My struggles with learning a foreign language started way before I started taking Italian in high school. Both of my grandparents on my mom’s side are from Italy so naturally, they either speak Italian or broken English. It especially does not help that they speak colloquial dialects of Italian. However, I did not want a language barrier to be built around us and our relationship. I was also interested in learning more about Italy in general so I decided to take Italian in high school.
I truly enjoyed learning Italian in high school as it was very relaxed due to its focus on fundamental things such as greetings, vocabulary and conjugating verbs in the present tense. My sophomore year of Italian was a little more challenging as I had a different Italian teacher who really wanted to push us in terms of our Italian. I dreaded how strict of a grader my teacher was but, all of this changed when I turned in one of my writings. I received an extra point on it and so much encouragement from her to continue taking Italian. She was not the only reason that I took Italian but having that reassurance definitely helped me become a bit more confident in my writing abilities.
I then continued taking Italian throughout all four years of high school. I would very much like to say that everything was amazing; however, my pronunciation made little to no improvement. This is due to a number of reasons the first being that I absolutely dread speaking Italian to my family, especially the ones who currently live in Italy. During my freshmen year, my second cousins were visiting and they would constantly ask my sister and I to speak to them in Italian. The only thing I would say to them in Italian was “Ciao” because of how embarrassed I was with my pronunciation skills.
The second reason was that COVID happened right before my Italian class was going to start preparing for our oral final. After COVID my class had struggled adjusting to hybrid learning so my teacher did not put too much emphasis on our pronunciation skills. However, for one of my last Italian projects we had to present it in Italian to the class. This was extremely nerve-wracking for me as I was fully aware of my pronunciation was one of the worst. I managed to get through the presentation mispronouncing a handful of words yet I did not let this deter me from taking Italian.
Like many others, I took the foreign language placement test for Italian before I came to Kent. I finished my test in about six minutes and did extremely well on my own terms. With my score I had tested out of the first four Italian courses then I started contemplating having my minor be Italian. I wanted to do this for a few reasons the first being that I did not like the idea of no longer taking Italian. In a weird way, Italian had practically become a comforting language for me to learn. The other reason was that I wanted to study abroad and I thought that I would be better prepared if I knew a good amount of Italian before going.
In my opinion, continuing to learn Italian was one of the best decisions as Italian is one of my favorite classes that I attend every week. At first, it was a difficult adjustment as I was terrified that my pronunciation would now become a problem as my first day everyone was speaking Italian extremely well. This is what led me to not speak much during class as I would sit staring at the floor attempting to piece together a sentence in Italian that was grammatically correct. But after a while, I decide to not let that hold me back from speaking in class. I countered this by practicing my pronunciation with assignments that I thought my teacher may ask us to read out loud for. I also began asking questions in class as well as offering advice for when people would be stuck with certain concepts.
Another reason why it was a difficult adjustment for me was that everyone in my class knew each other from previous Italian classes that they took together. I will admit that I had this silly fear about everyone not liking me because I was the “new person.” But now being almost done with this class I will admit that they are some of the nicest people I have ever met. In addition to my professor being arguably the best Italian teacher I have ever had as she is very understanding of my pronunciation issues.
Now for some advice I have for people learning foreign languages. I recently discovered these Penguin Phrasebooks that contain common phrases and words for the foreign language that the book is targeted towards. The languages that are available for these books are French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. They are especially helpful for those struggling with pronunciation as they offer pronunciation guides.
People can struggle with foreign language learning in a variety of ways. If you are struggling with reading in a foreign language I would recommend reading more. Since reading also deals with comprehension I would also recommend listening to more things in the language that you are learning whether it be music, a podcast or watching things such as movies and TV shows. If you are struggling with pronunciation, like me, there are a few ways to combat it. First of all, you may not like this answer but you simply have to speak more in that language. If you are not comfortable speaking to another person in that language then just talk to yourself or read something out loud. If you are struggling with writing in a foreign language then try writing more by keeping a journal of sorts.
The most important thing is to have a good mindset while you are attempting to learn. Being aware that you are giving your best effort will help you assure yourself that you are doing fine. It is important to also acknowledge that you are taking the time and effort to learn a new language which in my mind is a task worthy of applause. So just remember that you got this!