How to Learn Italian in 24 Hours

Immersing and dedicating yourself as much as possible to a foreign language will speed up mastery. It might take you two years to become proficient in French if you study three or four hours a week, but if you study French two hours a day, you might reach that same goal in record time.

I have a friend who learned Italian from scratch in one year, and became fluent, through sheer discipline and dedication; she studied and practiced every day before going on a four-week trip to Italy. What was her secret? She took every opportunity to learn Italian.

So we’ve provided you with a daily guide. This guide will help you learn Italian, but you could use it for any other language, of course. This is how to immerse yourself in your new language to accelerate learning on a daily basis. It’s almost completely free, accessible, and easy to do. Learning something new could become part of your daily routine.

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Sardegna, Italy. via @sardegna_official_[/caption]

7:30 a.m.

What is your regular morning routine like? Do you check your Facebook as soon as you wake up? Do you scroll through your messages and emails? Do you read the news and have a coffee?

All these things could be done in Italian. Set up your Facebook so that its main language is Italian. Your phone too, while you’re at it.

Subscribe to Italian newsletters; it’s a quick way to boost your vocabulary. Are you into fashion? Then follow Italian fashion bloggers (there are a ton of those, seriously). You could also just subscribe to Vogue Italia’s newsletter. Are you into travel writing? Literature, art, or the avant-garde? Science, economy, or technology? There’s a blog in Italian for you that could become part of your daily routine.

You could scroll/skim through it every morning before you even get out of bed. Slowly you’ll start to pick up on terms you didn’t know before. And you’ll learn how to talk about things that interest you in a different language.

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house goals. Hadrian’s villa in Rome, via incredible-pictures.com[/caption]

9:15 a.m.

Download Italian music that you could listen to on your way to work. Try to actively understand what the lyrics are saying; passive listening won’t work. See what words you could make out, and listen to the pronunciation. We can’t stop listening to Baby K’s “Roma Bangkok” song, Neffa’s “Sigaretta la Mattina,” Umberto Balsamo’s “Balla,” J.AX’s “Maria Salvador,” and Toto Cotugno’s “L’Italiano Vero.” Also, don’t hesitate to look up top Italian hits on Shazam if you need more suggestions.

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introducing Baby K, your new favorite Italian pop star. via @babykmusic[/caption]

12:30 p.m.

Lunch time! Grab a sandwich, a slice of pizza, sushi or whatever you normally eat and go through an Italian youtube video. Learning Italian with Lucrezia is pretty cool, but there are a ton of others.

5:30 p.m

Listening to a podcast in Italian on your way back from work is a great way to learn Italian. Need to catch up with the news? Listen to America 24. America 24 provides American news in 15 to 25-minute increments. It’s easy to understand the Italian, and it’ll help you that you already know the context they’re talking about. News in Slow Italian is exactly what it sounds like and it got reviewed by the Guardian as a great way to learn a new language. They do a ton of other languages too.

These are some suggestions, but it’ll help if you find podcasts that genuinely interest you. This way, you learn how Italian is actually used. You’ll learn how to talk about topics you’re interested in. You’ll also retain more vocabulary this way.

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If you ever need motivation, just think you could be in Portofino, Italy this summer. via @italiainunoscatto[/caption]

6:15 p.m.

Speak Italian with people who either know Italian, or are also learning! LegaItaliana organizes Italian chat meetups. The group usually meet every two weeks, in a restaurant or bar; they welcome newcomers and old-timers alike. This meet-up is probably best for students who have completed the Advanced Beginner level.

8:30 p.m.

What’s as cool as knowing how to speak Italian? Cooking in Italian. Look up Italian recipes to make dinner, in Italian. You could find simple and authentic recipes on giallozafferano.it. You’ll be guaranteed a more authentic dish than the American websites.

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you could make this. via @zagaranyc[/caption]

Or are you dining out? Try going to an Italian-owned restaurant and ordering in Italian, or even having a conversation. Ask around about what restaurants are run by Italians; our personal favorites are Lella Alimentari, Acqua Santa, Patrizia’s; other suggestions include I Trulli Enoteca, Keste Pizzeria, and Zagara Wine Bar. Italians are pretty accommodating about different accents, so no need to be worried. Just tell them you’re into Italian culture and trying to learn the language.

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via @zagaranyc[/caption]

9:30 p.m.

Before you hit the club this Saturday night, check out rush tickets for your favorite Italian operas at Lincoln Center! Get hype for some good old-fashioned drama when you go see Don Giovanni, Tosca, La Traviata, and Aida. You might not understand every word, but the opera is shown with subtitles and translations. Plus, you’ll feel immersed in the culture.

If you’d rather Netflix-and-cuddle this Friday night, here are some Italian movies to keep you company. I love Io Non Ho Paura, a thriller that’s filmed from the perspective of a small boy. If you haven’t seen it yet, La Vita e’ Bella won several Oscars and is a drama-comedy about WWII. Also check out Malena, Le Notti Di Cabiria, and The Conformist.

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via cineblog.com[/caption]

Or, go to New Italian Cinema festival at Lincoln Center. It’s a film festival that shows a variety of Italian films, ranging from independent to commercial. Check out the dates for 2017 here.

Do you feel more Italian yet? Last but not least, join a class. In a class, you’ll learn the old-fashioned, fool-proof way.

If you do this for four weeks, you’ll be four weeks better at Italian. If you do this for a year, you’ll be one year better. Do you see what I’m getting at?

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after a year of learning Italian, treat yourself by visiting Villa Pamphilli. via @luigig75[/caption]