Italian has always appealed to me as a language, considering Italy’s beauty. I traveled and hitchhiked through Italy without speaking Italian, relying on my knowledge of Spanish to communicate. The experience made me realize my desire to learn Italian. I gathered resources that helped me learn the language and developed my learning methods over time.
One of the first things I did was to get the Italian Linguaphone series, though I found it overpriced. I focused on reading the text and listening to the audio multiple times, instinctively understanding the importance of repetition for vocabulary retention. I avoided bilingual books and instead used readers with glossaries, such as “Prime Letture Italiane Per Stranieri” by Armida Roncari. However, online tools like LingQ have made these resources somewhat obsolete.
Knowing French and Spanish provided me with a lot of “freebie” vocabulary in Italian, despite the occasional false friend words. Essential Italian Grammar by Olga Ragusa helped me navigate the complexities of Italian pronouns. Audiobooks from Il Narratore, like “I Promessi Sposi” and “Pinocchio,” enhanced my language learning experience. LingQ has been invaluable in expanding my vocabulary and understanding complex texts like Umberto Eco novels.
Overall, my Italian learning journey has been fulfilling, but I continue to use LingQ to further improve my vocabulary and comprehension skills. When I check my profile and review my activity, it shows that I have 22,236 known words. My activity peaked in 2008 and has been sporadic since then.
Looking at the LingQs I created, there are only 5,000, indicating that most of my known words were from texts where I didn’t need to look up the meanings. LingQ tracks your vocabulary level as you save unfamiliar words.
In terms of words read, I have read a considerable amount both on and off LingQ. In 2013 alone, I read 61,000 words.
Reflecting on the growth of my known words, there was significant progress initially followed by gradual growth. However, my recent activity has decreased.
In terms of my Italian proficiency, I can communicate but not as proficiently as desired. While I understand well, there are still unfamiliar words when reading Italian books. Improving my reading skills in Italian is a goal, especially if I had more time to dedicate to it.
I have elevated my Italian proficiency to a level where it is distinct from Spanish. However, there is room for improvement. If the opportunity arises to immerse myself in Italian, such as visiting Italy or dedicating time to study, I believe I can enhance my proficiency from a rusty B2 to a higher B2 or even C1 level. This is a goal I aspire to achieve in all the languages I learn, even though it may be challenging.
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