You’ll never be fluent by translating in your head

When thinking about learning a new language, it’s common to think about it in terms of “what’s the word for this” and “how do I say that“, as if all that differentiated one language from another was the words they use to say things. This is a very common fallacy. It’s also wrong.
In reality, there’s much more involved. It’s not just knowing the words, but also knowing how they are pronounced. How they sound. How they are combined. Grammar. Usage. Implications. Subtleties.

The French you already know

Since today is Mardi Grás, I thought it would be fitting to take a moment away from talking about Italian to remind you that you already speak a foreign language — several, in fact! But today, we’re talking about French.

Learn useful Italian phrases

Okay, so we’ve already been using the internet as an amazing learning tool. We found fantastic alphabet lessons on YouTube, we’ve found the best free dictionary money can buy, and we’ve already been doing free interactive lessons at LiveMocha for several days now. I’ll bet you never realized there was so much information available to you for free to help you learn! Well, folks, we’ve barely scratched the surface. Today, we’re heading back over to YouTube to learn some “useful Italian phrases”.

Traveler phrasebooks are excellent learning tools

After you decide to learn a new language, it’s hard to know where to start. Classes and tutors can be expensive and inconvenient. Many books can be frustrating. And software solutions tend to be extremely expensive! I like to spend as little as possible on learning materials. In most cases, you can find something just as good for free on the internet. However, sometimes it’s just better to have something you can carry with you. A phrasebook is one of those things.

Use music to learn a new language

When I first learned Spanish, I was focused on learning words. I went overboard with books, web sites, exercises — I studied grammar, I learned vocabulary, I learned proper usage, mastered more than a dozen verb tenses. In the end, I found I could say almost anything I wanted, express almost any thought.

The irony was that I couldn’t understand a bit of what others were saying to me. For all of my knowledge and study, I was basically helpless — an island of output, completely immune to the sea of input around me.