Learn to speak Italian

1. 1

   Week 1: sounds and greetings

   Say hello (Ciao) and thank you (Grazie) until they feel natural. Learn the sounds that differ from English, and say ten short sentences about yourself. Double consonants change the word in Italian. Pala and palla are different, so hold the doubled sound a little longer. Listening and repeating is how you hear that difference, and a speaking step makes you produce it.

2. 2

   Week 2: everyday requests

   Learn to order, ask the price, ask where things are and say you do not understand. Build each as a full sentence and say it three times.

3. 3

   Week 3: questions and answers

   Practise question words and the answers to them. Listen to each Italian sentence first, then say it, then compare.

4. 4

   Week 4: short exchanges

   Chain sentences into a mini conversation: greet, introduce yourself, ask a question, answer one. Record yourself and listen back.

Italian uses the Latin alphabet, so you can read and sound out words from day one.

Fairly friendly for English speakers. Pronunciation follows the spelling closely. Verb forms and prepositions are the long part, and they stick better when you meet them in full sentences.

A good first target sentence: Vorrei un tavolo per due. (I would like a table for two.).

• Ten to twenty minutes, same time every day.
• Say everything out loud, even when alone.
• Learn whole sentences, not isolated words.
• Repeat yesterday's sentences before learning new ones.
• After a couple of weeks, find a conversation partner or tutor and use what you have practised. At 30 minutes a day, Italian reaches working proficiency in roughly 3.8 years, and you will be speaking well before that.

Go deeper with most common Italian words, and useful Italian phrases.