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Language Hacking Italian: Learn How to Speak Italian - Right Away
It's true that some people spend years studying Italian before they finally get around to speaking the language. But here's a better idea. Skip the years of study and jump right to the speaking part. Sound crazy? No, it's language hacking.
Unlike most traditional language courses that try to teach you the rules of Italian, #LanguageHacking shows you how to learn and speak Italian through proven memory techniques, unconventional shortcuts and conversation strategies perfected by one of the world's greatest language learners, Benny Lewis, aka the Irish Polyglot.
Using the language hacks -shortcuts that make learning simple - that Benny mastered while learning his 11 languages and his 'speak from the start' method, you will crack the language code and exponentially increase your language abilities so that you can get fluent faster.
It's not magic. It's not a language gene. It's not something only "other people" can do. It's about being smart with how you learn, learning what's indispensable, skipping what's not, and using what you've learned to have real conversations in Italian from day one.
The Method
#LanguageHacking takes a modern approach to language learning, blending the power of online social collaboration with traditional methods. It focuses on the conversations that learners need to master right away, rather than presenting language in order of difficulty like most courses. This means that you can have conversations immediately, not after years of study.
Each of the 10 units culminates with a speaking 'mission' that prepares you to use the language you've learned to talk about yourself. Through the language hacker online learner community, you can share your personalized speaking 'missions' with other learners - getting and giving feedback and extending your learning beyond the pages of the book . You don't need to go abroad to learn a language any more.
Unlike most traditional language courses that try to teach you the rules of Italian, #LanguageHacking shows you how to learn and speak Italian through proven memory techniques, unconventional shortcuts and conversation strategies perfected by one of the world's greatest language learners, Benny Lewis, aka the Irish Polyglot.
Using the language hacks -shortcuts that make learning simple - that Benny mastered while learning his 11 languages and his 'speak from the start' method, you will crack the language code and exponentially increase your language abilities so that you can get fluent faster.
It's not magic. It's not a language gene. It's not something only "other people" can do. It's about being smart with how you learn, learning what's indispensable, skipping what's not, and using what you've learned to have real conversations in Italian from day one.
The Method
#LanguageHacking takes a modern approach to language learning, blending the power of online social collaboration with traditional methods. It focuses on the conversations that learners need to master right away, rather than presenting language in order of difficulty like most courses. This means that you can have conversations immediately, not after years of study.
Each of the 10 units culminates with a speaking 'mission' that prepares you to use the language you've learned to talk about yourself. Through the language hacker online learner community, you can share your personalized speaking 'missions' with other learners - getting and giving feedback and extending your learning beyond the pages of the book . You don't need to go abroad to learn a language any more.
238 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2016
9 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
About the author
Benny Lewis
18 books358 followersBenny Lewis is a digital nomad and founder of the largest language learning blog in the world, www.fluentin3months.com. He is a world traveller and after travelling non-stop for 21 years, on the road to this day with everything he owns travelling with him.
His internationally best-selling book Fluent in 3 Months, published by HarperCollins, discusses how adults can learn any language from anywhere at any age. He is a polyglot who speaks over a dozen languages (7 of which are at a fluent level or higher), though he could only speak English when he started his travels at age 21.
He has also published multiple language courses with John Murray learning.
As a result of his travels and his focus on integrating himself into local cultures through language, Benny was named National Geographic’s Traveler of the Year in 2013.
His internationally best-selling book Fluent in 3 Months, published by HarperCollins, discusses how adults can learn any language from anywhere at any age. He is a polyglot who speaks over a dozen languages (7 of which are at a fluent level or higher), though he could only speak English when he started his travels at age 21.
He has also published multiple language courses with John Murray learning.
As a result of his travels and his focus on integrating himself into local cultures through language, Benny was named National Geographic’s Traveler of the Year in 2013.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 8, 2016
This course is truly a breath of fresh air. I have studied Italian for a couple of years and I've had the privilege to travel to Italy more than once, but my confidence in speaking the language has always been very low. Not any more!
Benny Lewis and Teach Yourself have unlocked the secret to learning to actually speak another language. The course takes you beyond just academically learning the language and gets you to start speaking right away from the very first lesson. The course is laid out in a fun and easy way, with little handwritten "hacks" in the margins to help you along. I find that being encouraged to build sentences and phrases that are "me-specific" is a game-changer. While many other courses are teaching beginners to say they see a big red house (not very useful in everyday conversation), the Language Hacking course is teaching you to speak about yourself, where you're from, and your likes and interests (much more relevant conversation material). And, since what you are learning is about you and what's important to you, you can't help but remember the new words and phrases.
Another game-changer is the online community that you are encouraged to join. There is a special section on italki just for language hackers. I have had the privilege to demo this course before the general public, and it has been amazing. We were encouraged to make videos of ourselves speaking our target languages and then to post them to the community. These mission videos have been a blast. They hold you accountable to use the phrases and "me-specific " scripts you have been learning. I love that Benny encourages you to make mistakes. He dispels the myth that you need to have perfect command of a new language before you can speak it. The mission on Tarzan speak is especially funny and highly useful in everyday conversation. The italki community will mirror this experience.
If you are thinking about learning another language because you actually want to SPEAK another language, for travel, for work, or just because you're a language geek like me, THIS is the course for you.
Grazie mille Benny e Teach Yourself!!!
Benny Lewis and Teach Yourself have unlocked the secret to learning to actually speak another language. The course takes you beyond just academically learning the language and gets you to start speaking right away from the very first lesson. The course is laid out in a fun and easy way, with little handwritten "hacks" in the margins to help you along. I find that being encouraged to build sentences and phrases that are "me-specific" is a game-changer. While many other courses are teaching beginners to say they see a big red house (not very useful in everyday conversation), the Language Hacking course is teaching you to speak about yourself, where you're from, and your likes and interests (much more relevant conversation material). And, since what you are learning is about you and what's important to you, you can't help but remember the new words and phrases.
Another game-changer is the online community that you are encouraged to join. There is a special section on italki just for language hackers. I have had the privilege to demo this course before the general public, and it has been amazing. We were encouraged to make videos of ourselves speaking our target languages and then to post them to the community. These mission videos have been a blast. They hold you accountable to use the phrases and "me-specific " scripts you have been learning. I love that Benny encourages you to make mistakes. He dispels the myth that you need to have perfect command of a new language before you can speak it. The mission on Tarzan speak is especially funny and highly useful in everyday conversation. The italki community will mirror this experience.
If you are thinking about learning another language because you actually want to SPEAK another language, for travel, for work, or just because you're a language geek like me, THIS is the course for you.
Grazie mille Benny e Teach Yourself!!!
November 5, 2021
Looking at the other reviews on here, and I'm clearly in the minority: Hill's book is well organized, useful, and probably decent for beginners. I picked it up as I wanted to dive back deeper into learning/practicing Italian, and I'm disappointed to say it's the least effective method I have. In fact, I found myself more than once questioning if it were teaching the language correctly, or just quickly.
However, it also promotes a style I'm not sure I agree with: teaching broken Italian and skimming over details for the sake of being able to speak it. Maybe later volumes go into more details, but this one misses the future tense entirely, is grammatically over-reliant (incorrectly so) on "di" as the Italian preposition of choice, and teaches conjugations in a seemingly random order (this is to say nothing of over-reliance upon cognates, ignoring the subjunctive entirely which is a huge part of Italian, and syntax). I suspect that's by design, but anyone looking to learn Italian from this should ask themselves if they'd rather quickly learn a broken way to speak the language, or more slowly learn the correct way to speak it.
With this book, I do think a beginner would be able to hold their own in a very on-rails conversation that doesn't deviate from the basic phrases learned, but I cannot imagine that actually holding a conversation, shifting verb tenses, and understanding grammar/composition would be anywhere near functional for even a simple Italian conversation.
In which case: what's the point?
However, it also promotes a style I'm not sure I agree with: teaching broken Italian and skimming over details for the sake of being able to speak it. Maybe later volumes go into more details, but this one misses the future tense entirely, is grammatically over-reliant (incorrectly so) on "di" as the Italian preposition of choice, and teaches conjugations in a seemingly random order (this is to say nothing of over-reliance upon cognates, ignoring the subjunctive entirely which is a huge part of Italian, and syntax). I suspect that's by design, but anyone looking to learn Italian from this should ask themselves if they'd rather quickly learn a broken way to speak the language, or more slowly learn the correct way to speak it.
With this book, I do think a beginner would be able to hold their own in a very on-rails conversation that doesn't deviate from the basic phrases learned, but I cannot imagine that actually holding a conversation, shifting verb tenses, and understanding grammar/composition would be anywhere near functional for even a simple Italian conversation.
In which case: what's the point?
June 19, 2020
This series of books has been great lockdown reading. I studied Italian for a year a few years back and it was pleasing to find that I haven't forgotten everything. In conjunction with the audio available free on-line, this is very clear and easy to use.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews