I visit Italy regularly and have fallen in love with Florence and hope to move there in the not too distant future. I am finding it extremely difficult to attend a language course to learn conversational italian. Does anyone know anywhere in the North West Uk (Preston) where i could learn. A private tutor would be best. Many thanks

Barolo is from the UK but I do not know where exactly.
Today there are also many opportunity to learn it online ( There are a few posts also on the group ) - I myself was thinking to set up 1/2 hour a day where we could teach Italian ( speak it at least ) online but I could not find so far a good software applett.
Paol

Yes, Paolo, I am learning Italian online, and would be very happy to join your class. All my teachers are from Italy, and we talk on skype. They teach me Italian and I correct their English, so we each learn free of cost!

A good site to find such a language partner for anyone who is interested is www.mylanguageexchange.com.

I would love to learn to write and speak Italian. I can understand most of the language when written or spoken but can not put a sentence together for the life of me.

I was in the same state two months back, but now I can form basic sentences in Italian mostly in the present tense, thanks to an Italian language exchange partner who has decided to visit me in Singapore. She is learning English from Native speakers in an English school here, and I am learning Italian from the Italian institute school in Singapore.

But what helps me most is the fact that we spend a lot of time together. We go jogging together, cook together, and do exercises in English and Italian, talking and correcting in both languages at the same time.

So I think, the ideal thing would be to learn Italian with an Italian who wants to improve his or her English. Maybe Paolo could suggest someone from the forum?

I found my language partner(s) at www.mylanguageexchange.com, by paying 24usd for an year, to gain access to Italians who want to learn English.

After that I have been exchanging mails with such Italians and then talking on skype: www.skype.com. This really helps, Giovanna, so you might like to try it!

Also a very entertaining way to learn Italian is to go on the site:
learnitalianpod.com

Hope you enjoy yourself learning Italian

I am flying out of Florida tomorrow for 9 days in Italy. I will be spending Easter with my parents in Molise but will be in the Chianti region of Tuscany for most of the time. I will be practicing what little I know while there.

Hi, I am Italian and if someone wants to practise talking on skype let me know sending me a message and I'll give you my nickname.
gabriella

Have you tried Rosetta Stone? It is easy, pace yourself at your own speed!

Have heard a lot of good things about Rosetta Stone. Except
for the price it seems really good.

Here are a few programs for learning Italian and other languages I have:

Learn Spanish, French, German, Italian and English Online at ...Living Language is the foremost name in the field of foreign language self-study, ... --Select a language--, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish ...
www.randomhouse.com/livinglanguage/ - 22k - Cached - Similar pages
Many levels - beginner, intermediate and advanced and different
titles including 30 Days to Great Italian book and cd

www.pentonoverseas.com 1-800-748-5804 Immersion Italian The final step
to fluency! and others

www.booksmcgraw-hill.com The Big Green Book of Italian Verbs - 555 Fully
conjugated Italian verbs with CD rom and other books

www.10minutesaday.com Italian in 10 minutes a day

www.penguin.com Italian Phrase Book

www.putumayo.com Italian Cafe CD music

www.recitarleggendo.com

www.almaedizioni.it Italian Espresso - Italian course for English speakers

One of the cheapest and best ways to learn Italian though is with homemade flashcards.