The following are the best resources for this dive, broken down by beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
We have tested each one and recommend them.
This Italian Resource Handbook Below
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Italian - Resources
The following are the best resources for this dive, broken down by beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
We have tested each one and recommend them.
Resources
Assimil Italian
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The Assimil series is fantastic. The website is in French, but you can find English versions of their products on Amazon. If you speak some French, it's a lot more fun to order the French version of the courses, but English (and other language versions) are available as well. Go check them out!
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Assimil in English (on Amazon)
Babbel
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Babbel is a language-learning website/app with a similar structure to courses you’d see in an online school curriculum. Includes short 10-minute lessons that work well for those with a busy schedule. Keep in mind that the program requires payment.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
BD's Italian Fluency Project
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The Italian Fluency Project is a program of Break Diving (this website). We all work together to improve our foreign language skills in hundreds of languages. Visit www.breakdiving.org for more information about our not-for-profit corporate mission, and then visit breakdiving.io to join our inspiring worldwide community! We look forward to meeting you.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Busuu
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Busuu is probably the most comprehensive language learning app on the market. This app teaches Italian down to the nitty gritty grammatical nuances, and really helps you to gain comfort using the language. One of its best features is that you can get feedback from native speakers on written and spoken exercises. Download from your phone's app store.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Clozemaster
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Clozemaster helps you to learn language in context. According to Clozemaster, learning a language through mass exposure to vocabulary in context is one of the best ways to build proficiency. The site/app uses well-structured fill-in-the-blanks and spaced repetition to ensure you retain new words.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Conjuguemos
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Even though it sounds like this is a Spanish language learning site, it actually is coded for many languages, including Italian. Conjuguemos helps you learn and practice conjugations through fun activities and games.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
Corriere Della Sera
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This is one of Italy's most famous newspapers. If you already know intermediate Italian, it's time to start reading the newspapers!
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Cyber Italian - Advanced
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If you're ready to really improve your Italian skills beyond the intermediate level, this is an excellent place to do so.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Advanced
Duolingo
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Duolingo is a popular language-learning platform that includes both a website and a mobile app. It offers over 94 different language courses, including Italian. Duolingo teaches the basics of Italian, including some basic vocabulary and grammar. However, there is no way you will truly learn a language through Duolingo. It is best used as an introduction to a language and as a refresher to keep your skills up and to potentially build some new vocabulary. Note: their podcast on Apple Podcasts is excellent!
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
FluentU
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FluentU is a video learning site that helps you learn through real video conversations, similar to Yabla. Try it for 14 days free (as of this review).
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Forvo
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Forvo is a fascinating tool that shows how words are pronounced in various foreign languages. Just type the word you’re looking for into the Forvo search bar, and voilà, you’ll hear it spoken by multiple native speakers. This is excellent for pronunciation. Note: it will take you a few minutes to figure out how the tool works, but it's worth spending a few minutes to master how it works.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Glossika
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Glossika improves your fluency through a highly repetitive ‘listen and repeat’ approach. It uses an adaptive learning algorithm and structured content to help you improve. Definitely not a conventional course but you’ll be amazed at how effective it is at improving your fluency if you use it daily.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Advanced
- Beginner
- Intermediate
Hello Talk
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Hello Talk links you together with language partners to help you practice your Italian skills. Worth taking a look at.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
iLanguages
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A website that will teach you the basics of Italian vocabulary, phrases, grammar with audio, flashcards, and quizzes. The site provides Italian writing with English translation along with the Italian pronunciation that can help you learn the foundation of Italian.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
Internet Polyglot
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Internet Polyglot is an awesome site that offers a huge variety of free games to help you improve your Italian vocabulary.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
ItalianPod101
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This is a popular Italian course that includes downloadable podcast-styled lessons, videos, grammar explanations, and a vocabulary database and dictionary. Premium members gain access to PDF lessons, grammar reviews, dialogue audio, and interactive learning.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Language Drops
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Language Drops is a language-learning website/app with a colorful layout that's a lot of fun. Teaching solely vocabulary (which is unique in itself), Drops starts with basic vocab and expands to offer highly advanced vocab beyond the scope of most other courses and books. For example: spaceship, garlic, riot police, and political coup. Note: unless you pay, you are limited to 5 minutes per day. If you can afford it, upgrade to the lifetime plan. Or, just be sure to do your 5 minutes every single day.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Language Learning with Netflix
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This is a Chrome extension that allows you to learn Italian by watching movies or shows on Netflix. It displays two sets of subtitles: one in your native language and the other in a language of your choice. Keep in mind that you do need a Netflix subscription in order to use this resource.
Category: Video
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Larousse Dictionary
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This dictionary is probably one of the best available. If you're a serious Italian learner, use this site.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
LingQ
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LingQ is similar to Yabla. They describe the service as surrounding yourself with meaningful input that matters to you. You can start at an easy level and work your way up. It features a range of entertaining materials, such as YouTube videos, news broadcasts, blog posts, and Netflix shows. You can choose the topics that interest you and build your language lessons around subjects that will keep you motivated.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
Linguee
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Linguee is a dictionary used to translate between Italian and English words. Aside from giving helpful information about word gender and verb conjugation, the site also allows you to search for the vocabulary word in real Italian articles, so you can translate phrases more accurately.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Living Language
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Living Language offers a very comprehensive course of self study, through both online courses and self-study textbooks. You can sign up online, or buy the self-study textbooks and audio on Amazon or at Barnes & Noble bookstores. Each set comes with three textbooks: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Lyrics Gaps
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Lyrics Gaps lets you learn languages through music by filling in the gaps of your favorite songs. Similar to Lyrics Training, but not as cleanly presented.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Lyrics Training
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Lyrics Training lets you learn languages through music by filling in the gaps of your favorite songs. Truly awesome.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Mango Languages
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Mango Languages helps you to study foreign language by adapting to how you learn using smart technology. Compare your own recordings with those of native speakers. Mango also gives tips on Italian culture.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Memrise
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A language-learning website/app that uses repetition and proven memory techniques to help you learn faster. Good for getting started and learning vocabulary. They also offer native speaker videos which are often pretty cool.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
Michel Thomas Italian
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Michel Thomas Italian is an audio course with a variety of levels to which you can commit. In some ways, it is similar to Pimsleur in that it is all audio. Many language learners like the Michel Thomas approach. Helpful for developing your ear in the language.
Category: Audio
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
Mondly
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Mondly lets you learn Italian through matching games and fill in the blank activities. The first few lessons are free.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
Online Italian Club
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Having trouble with grammar ? Check out this site.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
Pimsleur
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Pimsleur is a good option if you want to listen to complete audio or focus on learning conversational Italian. You’ll hear a series of phrases that get broken down and repeated to you slowly. You then repeat and participate in conversations. It's perfect for learning on the go, and the app even has a driving mode so you can learn while commuting without looking at the screen. The downsides are that the lessons can feel slow sometimes, and there are no books or grammar.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Project Gutenberg
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Project Gutenberg is an online library of over 60,000 free electronic books. This link will take you to a list of openly accessible Italian books.
Category: Other Books & Resources
Skill Levels:
- Advanced
Ripeti Con Me
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Ripeti Con Me means "Repeat With Me". It's a collection of lessons created by a genuine Italian.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
Rocket Languages
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Rocket Italian doesn’t follow a "cookie-cutter" approach. It's designed to get you using your new language quickly, correctly, and confidently with audio and written content for all levels.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Rosetta Stone
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Rosetta Stone is a language-learning website/app that’s widely known and respected, but sometimes criticized because it only teaches you with pictures, when you could more quickly learn by having them just tell you that it's an apple using your native language. It features a TruAccent speech recognition program that helps you work on pronunciation. Keep in mind that the program does require payment.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
ThoughtCo
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ThoughtCo is a site dedicated to learning Italian through instructive articles at all levels of experience. Articles range from discussing basic grammatical rules to improving analytical skills.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Udemy
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Udemy is an online learning platform with video courses on a variety of subjects, including Italian. This link will take you to the top Italian courses on Udemy, although some of the results require payment.
Category: Self-Study
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
WordReference
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WordReference is a dictionary used to translate between different languages (including Italian) accurately. Each word has a variety of translations based on the context.
Category: Other Apps & Websites
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Yabla
0 Break Diver Votes
Yabla is an excellent site that teaches Italian through videos with adjustable speed of playback and definitions of words in the subtitles. It also has games and quizzes, but no grammar.
Category: Video
Skill Levels:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Italian - Resources
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