Tag Archives: Learn Italian

The Vowel Sound A – “Don’t Call Me Al” | ITALIAN LANGUAGE NUGGET o’ the week | Avoiding Pronunciation Landmines

Rather listen than read? ⇓ Podcast below ⇓ Today’s language nugget/pronunciation landmine is brought to you by the Italian Vowel Sound A.  Such an innocent looking letter. You’d think it’d be easy. And yet, it fools many a student (especially, … Continue reading

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The Three Stooges Sound | ITALIAN LANGUAGE NUGGET o’ the week | Avoiding Pronunciation Landmines

Rather listen than read? ⇓ Podcast below ⇓ This week’s Language Nugget features another common Italian pronunciation landmine… one that has the dubious distinction of being voted by my students as “Most Obnoxious Sound in Italian.” Can you guess which … Continue reading

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La Pasqua: Easter Eye Candy [a foto blog]

Prefer to read this post in English? Skip to the text in  green. CosĂŹ come guardare le vetrine non incide sui nostri budget, concedersi la bellezza di queste bellissime vetrine italiane decorate con esposizioni elaborate di dolci pasquali non ci … Continue reading

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Top 10 Reasons People Study Italian

Why do you study Italian? (And if you don’t, why do you think people study Italian? And also, what are you waiting for? … This beautiful language is calling you! 🙂 ) I came across this list and thought it … Continue reading

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International Women’s Day – Auguri alle donne!

March 8th, International Women’s Day, is celebrated widely in many countries around the world, though it is little known in the US. I first heard of it shortly after I’d moved to Italy. Women’s Day is a celebration of all … Continue reading

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“Blackbird Days”: Italy’s Distant Cousin to Groundhog Day

Christmas holidays have come and gone, and by the end of January, many of us have had it with cold, gray, rainy or snowy weather. How much more of this and how much longer ’til spring? If you’re in the … Continue reading

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A proposito di propositi… Speaking of Resolutions… + Quizlet Practice Set!

So yes, the title if this blog post is a play on words: A proposito di, meaning “speaking of,” propositi, meaning “intentions/aims/objectives/goals”, as in the expression i buoni propositi per l’anno nuovo, or New Year’s resolutions. And speaking of resolutions, … Continue reading

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Holiday Vocab Round-up! Top 30 Italian Christmas Words & Phrases + Quizlet Practice Set!

Ciao ragazzi! Before going on holiday break, my students asked if I would create some materials to help them practice their Italian and stay engaged with the language during the holidays… So, here’s a round-up of the most popular Italian … Continue reading

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Watch Movies, Improve Your Italian!

  Shorter days, longer nights and chilly temperatures make it the perfect season to cozy up with a good Italian movie. Most of my students find watching Italian movies an enjoyable experience, but “they talk so fast” (referring to dialog … Continue reading

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“Piove” — An Italian song about rain

(Note: English translation follows.) Per festeggiare la pioggia inaspettata questo weekend a San Diego (ne abbiamo molto bisogno) propongo la canzone “Piove” di Jovanotti.  Jovanotti, per chi non lo sapesse, è uno dei miei cantautori italiani preferiti. “Piove” è una … Continue reading

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