The Best Way To Learn Italian

Wondering what the best way to learn Italian is? I’m here to help. 

You’ve probably already come across a ton of advice on the best way to learn Italian. From apps, to courses, to tutors, to textbooks there are hundreds of ways to learn Italian. 

If you’re feeling lost and confused among all of the options available, I get it. 

I’m here to cut through the noise and help you get started on your Italian learning journey. Once you’re on your way, your life will change for the better. 

Here’s what you’ll discover in this post.  

How Not To Learn Italian 

These days, most Italian language courses and apps suffer from something I like to call the Parrot Problem. 

The Parrot Problem means you use word lists and grammar rules. It’s the “repeat after me, like a parrot” style of teaching that you remember from school. 

And yes, even the shiny new online ways to learn Italian in the 21st century suffer from the Parrot Problem. If you’ve failed to make much progress with Italian apps or courses it’s because they use this ineffective, old-fashioned method. 

When you learn Italian like a parrot, you’re just repeating words and putting them in your short-term memory. And then, when you want to use them in conversation, you mind goes blank. 

So when it comes time to chat in Italian over an espresso in Florence, you forget the words and rules you tried to memorise. You can’t actually speak Italian when you learn like a parrot! 

What Is The Best Way To Learn Italian? 

The best way to learn Italian online is by using the same natural learning process children use to learn their native language, not with textbooks, classroom lectures, tests or “repeat after me”. 

I’ve developed a fresh approach to language learning I call StoryLearning, which helps you learn languages quickly — through stories, not rules.

Stories are our oldest form of communication. For tens of thousands of years, we have used stories to entertain, educate, preserve culture and teach moral values.

My StoryLearning method uses stories to teach you Italian so that the language truly gets implanted in your mind. I don’t just give you a bunch of rules and then ask you to memorise them.

Thanks to the method, you remember words more easily because you're immersed in an enjoyable and engaging story. And the language makes sense to your brain naturally – on a deep level.

You end up learning Italian almost passively, the same way that a native Italian speaker learns. That is the exciting result of learning through Story Learning. No parroting necessary! 

Best Way To Learn Italian Online

You can learn Italian online thanks to the StoryLearning method with my popular Italian Uncovered courses.

My Italian Uncovered courses are available for all levels, from beginner to advanced, and they’re the best way to learn Italian online if you want to become fluent fast. 

The StoryLearning method combines all of the benefits of online learning—like flexibility, modern engaging materials, and different types of media—with a fresh approach that's helped thousands of Italian learners get fluent. 

If you’ve failed to learn from Duolingo, Babbel, Rosetta Stone or Pimsleur, StoryLearning will finally help you learn Italian for life. 

Best Way To Learn Italian Fast

Let’s get something straight – learning Italian fast requires a lot of motivation, dedication and daily immersion and practice.

One thing that has always helped me learn languages fast is having the support of a teacher. Booking sessions with a tutor has kept me accountable and enabled me to learn 8 languages. 

That’s why I created StoryLearning VIP – a 10-week coaching programme to get you your big language breakthrough!

With StoryLearning VIP you get the best of both worlds – my fun, fresh and effective StoryLearning method plus Italian coaching for personalised support and accountability. 

Now I’m not going to downplay it – this is an intense programme that requires daily, personal study time and twice-weekly sessions with your coach. But it's the best way to learn Italian fast because you'll have the personalised support of your very own expert Italian coach. 

Best Way To Learn Italian For Travel

If you don’t want to get fluent in Italian, but just need to know enough for your next trip to Italy, you’ll need a different method. 

The best way to learn Italian for travel is to practise the situations you’re likely to find yourself in from eating out to asking for directions. 

By focusing on these real-life situations, you pick up what you need fast and learn words and phrases in context, so you can remember them when it counts. 

If you’d like to learn Italian for travel, you’ll love the blog post I’ve written on the topic that will teach you 94 Italian travel phrases. 

The article will help you learn basic Italian greetings, as well as the language you need to travel around and even some phrases for emergencies. 

Taking a practical approach to learning Italian for travel is the best way to be able to speak Italian on your next visit to Italy. 

Best Way To Learn Italian While Driving

Do you have a long commute by car? Would you like to make the most of your time behind the wheel? Smart choice! But what is the best way to learn Italian while driving? 

Safety first – I’m not going to recommend anything dangerous, like learning with an app, video or book or other tool that will distract you from driving. 

The best way to learn Italian while driving is to listen to an audio course or Italian podcasts. Listening to Italian this way on your commute will help you get that all-important Italian input which is so crucial to becoming fluent. 

Are you a beginner in Italian? In that case, listening to the Michel Thomas Italian audio course will enable you to get to grips with the basics. 

Have you reached intermediate level? I’ve created Italian listening material that’s tailor-made for you called Italian Conversations.

Conversations helps you understand fast, spoken language, so you can transform your listening skills, take a fuller part in conversations yourself, and reach your true language learning potential.

Are you lucky enough to have reached an advanced level in Italian? If so, you need more challenging audio to listen to. As an advanced learner, you can listen to Italian podcasts designed for native speakers about whatever topic you want. 

Best Way To Learn Italian On Your Own

I believe that languages can’t be taught, only learnt. Becoming fluent in Italian will happen as a result of your own initiative and self-directed learning, not because of what you may be taught by a teacher.

So, as you can imagine, I'm a big fan of learning languages on my own. In fact, learning languages independently led me to learn eight of them and start StoryLearning!

But you can feel lost out there among all the resources and materials to learn Italian. That's why I always feel confident recommending my Uncovered courses as the best way to learn Italian on your own. 

I designed Italian Uncovered to be a self-study course that any independent learner can use as the backbone of their language learning.

Italian Uncovered includes all of the materials you need to improve your Italian and insightful tips on how to study Italian effectively on your own. 

Best Way To Learn Italian Fluently

Do you dream of learning Italian fluently? 

I always aim to learn languages fluently because it ensures that I don’t forget them. Fluency also lets me have meaningful interactions with native speakers. 

But what is the best way to learn Italian fluently? 

As I mentioned before, I’ve always had support from teachers and coaches to help me practise my new language regularly and keep me accountable. 

Getting fluent in Italian takes time, effort and dedication. If learning to speak Italian fluently truly matters to you, don’t do it alone.

StoryLearning VIP is a 10-week coaching programme to fast-track you to Italian fluency! VIP is the highest level of language support StoryLearning offers. 

VIP is a winning combination of the fun, effective and proven StoryLearning method plus a coach to help you apply the method, practise speaking and hold you accountable. 

Over the 10 weeks of the programme, you’ll be able to go up by one proficiency level. It's the closest thing to “guaranteed” language learning success you’ll find. 

You’ll learn Italian fluently with VIP thanks to: 

• Twice weekly sessions with your coach
• Help to fully understand the language from Italian Uncovered 
• Hours of speaking practice
• Personalised support and advice 

You won’t find a better solution than personalised coaching to learn Italian for life. 

Best Way To Learn Italian Verb Conjugations

Italian verb conjugations give even the most dedicated Italian learners a headache.

One of the reasons Italian conjugation is such a pain is because of the Parrot Problem.

When you try to memorise verb tables or drill the conjugations they don’t stick in your long-term memory. 

My top tip is to not consciously learn or memorise conjugations. You’re probably wondering what to do instead. Here’s the best way to learn Italian verb conjugations. 

Once you’ve understood the idea, maybe by reading about how Italian verb conjugation works, follow the rules of StoryLearning and read stories in Italian. 

As you immerse yourself in a story in Italian at your level, you learn the conjugations naturally!  Seeing the grammar ‘in action' inside the story means you’ll be able to remember and use it when you speak or write Italian. 

Reading stories is the best way to learn Italian verb conjugations as it’s not only more effective than rote memorisation, but also much more engaging and enjoyable. 

If you’re wondering how to find a suitable story for Italian learners, my top recommendation is my short story book, Short Stories in Italian. 

Best Way To Learn Italian At Home

There’s no need to go to Italy to learn Italian. If you’re new to Italian, learning at home is the best way to start – it’s how I’ve learned multiple languages. And in fact, a few years ago, I learned Italian in London in just three months. 

And you can copy the method I used during my Italian project which involved daily immersion in the Italian language. 

The best way to learn Italian at home is to read and listen to stories in Italian at your level for an hour every day. I call this one-hour of learning core study time. 

You can read a beginner book, work through a StoryLearning Italian course, or listen to an Italian podcast. The point is to immerse yourself in Italian. 

This type of daily immersion through stories or other interesting material is known as an “input method”. An input method means that you learn not from deliberate study, but by reading and listening to material that you want to understand. 

When you learn with stories, you don’t just learn a language, you learn to use the language. Check out my Italian project for more on how I made this method work for me. 

Best Way To Learn Italian FAQ 

Ready To Start Your Italian Learning Journey? 

So there you have it – the best way to learn Italian is to immerse yourself in stories in Italian at your level.

By learning through stories, you can avoid the Parrot Problem of trying and failing, to memorise word lists and grammar rules. 

This immersion method through story is very different to what you’ve learned at school or from apps or other online courses. 

Thanks to StoryLearning’s story-first approach, you’ll make fast progress in Italian and the language will truly get implanted in your mind.

And most of all, language learning will become something you look forward to. After all, stories keep you coming back to find out what happens next. 

Olly Richards

Creator of the StoryLearning® Method

Olly Richards is a renowned polyglot and language learning expert with over 15 years of experience teaching millions through his innovative StoryLearning® method. He is the creator of StoryLearning, one of the world's largest language learning blogs with 500,000+ monthly readers.

Olly has authored 30+ language learning books and courses, including the bestselling "Short Stories" series published by Teach Yourself.

When not developing new teaching methods, Richards practices what he preaches—he speaks 8 languages fluently and continues learning new ones through his own methodology.