Learn Italian in Italy?
Am in the early stages of itinerary planning, and am interested to know of your experiences with language lessons or schools. I'm considering a week or so of beginner Italian in Italy, and would appreciate your opinions. Grazie mille!
Barbara
Victoria, B.C. Canada 11/7/09
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Do you know where you are going? It might help people recommend a specific school if you said what city/cities you'll be near.
Either way, if you're on a tight budget you could probably find someone on the couchsurfing site who would be down with bartering some English language conversation for some basic Italian conversational skills. Extra bonus: you'll have someone who knows the area well to talk to.
Barbara, the Italian Consulate in Montreal used to give Italian lessons, and perhaps still does, and if I wanted to pursue that in Italy I would contact the Consulate. Is there a Consulate in Vancouver or Victoria where you could inquire re this? If not, call the Embassy in Ottawa.
Barbara,
I've also considered studying Italian for a couple of months in Italy, and in my research so far I've found there are LOTS of schools in various parts of Italy. I probably won't be able to pursue this until I retire, but this is always a recurring item that comes up when I'm planning trips to Italy.
You might have a look at www.linguasi.it/en/ or www.it-schools.com/ for examples of some of the language training schools in Italy.
Buona Fortuna!
Why not learn some Italian before you go to Italy and spend your time seeing Italy and practicing your Italian by interacting with locals instead of sitting in a classroom? I've used Rosetta Stone software and it will give you a very good jumping off point with your Italian. When conversing with locals, I have found them more than willing to help me when I am at a loss for the right words.