Learn Italian

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!"

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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.

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.




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)

If you do decide that you’d really like to immerse yourself in the language and culture then a new Italian language and culture school in Florence, The Centro Italiano could be of interest.(please quote – "rentavilla", if you enquire) The centre offers customized Italian language courses for individuals and small groups directly linked to students’ reasons for learning Italian.. The participants can choose the subject, the starting date and the duration. Special attention is devoted to the afternoon individual and group activities, providing background information to history of art, the arts, photography, modern architecture, design and fashion, Tuscan cuisine, food and wine.

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