Seeing as people seem to be finding these How to Learn Italian Tips useful, here’s another one, and there are plenty more to come. With a little luck by the time this series ends you’ll be speaking Italian with an appropriate Italian accent! I hope so.
This week’s learning Italian tip might not work for everyone, but I found it helped me a lot. Why?
Because I have the kind of memory which tends to find it easier to associate pictures with words. Not everyone is the same in this respect, I know. Many of us learn in different ways; using different techniques and combinations of techniques. Often we rely on what worked when we were at school or university, at other times we discover what works for us and what does not later on in life.
Paradoxically, education systems don’t seem to devote much time towards teaching us how to learn. The focus seems to be on teaching, developing analytical skills, and putting them to the test via exams, but we’re often not even taught how to prepare for exams. Sorry, I’m rambling, as usual. Just don’t get me started on school language classes which focus too heavily on translation… grrrr
On to the tip:
How To Learn Italian Tip Number Four
4. Get a Picture Dictionary
I have a visual dictionary and while I don’t use it much now, when was starting to learn Italian I found my picture dictionary very helpful. This is possibly down to our natural way of learning languages which revolves around observing our environment from the cradle, and then being told what everything is called by our parents. They did not write the words down, at least mine did not, more often than not they pointed at objects and said their names.
A picture dictionary works in much the same way in that you see an item and then discover the word in Italian which refers to it. In my case I found that I could remember vocabulary more easily – after all, we are surrounded by ‘pictures‘ in our everyday lives.
Using a pictorial dictionary fits in well with How to Learn Italian Tip number Two which was all about developing the ability to think in Italian. If you look at something, after using a pictorial dictionary for a while, you should be able to say the Italian word for it without thinking of the word in English, or whatever your first language is, first. In other words, you begin to think in Italian more naturally. And thinking in Italian aids fluency, as I pointed out in Tip Two.
You will also find Italian verbs easier to remember too, as we naturally tend to associate verbs with objects.
Where to Find a Picture Dictionary
Here is one popular Italian English picture dictionary which can be found on Amazon.com: Italian English Bilingual Visual Dictionary (DK Visual Dictionaries)
and the same dictionary can also be found on Amazon.co.uk too: Italian English Bilingual Visual Dictionary. There are other visual, picture or pictorial dictionaries too, including one very good picture dictionary which is published by an Italian company, but I do not have it and cannot remember its name. If you know which one I’m on about, do let me know.
Anyway, if you are someone who tends to remember images more easily than words, think about buying a visual dictionary.
Useful for Engineers, Lovers of Italian Classic Cars and Sailors
The better ones can even teach you Italian technical vocabulary which might prove useful if you are going to start a job with an Italian engineering company, or you want to find a part for your beloved Alfa Romeo Montreal while you are at an auto-jumble in Italy. Similarly, those sailing in the Mediterranean might find having a picture dictionary on board handy in the event that something goes wrong while they are at sea and they need to find someone to sort it out. They can point at the pictures!
Others who may well find an English-Italian or vice versa picture dictionary useful are people who have bought a house in Italy to renovate and want to be able to tell the builders what to repair and decorate. Indeed, the uses of good picture dictionaries are virtually without end.
Test Yourself
One thing you can do with a picture dictionary to help you absorb Italian vocabulary is to cover the names of the items and see how many of them you can remember. If you cannot, don’t worry – be patient remember, and try again.
Happy learning! And I promise that I will get round to incorporating a few of the interesting suggestions people have been making via comments on the other posts in this series into future How to Learn Italian Tips.
Indeed, if anyone knows of an iPhone, iPad or Android app which is an Italian-English picture dictionary, do let me know.
A presto!
Ulf says
Rosetta Stone is not a dictionary but a learning software but is very visually oriented. They do plan to release an iPhone version soon. Would like to know how it compares to TellMeMore or Pimisieur.
Alex Roe says
Hi Ulf,
Have heard of Rosetta Stone, but never used the software. Someone else might be able to help though.
Best,
Alex
Max says
The reviews rate Rosetta Stone and TellMeMore as both being first class. I’m using TMM, and it is excellent, but it’s more of a home schooling tool. They throw you in the deep end. But I really like it. Pimsleur is conversational Italian [I’m using it, too] without any writing or grammar, but it’s excellent for hearing and talking. Rosetta and TMM are complete language tools: reading, writing, speaking, comprehension. Pimsleur is conversational, doesn’t have the depth of the others, but is excellent in its own way.
Alex Roe says
As a rule of thumb, if you are happy with these systems and feel as though you are progressing, you can’t go far wrong.
The acid test is, of course, speaking Italian to an Italian – preferably here in Italy, but any native speaker will do.
Pimsleur sounds interesting. Does it use speech recognition technology to practice talking? Or do you get to speak to real people?
When I was taking my first steps with Italian I did not use computer aided learning systems – mainly because I did not have a computer at the time, and when I started, language learning systems on computers were basic affairs – today’s software is much more feature rich. How times have changed in the last 10 years or so!
Using a computer to help you learn a language is a good idea, I think, but, and this is a big but, you have to use the system regularly – daily if possible, or at least twice a week, otherwise any progress made tends to evaporate, as I’ve noticed from my English language students.
Keep studying!
Thanks for the update, which should help Ulf a little.
Ciao,
Alex
Max says
Pimsleur is really basic. They speak, you listen and repeat, no voice recognition or anything. But they’re well organised and you definitely develop your comprehension, hearing, and speaking skills with a good accent. I can’t afford to go to Italy, and I can’t find any Italian talk radio on the net, so Pimsleur is good for me. If someone just wanted to use one programme, I’d say Rosetta or TMM for whole language learning – reading writing talking. Pimsleur is conversational Italian for getting around on vacation.
Alex Roe says
Basic is good to start, Max.
I don’t know where you are, but you might be able to get Italy’s Radio 2 – talk not music http://www.radio.rai.it/radio2/coniglio/index.cfm – click on the ‘Diretta’ rabbit and a window should pop up. The radio should start after a short delay.
There are others. Let me know if you can’t find any which work and I’ll ask around and hunt. As an alternative, there are the podcasts which you can download to a suitable mobile phone, MP3 player or PC/Mac.
Radio is good, but testing – if you can follow what is going on, then your comprehension is excellent. If you cannot, don’t worry too much! Just keep studying and listen to radio in the background – you’ll pick up more than you think.
Happy learning,
Alex
PS There are some very cheap tickets to Italy to be had from the US – but I don’t know where you are based. You’ll make it one day!
Max says
Have you any thoughts on software language packages? I’m using TellMeMore as well as Pimsleur, which might be overkill but sems to have a useful symbiosis.
Alex Roe says
To be honest, I don’t have much experience using language learning software packages, although I have evaluated a few, but for English language learning.
General observations are that language learning software needs:
– clear objectives and a clear direction
– lots of vocabulary and grammar information and activities
– audio and video
– speech recognition (good for pronunciation practice)
– to be easy to use
I’ve heard good things about TellMeMore, but don’t know Pimsieur. However what tends to happen is that people start using these systems, get through part and then stop – as soon as you stop, you start to lose an awful lot of progress – unless you are able to speak the target language daily and naturally – either at work, in the home, or out and about.
Regardless of the software package you need, I feel, to back it up with conversation practice with real people. 10 years ago this was not an easy thing to do – now with services like Live Mocha, it’s easier, even if it does sometimes have a cost.
And you still need a good digital or real dictionary and grammar book to refer to while you are away from your computer.
I’ll be writing something on the approach to language learning in another of these tips.
Stick at it!
Best,
Alex
Ulf says
The Rosetta Stone application is not a picture dictionary per se but utilizes the connection between images and words to support the language learning process. The confirmed via twitter [2] that they will release an iPhone version of the application and are interested in the iPad as well.
[1] http://www.rosettastone.com/learn-italian
[2] http://twitter.com/#!/rosettastone/status/22894228129