The Best Ways to Learn Italian for Travel

Italy, a land brimming with culture, history, and delectable cuisine, beckons travelers from across the globe. While it's possible to navigate tourist hotspots relying solely on English, immersing yourself in the Italian language unlocks a deeper, more authentic travel experience. This article explores effective strategies for learning Italian for travel, enabling you to connect with locals, savor the culinary delights, and navigate the country with confidence.

Why Learn Italian for Travel?

Although some may say that you can get along with just English in major tourist areas, learning at least some Italian can greatly enhance your trip.

Connect with the Locals: Only a third of Italians speak English, so learning to speak the language plays a big part in your ability to connect with the locals. One of the best things about Italy is its people, so it would be a shame if you couldn’t talk to them due to the language barrier. With some basic Italian phrases under your belt, you can ask the locals for restaurant recommendations. You never know, you might end up in some off-the-beaten-track restaurant full of local people. Having a shared language allows you to have meaningful conversations and learn about the culture and the people there. Even if you only know the basics, people will be glad to communicate with you.
Savor the Cuisine: If there’s anything to say about Italian food, it’s that it’s delicious, classy, and filled with character. However, how can you enjoy the food if you can’t read the menu?
Navigate with Ease: It makes it easier to navigate public transport, read menus, etc. Whether you’re looking for a l’ospedale (hospital) or stazione ferroviaria (train station), you’ll be glad you learned the words for things around town and how to ask for directions.
Enhance Your Appreciation of Art: You don’t always need words to appreciate art, but sometimes you still do.
Safety: If anything happens on your trip, some Italian skills will be a big help. Maybe your smartphone is stolen and you need to talk to the polizia. Or you might get a terrible toothache and need to find a dentista. There won’t always be English speakers around, so learning some Italian is sensible, too.
Authentic Experiences: With some Italian skills (and a bit of courage), you can explore Italy instead. You can leave the touristy stuff behind and look for some authentic Italian experiences.
Fun: They seem small, but they give you a huge sense of accomplishment. And if this is the first time you’re learning another language, you’re in for a treat. Get out there and enjoy every little success you have. Be proud of yourself.

Effective Learning Methods

There are many ways of learning Italian for travel, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. A blended approach, incorporating various methods, often yields the best results.

Language Learning Apps

Duo Lingo: Duo Lingo is a popular app that allows you to learn different languages, like Italian, in a fun and interactive way.
Babbel Italian: Babbel is one of the best apps for grammar. Lessons are short, practical, and designed for real-life conversations. Plus, the built-in speech recognition helps fine-tune your pronunciation. Babbel tailors lessons based on real-life scenarios, like ordering food, making small talk, or (importantly) flirting in Italian.
Busuu: Busuu is the best app for learning Italian for travel. With Busuu, learn Italian that you can use straight away. Forget about grammar and focus on communicating. Busuu’s easy-to-follow Italian lessons, short videos and mobile app mean you can always squeeze an Italian lesson in. You can prepare for your trip to Italy by studying on your commute, lunch break, or even on the couch. Busuu’s advanced algorithms optimize your study so you can focus on learning. By tracking which words you’ve learned, which you can remember, and which you struggle with, Busuu’s app will personalize your Italian study. The algorithm gets you to review language when needed - no more guesswork. How you perform when using the app helps the algorithm give you the right words at the right time. Words you understand and remember appear less frequently than words you don’t know yet. And the more you understand something, the longer the interval between reviews becomes. The words you haven’t mastered appear more frequently in the reviews, so you don’t waste time reviewing words you already know. Busuu’s online community is full of millions of language learners and native Italian speakers getting together to learn languages, support each other and build connections. You can practice speaking, get feedback on your Italian and make friends. You can learn the Italian you need for your next trip with real people (and have fun while doing it).

Online Courses and Resources

Youtube and Spotify Tutorials: There are a plethora of tutorials on popular apps like Youtube and Spotify. However, the lessons you get from these apps and videos are pre-made, so the knowledge they impart is limited. For tourist survival Italian, try some of the language lessons on YouTube - sample a few until you find an approach and instructor that works for you.
Coffee Break Italian: Check out “Coffee break italian”. They have free (ad-supported) podcasts or you can buy their Level 1, 2, or 3 course for no ads, lifetime access, and bonus material. Coffee Break is a fantastic and free resource that was colorful, interesting, and focused on situations you will run across while traveling (e.g. asking directions or checking into a hotel).
Riviera Dreamer’s Live Beginners Italian Crash Course: A fun and engaging live class where you get to practice speaking in real-time with a group. Perfect if you need motivation and accountability.
Intrepid Italian for Travel: Intrepid Italian for Travel is a self-paced online course designed to help you speak real, practical Italian - fast. This course gives you everything you need to navigate real-world situations with ease and confidence. You can start anytime, learn at your own pace, and access the lessons for life - with no pressure, no deadlines, and no recurring fees. The course is built around Michele’s unique 80/20 method - a smarter, faster approach to language learning. Instead of trying to teach you everything, she focuses on the 20% of Italian that’s used 80% of the time in everyday conversations. You'll learn how to avoid awkward situations and travel more like a local. The Intrepid Italian: Master Italian for Travel Fast! Course was perfect for quickly giving you more confidence in your ability to communicate important travel basics. The course was simple to follow and incredibly effective. It makes language learning fun to do and very much aimed at the sort of standard situations anyone is likely to find when visiting Italy.

Immersion Programs

Language Immersion Program: Enrolling in a language immersion program is the best way to learn Italian for travel. The 7-week Italian Immersion Program includes four to five hours of classroom sessions every day. You will speak Italian from when you wake up until you go to bed at night. Of course, there’s still fun and games. Naturally, they still use Italian during these activities.
Dartmouth College’s Rassias Center: The live in-person or Zoom classes through Dartmouth College’s Rassias Center give the most bang for your time and your buck. They use a trademarked immersion method for language learning that gets you thinking in, and speaking, the language.
NaCLIPS in Napoli: Taking an intensive course, followed by private lessons, will skyrocket your learning.

Traditional Methods

Hardcopy Workbook: An antiquated hardcopy workbook from the library was helpful for memorizing numbers, etc.
Pimsleur Italian: Pimsleur is great, and if you can combine that with a community college course, you'll make better progress. Then, don't be afraid to use your new words! Pimsleur Italian (do it up thru level 2) is great for easily producing sentences that it teaches. Each lesson , 30 per level, is 30 minutes, I found it better to do each twice, So 60 hours but you can do it while commuting or walking.
Michel Thomas: Michel Thomas uses a bit different angle, explaining the language instead of just relying on hear-and-repeat like Pimsleur. They make good complements.
Linguaphone series: A good at-home course to learn Italian independently.
Essential Italian Grammar by Olga Ragusa: A great resource because the different Italian pronouns can be quite difficult. It is beneficial to review the rules and then watch for them when reading and listening to your Italian content.
Books to Learn Italian:
- Italian Made Simple by Cristina Mazzoni: A fantastic starting point with grammar explanations, exercises, and vocabulary in digestible chunks.
- Practice Makes Perfect: Italian Verb Tenses by Paola Nanni-Tate: Italian verbs can be tricky, but this book simplifies conjugations with clear explanations and tons of practice exercises.
- Barron’s 501 Italian Verbs: If you want to sound fluent, you need to master Italian verbs. This book is the ultimate reference guide for conjugating like a pro.

Immersive Experiences

Live in the Language: The best way to learn Italian is to live in the language. Read and listen every day to things you enjoy, and don’t worry too much about grammar - check it only when you’re curious.
Move to Italy (Or Try to Immerse Yourself in Italian Culture Daily): If you truly want to master Italian fast, immersion is key. That doesn’t mean you have to pack up and move tomorrow (though, again, not a bad idea). But surrounding yourself with the language makes a massive difference.
Talk to Locals: Make it a habit to chat with local baristas every morning. Start with simple conversations like “Come stai?” and make it a habit to remember their names.
Watch Italian TV: Shows like Il Commissario Montalbano or L'Amica Geniale will introduce you to authentic Italian dialogue. You can listen in Italian and have English subtitles, and then gradually work your way up to Italian subtitles as you get more fluent.
Listen to Italian Music & Podcasts: Play Italian music in the background and follow along with lyrics. Podcasts like Coffee Break Italian are great for passive learning.
Date an Italian: Dating someone who speaks Italian is one of the fastest and most natural ways to learn the language. Make an effort to speak their language as much as possible.

Tips for Success

Consistency is Key: The more you immerse yourself, the faster you’ll learn.
Focus on Practical Phrases: Learn “reusable language” essential for travelling around Italy.
Don't Be Afraid to Speak: It’s also important to speak and pronounce Italian out loud to get your brain and mouth muscles used to it. Learning the basics of pronunciation is key.
Listen Actively: It’s also important to listen to Italian even when you don’t understand many of the words.
Learn Numbers: Suggest learning the numbers up to 100 which is useful in places like farmers markets where you're just going to be told a price.
Embrace Mistakes: The course improved my confidence to try out simple phrases and decreased my fear of making mistakes.
Enjoy the Process: Italian is a beautiful, rewarding language, and the journey of learning it has been pure enjoyment.

Time Commitment

The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) classifies Italian as a Category I language, the lowest difficulty. The FSI also suggests that an English speaker would need 600 hours of classroom instruction to achieve a B2 in Italian on the CEFR scale, a common benchmark for fluency. If you commit an hour per day to learning Italian, you’ll need between 1.5 and 2 years to reach fluency. However, if you were to study more intensively, allotting 3 hours per day to Italian, you’d reach the same level within 6-7 months. In short, your rate of progress depends on you and how intensively you’re willing to learn.

Useful Italian Phrases for Tourists

Here are some useful Italian phrases for tourists that you can learn today:

Italian phrase	English translation
Dov'è il bagno?	Where is the bathroom?
Quanto costa?	How much does it cost?
Parla inglese?	Do you speak English?
Mi scusi, può aiutarmi?	Excuse me, can you help me?
Vorrei ordinare…	I would like to order.
Può portarmi il conto, per favore?	Can you bring me the bill, please?
Posso pagare con la carta di credito?	Can I pay with a credit card?
C'è un ristorante qui vicino?	Is there a restaurant nearby?
A che ora apre il museo?	What time does the museum open?
Mi può consigliare un buon ristorante?	Can you recommend a good restaurant?

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