Lottie Lomme
Are you going on holiday to Italy? After 1, 2 or maybe 3 years of studying Italian? How do you ensure that you can optimally use that language study and after 2 weeks in Italy you can say: I really learned a lot!
The most important thing for that is that you hear and talk a lot of Italian. And for that it is necessary that you come into contact with other people. Italians.
What can you do? My main tip: gather a little courage.
1. Stay close to yourself and your interests
Get off the tourist track to watch or listen to a concert of your own interest in Italy. Do you like opera? In Italy, go to a concert of your favorite composer and make sure you know how to get by bus to that crazy place outside the center that isn't in your tourist guidebook.
Do you like Italian music? Go to an Italian festival where your favorite musician performs. You can then start a conversation with someone about a common interest. You should try to find that common interest. An Italian will find you more likable if he genuinely shares an interest in hard rock music with you and you can talk about Metallica's latest album.
I referred my homeopathic uncle to the Farmacia Santa Novella a historic pharmacy with many medicinal herb jars, completely his thing.
If you like cycling, see if there is a cycling group somewhere (look up the word: Cycling + the region you are going to on the internet). Is salsa dancing more your thing? Then look for a salsa dance evening. Okay, there may be more Spaniards there than Italians, but at least it's easier to get into a conversation. As long as you genuinely share the interest.
2. Don't be your average tourist
Some things you shouldn't do. Do not confirm the stereotype that Italians have of the Dutchman. White socks in flip-flops, skirts that are too short, baggy pants and a burnt red skin.
Italians love elegantly dressed people. Look good and act serious. It prevents a lot of negative prejudices. And this in turn makes it easier for you to make real contact that goes beyond exchanging the standard phrases.
Get off the touristy beaten track. There are restaurants for tourists in the cities, the expensive ones in the large central squares where you pay way too much and are addressed in English.
TripAdvisor has great tips on where to eat good local food. The well-known tourist villages – Alberobello in Puglia, San Gimignano in Tuscany, Bardolino at Lake Garda – have little to do with the real Italy anymore.
So get rid of your travel guide, because all guides point you to the same places where other tourists are. You will not end up on the most beautiful restored squares and you have a greater chance of ending up in a situation where no one can understand you.
A seaside resort where there is not much to do and where you will find people in an abandoned bar who are yearning for a bit of variety in their lives. A gray suburb. After all, life is not the tourist-styled picture. Authenticity is in the frayed edges, that's where you really make contact with people.
3. Maximize your contact moments
Make sure if you do a tour that you take an Italian guide. In a hostel, it is preferable to live with Italians, some language schools offer the option of living with a teacher.
Join an Italian workshop and register to participate in an Italian activity. Leave your Dutch friends behind and go out alone.
Try to live like a local for a while and therefore less like a tourist. Go to a gym or a dance school. Also try to go outside the tourist high season.
Do you find this difficult?
Are you the anxious or cautious type? Then take your textbook with you on vacation and try to apply those standard sentences in real life.
Before you go to a restaurant, read back what you can expect in terms of language.
- Enjoy a bicchiere di vino rosso.
- An antipasto della casa.
- La specialita del cuoco…
You can now put the situations you practiced into practice. Also consider the chapter about asking for directions and booking a hotel or asking for information at the tourist office.
Learn Italian easily
And I have some more tips for learning Italian for you.
Have Italian music in the car (for example this playlist of the teacher, or this one top 40 list from Italy), subscribe to a podcast and make sure you're on your tablet a nice app to learn Italian with.
Holiday Italian course
En last but not least. Register for the Holiday course Italian from This is Italy. Just the lessons you need for your next vacation to Italy, without the awkward grammar. We have put a lot of time into making the lessons, exercises, videos and sound clips as fun and challenging as possible for you.
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