A Presto
Recommendations
Ciao! I’m currently writing from Padua, Italy. It’s been an amazing trip so far, and more so because I’ve been able to use some of the Italian I’ve been studying the past few weeks. Here was my original goal:
By May 2, I’ll be able to order a meal, have a simple conversation in a hotel, and a basic exchange about public transport.
I can confidently say I’ve ordered a meal and had a basic exchange about public transport in (mostly) Italian. 🎉🎉 I’ve also started speaking Spanish with an Argentinian accent. 🤦♀️ I blame the chameleon effect.
I did use English to check into the hotel today, but mostly because I was worried about getting the right invoice. Overall, people have been EXTREMELY patient and kind, even in Venice. Despite the overtourism, people in Venice were generally very friendly and helpful.
I’ll write more about the experience when I get back to Spain, but just wanted to mention a few highlights:
I love watching TV or listening the radio in other countries-for the commercials! Ads are rich in linguistic and cultural information and they tend to be very visual, which makes them easier to understand.
Watch cooking shows! The tutorial nature of the demonstrations is very helpful for language learning. If you’re learning Italian, you might like In cucina con Imma e Matteo. It’s wholesome, visual and they repeat everything several times. If you’re learning Castilian Spanish, don’t miss Cocina Abierta de Karlos Arguiñano. It’s a classic (and my daily form of self care 🤣).
Be ready to notice and jot down new words and phrases as you’re traveling. I’ve looked up: Can I have a bag? (at the supermarket) and “Another one, please!” (at the bar, obviously.)
More next week!
In the meantime, here are three substack articles that might resonate:
In this essay, John Howard reflects on what he learned by drafting, refining and reading an essay aloud in his second language. The task itself seems like the perfect self-study challenge for intermediate to advanced language learners. Anyone else ready to give it a try?
In this article, Tanya Mozias from Friends with Words shares her experience with trying to understand real people using the language on the street. I really appreciate the last section where she talks about the different phases of language learning. Check it out!
Finally, Jedrek from In the Same Boat writes about what learning a language can teach us about life in general, and how it forces us to show our vulnerability when communicating with others. As they say, an accent is a sign of bravery. 💪
Thanks for reading Love to Lingo. Wishing you a week of joyful language learning. A presto! 🤍
You said you'd researched how to ask for things in Italian, and that made me think of something...
In English, we ask for directions by saying, "Excuse me, can you tell me how to get to Piazza Duomo?"
Italians say, "Scusi. Piazza Duomo?" and just wait for the answer.
Padua is a cool place, I used to visit often (over 20 years ago) when my girlfriend's sister lived there. Are you going to Trieste on this trip? It's fascinating, and the dialect there is infused with a bit of Slovenian and German, especially in the pronunciation (my language skills, as you know, are poor, so I barely know what I'm talking about!)
I'm with you on TV in other countries - the commercials are also a revealing insight into the culture as well.