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Fluent in Italian: 4+1 top tips and tricks to boost your fluency

FLUENT IN ITALIAN: 4+1 TOP TIPS AND TRICKS TO BOOST YOUR FLUENCY

In this article we are going to show you the 4+1 top ideas that will help you loads to become fluent in Italian.

They are a recap of the proven techniques hundreds of polyglots around the globe use to boost their fluency in any language they learn.

And the key to all of them is making them relevant to you and most importantly, to have fun in the process. This enormously increases the rate to get what you are trying to learn stick in your head.

This is a great and proven memory trick.

So, let’s get right into improving your fluency in Italian.

TRICK #1: TONGUE TWISTERS

Tongue twisters are a great way to improve difficult pronunciation.

Through repeating them, you will get confident at differentiating individual sounds and grouped sounds when the words are linked in sentences.

Keep repeating them while increasing the speed. That way you will slay speedy speech.

Check some of the most famous Italian tongue twisters (scioglilingua) for you to start practising. Read them along!

 

And here are some extra ones that I love. I just couldn’t resist! 😉:

  • Sopra la panca la capra campa, sotto la panca la capra crepa. 🐐
  • Trentatré trentini entrarono a Trento tutti e trentatré trotterellando.
  • Figlia, sfoglia la foglia; sfoglia la foglia, figlia.
  • Sotto le frasche del capanno, quattro gatti grossi stanno; sotto quattro grossi sassi, quattro gatti grossi e grassi. 🐱

 

TRICK #2: LEARN THE RIGHT WORDS THE RIGHT WAY

Not all the words are equally relevant to you and not all the ways for learning them are the most efficient.

Following these tips, you will help the beloved selective memory to learn to be fluent in Italian in a more effective way.

1. Learn cognates

Cog-what?? 

This is simply words within your native language that are the same in the Italian language.

Plenty of words share a common root between languages which gives you a huge head start.

Start by identifying them.

2. Learn words you find more useful

Recognise those words or sentences you tend to use more in your native language given the way you express yourself, your hobbies and interests, your study/work field, etc.

Analyse the way you speak to determine the most relevant and useful vocabulary for you.

Then create a list with all those words in Italian.

Keep repeating them alone or better, stuff them in sentences to push further your Italian fluency.

Focusing on those will help your memory to focus and work better since those are words you really use!

3. Play with those words.

      • Create physical flashcards.
      • Put colour on them
      • Draw something that reflects the meaning of the word/expression.
      • Or create a song, a story, a poem, a comic, a fanzine…

Hand-writing helps our memory to acquire new information and the more attention and detail we give to this, the more memorable it will be.

4. Use mnemonics.

There are always certain words that seem alien to us and no matter how many times we’ve come across them, they simply don’t stick.

For this, mnemonics come to our aid.

Use acronyms, wordplay, tell yourself a funny, bizarre, silly or witty story to associate with a word.

Let your creativity bloom!

Go through all the steps and your fluency in Italian will skyrocket.

Mnemonics to help Italian fluency

 

Now, tricks #3 and #4 are the core tricks to become fluent in Italian. If you only manage to do one of the tricks, do any of these!

It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand a word. Just get exposed to as much Italian as you can.

The same way a baby gets exposed over and over to a language until s/he manages to speak it.

 

TRICK #3: LISTEN TO ITALIAN RADIO/PODCAST SHOWS

Whether you like comedy shows or soap operas, listening to shows in the target language is a great source to boost your language speaking fluency.

Since shows repeat common and local expressions, bombarding yourself with them will allow certain expressions to get ingrained in your brain by just passively listening to them on a consistent basis.

To make it extra useful you can transcript, take notes, repeat and/or translate what you listen to. Even if you don’t understand it yet! It will help you get there quicker.

TRICK #4: WATCH ITALIAN MOVIES, SERIES OR VIDEOS

Find something to watch which is in the Italian language and that interests you.

Then focus on how people talk in the Italian language. What kind of expressions they use, how they gesticulate, how they move and how they engage in conversation.

The interesting part comes when you go a step further and impersonate these characters, repeating their lines, imagining what you would say to them if you have the chance to be face-to-face with them…

The more you interact with them, the quicker (and funnier) it will be for you to absorb the language and become fluent.

Impersonating Italians to improve fluency

 

EXTRA #5: LAST BUT NOT LEAST TO BECOME FLUENT IN TALIAN:

Embrace mistakes

Mistakes are the best teachers.

Allowing ourselves to play with the language even if most of it is wrong is essential to learning.

One of the best ways we learn in life is by trial and error.

So get your trial self out there!

Talk to yourself in Italian

It might seem silly, but making us speak in Italian out loud, forces our brain to find words and recall communication helping us with speaking fluency.

Write in Italian

Keep a journal, write some random ideas, write all the mnemonics you have learnt, write a message on a napkin in a bar…, or in a bottle… Who knows where it can reach?

 

Now start practising these for the sake of your fluency in Italian

There you have a bunch of work to do. We didn’t say it would be easy, but that it would be fun!

We can’t wait until you start putting them into practise and tell us your anecdotes.

It’s your turn! Tell us in the comments what you have tried!

You might be also interested in the most popular Italian songs, getting to know the common Italian false friends or take your Italian to the next level with our Italian Live Courses.

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