NLP – The Italian Language Journey (So far…)

Hello everyone! Ciao! As you might have already learned through my blog, I am a K-5 computers teacher at a school called Stambaugh Elementary, which is in Iron River, in the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Over the past three weeks or so, I have been attempting to learn Italian for my Networked Learning Project within my CEP 810 course at MSU.

The first major challenge is knowing where and how to start. I decided to start learning the language with YouTube. I searched for videos using the simple phrase “learn basic Italian”. As I state in the embedded video, one of the first videos I found was part of a linguistics series from The Travel Linguist. Over these past few weeks, I have continued to use these Travel Linguist resources more than any other tool. I have tried to “master” the video segments on “Common Words and Phrases” and “Greetings” (with some success). These video lessons have been relatively easy for me to follow and they have allowed me to verbally repeat the various phrases multiple times. I have been practicing saying words with the proper accent. I also have been listening to and learning from the greetings and common phrases sections on ItalianPod101.com. “Italian Pod 101” has been a decent resource, but it is a commercial site that frequently asks visitors to join their “premium website” and pay for their various learning products. So far I have learned some new words and phrases from both of these resources, but my progress has been gradual. 

There are definitely some negative factors associated with just watching somewhat arbitrary “beginner” videos and listening to Italian words and phrases on websites. A person can’t get the feedback they would from an instructor in a classroom environment. I began to realize that I can practice these phrases as much as I would like, but ultimately it’s not like conversing with another person and getting that quick (or even immediate) feedback. In the future I will continue to search for help forums that potentially offer a safe way to video chat with actual instructors. Without a language instructor to guide me along my journey, I have sometimes felt overwhelmed during the first few weeks by all of the mechanics involved with learning a language. 

As I continue to learn Italian, I feel the need to connect more with native speakers (especially in person). My advice for students is to seek out help from native speakers and/or language instructors. I do have a good Italian friend named Chiara who could probably help me with this endeavor. I will definitely use Twitter, Facebook, and video chat apps to seek out her guidance. I will also speak with teachers and professors who can offer more expert advice to me.

Right now I am still in the early stages of learning this foreign language, but I have enjoyed learning how to say a few greetings along with some common words and phrases. As you can tell in my video, I speak English with a strong Yooper (but not Canadian) accent that sounds much different from the European Romance languages. Seeking more professional instructor-help along with continued practice (out loud) and repetition is going to be a major key to my success. Arrivederci!