Keeping your Italian fit

If you attended an Italian course and are now taking a break, you may be concerned to lose the language or forget many of the things you have learnt. This is a sensible concern, because as a matter of fact, language is maintained through use and continuous contact. This always seems to be the case, except for one's mother tongue. So we need a plan to keep our second language/languages alive and kicking in our minds. The resources provided by the web can be very helpful in doing this.

If you are a student from the intermediate level onwards, you are likely to have developed already listening skills sufficient to take full advantage of listening to Italian radio on the web. Here you can find a large selection of Italian radios with the indication of their content. Alternatively, you can also watch Italian tv (streaming and recorded programmes) on the website of RAI, Italy's national tv.

At beginner's level, you can start to read Italian web newspapers, focussing first on the headlines, and then reading more of the actual article. It may sound difficult, but consider that, especially if you are reading international news, you are likely to know already much about the topic and this knowledge can help you a lot when you approach the Italian text.

Italian comics are another source of easy readings. If hard copies are not available, your may want to have a look at the site of Luciano Gatto, where many Disney comics in Italian are available to read in pdf. Good luck with your language fitness programme!