'm going about this is pretty lame. I get one of those self-help "Learn Italian in 20 Minutes" books and do it religiously until it gets difficult, and then I stop.
For the past month, however, I have been taking private lessons (i lezioni privati...but then anyone could have known that one) and it's been thrilling. Once a week mio professore Joel makes me think in Italian, speak only Italian, and he encourages me to figure out what he is saying.
It's the sort of language learning experience that scientist have just tested. Two groups were introduced to a new language of 13 words. One group was taught the "language" in a formal classroom setting while the other group played a computer game using the words. Months later, both groups retained the language and brain patterns of learning a new language, but the immersion group's brains showed the compete wiring of a native speaker.
In other words, immersion makes you think and speak like a native speaker rather than a student of the language.
That's why I want to go live in Venice for many months. I'd like to fulfill that dream of really conversing with someone in Italian and I need an immersion experience to take what I've learned to the next level.
For now, I get only one hour a week to do that, and it's a slow process. For example, the sentence I will be using the most this week con mio professore is: Lo ho guardato su (I looked it up).