Learn Italian

Learn Italian, easy! Cappuccino, pizza, bella bella, Paolo Maldini has great legs! (Wee Cousin Ann made me put this one in).

We can all string a few words of Italian together, unfortunately, unless you’re going for a pizza and cappuccino with Paolo Maldini you won’t get far! (Wee Cousin Ann – sounds fine to me!!).

You can of course, survive by speaking Tonto style, Red Indian Italian (Me rent room, one bath), augmented with your best impersonation of Rolf "have you guessed what it is yet" Harris and Marcel Marceau, (a few sketches and mimes always goes down well with the local Carabinieri), but Italians are very patient and appreciate it if you try to communicate in even the simplest Italian.

If you’d like to learn Italian (even a little is useful) before your holiday we’ve put together some info on online Italian courses and Holiday Italian to help you learn Italian.

We've searched around online and in our opinion if you want to learn Italian, some of the best written, clearest, online Italian courses for beginners, which, also make great use of the web's capabilities (ie. sound, video etc.) are produced by the BBC.

Most of the materials in these online Italian courses are FREE and can be complimented with TV programmes, books, DVD's etc.

With a little regular study (20 mins a lesson for some courses) you should be able to communicate by the time you arrive. If you don't have time to study, better get practising the mime for "2 wild boar and chips with a small green side salad, please waiter!"

	English to French English to German English to Italian English to Portuguese English to Spanish French to English French to German German to English German to French Italian to English Spanish to English Portuguese to English

The Italian Language Guide site is full of useful, interesting information to help you learn Italian, click on the logo below for more info -

Main BBC Language Page (also has French, Spanish and German courses)


Italian Steps A new self-contained online course for beginners.

Learn practical spoken Italian with the help of Italian teacher Giovanna Vaccaro in just 24 manageable steps.

Enjoy the interactive slideshows and learn the 10 key words for each step in about 20 minutes online.

Talk Italian Short introductory course with TV series and book.

A lively introduction to the language in nine short parts. Try these online topics with audio, video and quizzes.

There are also TV programmes, which are repeated regularly on BBC Learning Zone, as well as a BBC book plus two audio cassettes or two CDs.

The course covers the following:

Ordering drinks
Introducing yourself and your family
Saying where you live and what you do
Asking for directions
Booking and checking in at a hotel
Ordering a meal
Buying food and clothes
Sport and leisure
Buying train tickets

Italianissimo Video clips, language notes and activities accompany this well-established course.

Italianissmo is a series of multimedia activities for beginners. It's based on clips from the 20-part TV series, Italianissimo (TV transcripts are available) and is the latest addition to the BBC's Italian multimedia resources.

Watch and listen to the clips first, then do the activity, using the key language, key words and transcript where needed.

The course covers:

Ciao!
- saying hello and goodbye
- asking someone's name
- introducing yourself
- introducing someone else

Di dove sei?
- talking about where people come from
- describing a place
- giving your opinion
- asking and saying why

Cosa mangia?
- talking about what people are doing
- food and drink
- ordering and offering a drink
- saying "Cheers!"

In vacanza
- asking and saying why
- saying what you do
- asking and saying what you prefer doing

Incontri
- asking at what time
- saying at what time
- on the telephone
- saying you agree

Uno sconticino
- asking prices
- asking to see something
- giving your opinion about an item

Che giornata!
- talking about what has happened
- expressing dismay, relief and surprise

I trulli
- showing people around the house
- renting a holiday home

Aiuto!
- giving orders and instructions
- at the doctor's

I pendolari
- talking about your daily routine

Quick Fix Essential phrasebook for your Summer holiday.

TV Programmes: Various language courses are repeated throughout the year on the BBC Learning Zone:
(BBC TWO 4-5am)