Why not take the perfect opportunity during your gap year to learn a new language? You could combine it with travelling or even working abroad. If you have a desire to learn the feisty romantic language of Italian our guide will help you find the perfect course.
Why should I learn Italian?
An obvious reason to learn Italian is if you want to live, work or travel around Italy during your gap year, however you may have just simply fallen in love with language.
Italian is the official language of Italy, San Marino and parts of Switzerland, but is also spoken by people in the Vatican City and Malta, as well as parts of Slovenia and Croatia.
Italian immigrants have moved far across the globe and there are large Italian speaking migrant communities in the USA, Luxembourg, Argentina, Brazil and Australia.
Where is the best place to go?
Obviously the best place to go to immerse yourself in the Italian language is Italy itself, however there are many different Italian dialects, almost one per city, so it’s important to choose the right region if you want to learn classic Italian. Many of the dialects are quite similar, but others, such as Sicilian, which is still strong today is almost considered to be a separate language.
The Italian people say that the best Italian is spoken with a ‘Tuscan tongue in a Roman mouth’. You can conclude from this that the two best places to go to learn Italian would be Tuscany and Rome, but you could find classic Italian language schools in many cities throughout the country.
You could also try the Italian speaking part of Switzerland or even Malta, as there are lots of Italian language schools there, however, since most people speak Maltese, which is primarily a mixture between Italian and Sicilian, with a bit of English thrown in, you might end up getting a bit confused!
How should I go about it?
One of the best ways of immersing yourself in the language is to stay with an Italian family in a homestay, many language schools will help organise this for you. Another good way to do this is to get a job as an au-pair or nanny for an Italian family. Some good agencies that have clients in Italy are New Aupair, Almondbury Aupair Agency or Great Au Pair.
You could also try getting a TEFL or CELTA certificate and teach English abroad in Italy for the year. Make sure you research thoroughly on which course to do as they differ a lot. The general rule is that you need to do at least a month long course to get a decent job. CELTA, run by Cambridge University, is very good and is widely recognised.
This is not such an effective method of learning though as you will be speaking English for most of the day. If you are determined then you can learn Italian by socialising with locals in the evening or sharing a house with Italian flatmates.
A must for any language learner is to enrol yourself in some Italian classes. Florence is a great city to explore Italian art and culture and has a lively student vibe, some good schools here are David School who also offer social and cultural activities as well as classes and the Michelangelo Institute who also give Italian art history and culture courses.
Although a little bit of a crazy city, Rome can be great once you get used to it and has some excellent historical sites. Try the Torre Di Babele school or Italiaidea, whose methodology is to make learning Italian fun.
Scambios, as they are called in Italy (sometimes known as intercambios in other places) are a great way of practising your newly found language skills. The way these usually work is to find a classified site on the internet that lists people wanting to practice a language in exchange for helping you learn. For example you might find an ad saying ‘my Italian for your English’.
You would usually meet for a coffee and just talk, half the time in English and half the time in Italian, correcting each other’s grammar and vocabulary as you go. Be careful who you meet on the internet though. Ask your language school or host family if they can help set you up with someone.
When your language skills get a bit better you could try getting a job in a local cafe or shop, where you will be speaking Italian all day.