Marco Lera, La Bricola, Venezia, Italia
David McLoughlin, Meiji University, Tokyo, Giappone.
Jo Mynard, Kanda University of International Studies, Chiba, Giappone. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0363-6461
Lera, M., McLoughlin, D., & Mynard, J. (2024). Risorse per l’apprendimento autodiretto dell’italiano / Resources for self-directed learning of Italian. Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal, 15(2), 279–300. https://doi.org/10.37237/150210
Abstract
In this article, the three authors (two learners of Italian at the A2 level, and one Italian instructor) review six diverse resources for self-directed learning of Italian. These resources are: two online courses (Busuu and EdX), a podcast, a Netflix extension, a book, and an AI tool. The article suggests how such resources can be used by learners of Italian outside the classroom as part of an autonomous learning plan.
[Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano.]
Keywords: Resources, learning Italian, self-directed learning
Purpose of the Article
Self-directed learning is an important part of the language learning process, and thanks to technological advances, there is no shortage of resources for learners of Italian. The resources include systematic courses of study, supplementary online grammar and vocabulary lessons such as YouTube videos and gap-fill exercises, authentic texts in different media, and opportunities to interact with native and proficient speakers of Italian online. With such a wealth of potential available resources, it may be overwhelming for learners of Italian to choose appropriate resources for meaningful self-study. In this short review article, we share our first-hand experiences with six diverse resources and make recommendations for other users. When selecting a resource, we stress the importance of choosing a resource as part of your overall autonomous language learning plan; for example, consider the following questions before selecting the resource:
- What is your goal?
- What is your ideal resource level?
- What are your interests?
- How much time do you have available?
- Where and when will you use the resource?
Who We Are: Biographical Sketch
Marco Lera
I have been a teacher of Italian to foreigners since 2015. In addition to offering in-person and online lessons, I dedicate myself to the creation of teaching resources, providing cultural insights, and translating from Italian to Spanish and vice versa. I taught in Argentina for six years; I currently work in Venice at the school “La Bricola” that I founded together with two colleagues, and I collaborate with other institutes in the city. I am involved in Italian cinema and literature with the ‘Vieni Vedi Parli’ project. My mother tongue is Italian. I also speak Spanish and English, and I have been studying Russian for the last two years.
David McLoughlin
I teach English language and applied linguistics at a university in Japan. I started learning Italian for fun to prepare for my sabbatical year in Italy. Once in Italy, I continued learning Italian, doing a one-month intensive course and following up with private classes. I had already learned Spanish back in the 1990s, and I found that my knowledge of Spanish proved to be a boon, and sometimes an obstacle, to my learning of Italian!
Jo Mynard
I am a learner of Italian at the A2 level, and I started learning around two years ago. My mother tongue is English, and I also speak Spanish and some Japanese. I am a professor working at a university in Japan, and I specialise in applied linguistics and autonomous language learning. At the time of writing, I was living in Venice as part of a one-year study leave from my university in Japan. I am learning Italian for fun.
Review of Six Resources
Resource 1: Busuu Italian Course
Reviewed by David
Access: https://www.busuu.com
Cost: Free (limited access); $13.95/month or $83.40/year
See another blog: https://www.fluentu.com/blog/busuu-review/
Overview
Busuu offers courses in 14 languages, including Italian, and encourages the practice of all four skills from levels A1 to B2. The lessons are short, and a dashboard navigates you through chapters in each level. The exercises include grammar instructions, gap-fill exercises, flashcards, dialogues, readings, and comprehension checks. It can be used on a smartphone or PC.
As well as the Complete Italian courses (A1-B2), there are shorter courses in Italian for Travel (A1-A2) and Italian Pronunciation (A1). The A1 (Beginner) and A2 (Elementary) courses contain the most content, with 35 and 30 ‘chapters’ respectively. At the time of writing, there are 25 chapters in the B1 course and 15 in B2. Each chapter contains a number of lessons (anywhere between four and eight) and a final ‘checkpoint’ quiz. Lessons range from a couple of minutes in length to just under 10 minutes.
Reason for Choosing This Resource
I first used Busuu as a Beginner learner of Italian. It was a fun and interesting way to start on my Italian-learning journey. I was attracted by the variety of activities and by the opportunity to practise all four communicative skills (reading, listening, speaking, writing).
Positive Points
Most of the content is engaging and relevant, with a mix of activities focusing on grammar, vocabulary, and the four main language skills. I felt a real sense of progress working through the chapters and taking the progress checks. In addition to the chapters, there are vocabulary and grammar review sections, which offer a good way to keep track of your progress. As an extra motivation, there is the system of study ‘streaks.’ When you start Busuu or return after an absence, you start on a new streak. You set your daily goals, and you need to meet those goals to keep your streak going. I found that this was effective (usually!) in getting me to keep doing some Italian study each day.
Another positive feature of Busuu is the community aspect. In each chapter, there is the chance to submit a piece of writing or a voice recording and receive feedback from other Busuu members. Especially at A1 level, this can be very encouraging. It is also a great way to focus on the accuracy of the language that you are using.
Negative Points
One element of gamification on Busuu is its system of ranking learners in league tables. As a learner’s study streak continues, they can be promoted from a lower league to a higher one. I find this distracting and unnecessary, though I am aware that others may find it motivating. As an informal experiment, I spent a couple of weeks focusing on my progress through the leagues to see how this would affect my motivation. I kept my streak going, and I found myself becoming more competitive as I was promoted to higher leagues. After two weeks of this, I found that while I was focused on getting as many chapters completed, I was not concentrating so much on the actual language covered in those chapters. My progression through the leagues did not actually reflect my progress in learning Italian, merely the fact that I was completing a certain number of activities each day.
Overall Assessment
Busuu was a fun and motivating way for me to start learning Italian. It’s perfect if you want to study 20 to 30 minutes a day. I found it particularly useful for learning vocabulary and everyday expressions. This helped me enormously when I went to Italy. It also gave me a basic knowledge of Italian grammar, though I needed extra resources to know the grammar more deeply. Meanwhile, for people who like to be motivated by streaks and league tables, Busuu is a good choice. For those who do not, these aspects can be easily ignored.
Resource 2. LangAI
Reviewed by Jo
Access: https://langai.io/
Cost: Free (limited) version. Paid plan is available for more extensive use: €4.60 per month
Another review: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65849104
Overview
LangAI is an AI-powered mobile app designed to help language learners practice conversations in their chosen language.
Reason for Choosing This Resource
I get quite anxious when speaking Italian in everyday situations, so I wanted to try a tool that would help me build confidence.
Positive Points
The tone of the chatbot is friendly, encouraging, and non-judgmental; you can steer the chat in any direction that interests you. The app shows the conversation in real-time as both speech and text messages. Despite my many mistakes in Italian, the AI bot always seemed to understand me, which was a huge confidence boost. I was able to learn phrases by using the AI bot’s prompts in my responses. Initially, I found the speed of the conversation too fast as it took me a long time to process what I was going to say in response. However, I soon realised that I could take my time as the bot waited patiently. Such unnatural pausing would not be appropriate in a ‘real’ conversation, but it’s very useful for gradually developing fluency without pressure.
Negative Points
The AI bot analyses what you say and corrects your mistakes immediately. While this sounds incredibly useful, I found this feature distracting for a fluency tool. Instead of relaxing and trying to enjoy a conversation about something of interest, I couldn’t help reading and analysing my mistakes. Ideally, users should be able to switch this feature off if they wish. Also, it would be useful if the chat transcripts could be exported. I sometimes made screenshots for later analysis, but this was a clunky workaround, and I never actually got around to doing any analysis.
Overall Assessment
This is an engaging and novel way to develop speaking confidence, learn natural expressions, and develop fluency in Italian. The tool could help someone to rehearse what they could later talk about with a human speaker. I recommend the resource despite its limitations. Since returning to Japan, I have discovered that giving the free version of ChatGPT a prompt (while using a mobile device) provides the same practice opportunities with the bonus of providing a transcript.
Resource 3: Podcast – Stivale Italiano
Reviewed by Marco
Access: https://open.spotify.com/show/0eybIjVIxRbLFUNqY4H5iP
Cost: Free access to podcasts; Patreon subscription for transcriptions and insights starting from 3.99€/month.
Overview
Stivale Italiano podcast is a project by Alessandro Ligorio and Carolina Terreni, two teachers of Italian to foreigners with many years of experience abroad who currently work in Venice. The podcast has over 200 episodes divided into categories: Quattro chiacchiere con…. (interviews with guests); Curiosità linguistiche; Cosa si dice in Italia? (current news in Italy); Pillole di grammatica; Misteri italiani (the stories of Italian crimes); Popcorn (film reviews); Italianamente (history, culture, art); Musica, maestro.
Reason for Choosing This Resource
Listening to authentic and/or specially designed audio programmes for foreign language learners is essential for improving comprehension, vocabulary, and syntax. Furthermore, creating a collection of weekly or monthly listening sessions to be carried out independently is an opportunity to create continuous and personalised contact with the Italian language.
Positive Points
“Stivale Italiano podcast” offers a wide variety of episodes of different lengths (from 15 to 50 minutes) with topics ranging from current affairs to culture, from grammar to music. Alessandro and Carolina speak in a clear and relaxed manner, without strong regional accents and use simple but not trivial vocabulary. From the episode playlist, it is possible to get an overview of the topics and select the episodes that interest you most. Understanding is facilitated by the fact that some expressions are repeated with different formulations, synonyms with different degrees of complexity are used in the same sentence, and the rhythm is never too fast. The transcripts, available as PDFs for Patreon subscribers, offer the full text of the podcast, a glossary, and exercises that can be done independently as answer keys are provided.
Negative Points
In general, there are no negative points to report. At first listening, some terms or expressions may be a little difficult to understand and, as in all cases of authentic and/or facilitated listening, it takes a few minutes to get used to the rhythm and diction of the speaker. In any case, the podcast is always sufficiently understandable, even in the case of very specific topics or subjects.
Overall Assessment
In the vast panorama of podcasts for students of Italian, ‘Stivale Italiano’ stands out for the variety of topics, insights, and, in general, for the attention of the hosts to the speed and vocabulary used in the recordings. Listening can be done independently even without transcripts from A2 level, paying attention to the different sections since some are more suitable for beginning levels (e.g. Musica, maestro; Curiosità italiane; Italianamente), while others require a higher degree of autonomy to take full advantage of them (e.g. Misteri italiani; Quattro chiacchiere con…). The transcripts are a valuable resource for students who want to improve comprehension and increase vocabulary significantly.
Resource 4
In Altre Parole, a book by Jhumpa Lahiri (published by Guanda, 2015)
Reviewed by Jo
My friend Micòl Beseghi gave me a paperback copy of Lahiri’s memoir about a year after I started learning Italian. I would never have thought of picking up a book written in Italian after only studying the language for a short time. However, I now realise it was the perfect resource for me for the following reasons:
- I love reading. Books are a big part of my identity, and one of the things I would like to do with my Italian is to enjoy books that have not been translated into English.
- I have read Jhumpa Lahiri’s novels in English and really enjoyed them.
- This book is about Lahiri’s journey learning Italian – a topic I can relate to as a learner with the background knowledge of an applied linguist. The themes are very familiar, and I can relate to them.
- This is not a translation of an English book. Jhumpa Lahiri wrote this book in Italian as a non-native Italian speaker, which is inspiring.
- The writing is wonderful! Jhumpa writes with passion and wit. Although the writing style is relatively simple, using mainly the present tense, she uses a varied vocabulary that gives insights into her relationship with Italy and the Italian language.
- I immediately looked her up online and found several YouTube videos of her speaking (in beautifully clear Italian) about her books, her experiences with learning Italian, and her relationship with Italy.
- Ann Goldstein translated this book into English (In Other Words, Bloomsbury, 2016), but I don’t feel the need to read the translation.
Resource 5: Netflix and Language Reactor Chrome extension
Reviewed by Marco
Access: Netflix.com
Cost: Depends on the country and number of shared accounts
Overview
Netflix is the world’s best-known and most widely used streaming platform, and since its launch in 2016, it has become a constant presence in the lives of millions of people. So why not take advantage of it to improve our autonomy and pleasure in learning foreign languages instead of just compulsively watching low-quality and, in many cases, even boring series?
The Netflix catalogue offers, in fact, thousands of titles that can be watched not only for the pleasure of spending a few hours of relaxation and entertainment but also to learn new vocabulary, grammatical structures, and socio-cultural aspects.
As we shall shortly see, combining the platform’s wealth of resources with the functionality of Google Chrome’s ‘Language Reactor’ extension will give the study of a foreign language an incredible boost.
Reason for Choosing This Resource
The familiarity of many of us with the Netflix platform and its use makes the leap to educational use easier. Similarly, the Language Reactor extension is easy to install and extremely intuitive.
Positive Points
The initial investment of time required to familiarise oneself with the different functions of the Language Reactor extension is minimal and guarantees a high level of autonomy on the part of the user-student right from the start. Furthermore, the fact that the extension integrates naturally with the Netflix platform makes this tool easy to use.
Google Chrome’s Language Reactor extension allows the user to generate subtitles that integrate various online dictionaries with examples of how words are used in different contexts. You can also save words in a personalised online notebook. Watching films and series in this way will be enjoyable and allow students to devote themselves independently to expanding vocabulary and improving general comprehension.
Negative Points
In general, there are no negative points to report that make the use of the platform and extension inadvisable. One possible criticism to consider is the size of the catalogue and the variety of options, although this aspect concerns the whole world of online entertainment and not only Netflix. In some films or series, there may be an excessive presence of dialects and infrequent colloquial expressions or words that a student, even an advanced one, is unlikely to come into contact with again. In these cases, the ‘subtitles’ and ‘words’ functions do not always succeed in supporting the viewer 100%, although there were only a few cases of this in this review process.
Overall Assessment
The use of films and series on the Netflix platform, combined with the Language Reactor extension, is one of the best and most user-friendly resources available to learners of Italian who wish to improve their comprehension, increase their vocabulary and achieve a level of autonomy in the language learning process.
Resource 6: Italian Language and Culture course on edX
Reviewed by David
Access: https://home.edx.org/ (Search for Italian Culture and Language)
Cost: Free for temporary access (while the course is running) to activities and materials.
$59.00 for each course for full access to all content while the course is running and after it has finished, plus a verified certificate of completion.
Overview
There are three Italian Culture and Language courses available on the edX platform: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. The courses are offered by Wellesley College in the US. I did the 2021-22 Beginner course in 2022. Courses are updated each year, and the latest version of this course is the 2023-24 one.
This course covers all four skills and also includes input on aspects of Italian society and culture. It is a self-paced course; deadlines for assignments are suggestions and can be changed by the learner.
The course offers a variety of activities:
- videos of conversations between native Italian speakers;
- downloadable grammar charts with audio files:
- slide shows with animation offering grammar explanations;
- online exercises with immediate feedback;
- downloadable vocabulary lists;
- creative writing prompts;
- readings and video interviews on topics relating to Italian society and culture.
Reason for Choosing This Resource
I wanted to study grammar in greater depth than I could on Busuu (Resource 1). This course provided an opportunity to do so in a systematic way.
Positive Points
This course provides a thorough explanation of grammar points with plenty of exercises. The narrated and animated slide shows go into a lot of detail. I will admit that these explanations were often hard going, and I often wished they were not so detailed! However, on reflection, I made a lot of progress in my knowledge of grammar, more than I would have done if I had only studied on Busuu. This really struck me when I started taking classes in Italy and noticed that I already had a solid grounding in all the grammar points we were studying.
The readings and video interviews about Italian society and culture were interesting and extremely motivating. Although both the readings and interviews were challenging, with new vocabulary, I was able to understand most of the content. It was by doing these activities that I first realised how much written and spoken Italian I could already understand.
Negative Points
One aspect which could be improved is the quality of the conversation videos. Some of these could do with better editing (this may have been addressed in the latest version of the course). Long intros with nothing being said are followed by conversations that can be a bit dull. I also found some of the questions about the content of these videos to be too easy. As I said, these are things that can be, and may already have been, improved.
The heavy focus on grammar may be a turn-off for some, and it is true that the grammar explanations are not the most exciting. If you have the motivation to work through these activities, however, you can see the benefits.
Overall Assessment
While Busuu is a fun way to learn, this course was a lot more like serious study, which was not necessarily a bad thing! The content and presentation can be a bit dry at times, and the in-depth explanations of grammar can be tough to get through, but for me, the effort was worth it. I felt that I understood the grammar better than I would have done just from using Busuu. It is definitely a more traditional course of study rather than a fun way to learn a bit of Italian every day, but there are rewards if you persevere. I could not have had this as my sole resource for learning Italian, but doing it along with using other resources such as Busuu, worked well for me.
SiSAL Journal 