Depending on where you live in the world, your reasons to learn Italian may differ. In the United States, for example, there are many people that have Italian family and heritage that can motivate them to learn to speak Italian. Being bilingual can improve your career prospects and is a skill that few others will have.

Depending on where you live in the world, your reasons to learn Italian may differ. In the United States, for example, there are many people that have Italian family and heritage that can motivate them to learn to speak Italian. Being bilingual can improve your career prospects and is a skill that few others will have.

In Europe, speaking Italian would make a difference if you are a tourist that wants to get away from the usual haunts and discover the real Italy. Retired people that decide to settle in Italy would also benefit with Italian language skills.

So if you want to learn Italian, what's the best way to do it in the shortest possible time ? Everybody hates having to learn vocabulary and verbs and dull stuff like that so what's the best way to learn Italian ?

Learning grammar and vocabulary through rote or reading a dictionary is opposite to how we gained our native tongues. We learned them through repetition and primarily an honest desire to use the language.

If you have ever noticed how a baby learns a language then you will see this process in action. The baby listens to his mother early on. The words are repeated until he/she understands what is said. Pretty soon the baby wants to take part in the conversation (It may involve food or something that the baby has a desire to influence in some way). Indeed, the baby has a genuine desire to take part in the conversation.

At the start his/her grunts and mumbles may be unintelligible but eventually he/she will be able to say a few words. He/she will continue to hone these speaking skills by watching a listening to people around him.

Eventually he/she will be able to say a few simple sentences. At this stage, he/she probably knows all the basic elements needed to learn a language. From this stage on his/her speaking abilities will improve at a fast pace.

He/she will start using new words in simple sentences and get positive responses from the people around him/her. His/her confidence will soar and he/she will try more complicated sentences. His/her lifelong journey of learning his native language has started. And it will never stop. Everyone, despite how old or educated they might be is always learning new things about a language.

To duplicate this method when learning a second language, you want to learn through immersion. Immersion learning starts by going to a country where the language you are learning is the first language.

This may sound scary at first. You are going to a country where you don't speak the language, although you will probably have some simple words and understanding of the language. You will be doing a course in the country and learning the language as a child might learn his language.

You will have to listen to the language all day and night. If you want to speak, you will have to speak in that language. You will quickly develop a desire to communicate and this will force you to speak.

Learning a second language is never easy and you will feel a bit silly at times. However having a genuine desire to communicate should get you through. If you take classes in a Italian speaking country you will also have the support network to help you through these tricky times.

So I feel the best way to learn Italian is to go to a Italian speaking country. Take a course and then spend a bit of time there. this will really give you an opportunity to consolidate you skills and take them on further.