You’ll be surprised at how much you can improve when you give yourself permission to explore the language using your imagination… and my creative exercises!
I’m here to help you become an independent Italian learner who is bravely discovering how soothing it is to learn Italian through creativity.
Before being a teacher I am a language learner.
I know your struggles.
I know what it means when you want to be able to speak so much that it paralyzes you.
How bad is it when you can’t find the words, but you know that you know them.
I’ve been there so many times. And I’ve felt a failure so many times.
Add being painfully shy to the mix and there you have it: an aspiring foreign languages speaker who cannot speak.
Now I know that I was too demanding and didn’t give myself the time I needed to become more confident. And I suppose you are making the same mistake: we want it all, right here, right now.
But language learning doesn’t work like this.
As a friend once told me: Italian is a soul food.
So why would you want to eat it standing or while running to do something else? Sit down, savour every bite.
Whether or not your life is busy, learning Italian does not come up first in your list. Maybe not even in the top 5. Most likely, it’s the last thing to check in your planner. Not because you don’t care about it, but it really isn’t a top priority. I get it. Actually, it doesn’t have to be a priority at all.
You know what I think it should be? A reward.
Too often we relegate the things that make us happy to the end of the day or the week. Which is also the time when we are too tired, both physically and mentally, to really enjoy them and to make them meaningful.
So make Italian your reward for getting through the day or the week. Don’t put it in your To-Do list. It’s not just another thing that you “have” to do, it’s the reward for doing those things.
When it comes to language learning, our mindset plays such an important role: soul food vs. fast food, to-do vs. reward. Can you already feel the change?
I have designed Italearn to be that place where you go to get your reward.
This is a place where you can truly feel at home: no judgement, no stress, no comparison, yes imagination, yes experimentation, yes laughing.
This is a place where you can take all the time you need. I have always loved my tagline: learn Italian at your own pace. It’s important that you listen to yourself and find your rhythm.
Did I tell you I’m a serial procrastinator and my bedroom is messy?
The hardest part of accepting this side of me is that I L.O.V.E. to be organized. Luckily, when these two opposite forces clash, organization wins. This means that you are lucky too, because all of my materials and courses are lovingly structured A-Z, meaning: all the information is presented in a simple and logical way, which saves you a lot of “what the … is she talking about?” I love clarity and I love to KISS=keeping it straight (or short) and simple.
What happens when all the basic stuff (like grammar) is handled easily? You can finally let your creativity take the center stage. That’s my favorite way of teaching and learning Italian.
Students who take my Creative Italian Classes always tell me:
My students also told me that they try to do all by themselves so I started writing stories and turned them into self-study learning materials. You can find them here:
And if you prefer to have a guide, I got you covered. Actually, I got you. Yes, that’s the name of my 1:1 programs. They are not the usual 1:1 lessons! You can find them here.
As you know by now, I strongly believe in learning Italian creatively at your own pace.
I have written a short story — more like a micro story, and I have created 5 activities that will provide you with all you need to understand the story, learn new words, write your own story, and frame a wonderful collage that you’ll make.
You don’t need to be an artist to do all this, just give it a try and let me know how it goes!
First things first: my bedroom is not always messy. Most of the time I “creatively arrange” things outside of drawers and closets. I don’t see anything wrong with that, do you?
My name is Silvia Perrone, I’m Italian and I currently live in Tuscany (but don’t be envious, sometimes it rains here too). I created italearn.com in 2015 after a major life change and since then, I haven’t looked back. I have a degree in Conference Interpreting and Translation, because did I tell you I love languages? So far I have studied English, German,
French, Spanish — which doesn’t mean I can still speak all of them!
Food is my soulmate. But not cheese. Even passing in front of the cheese department at the supermarket makes me cringe. I have also stopped eating animals. The rest of the food? Give it to me! Especially pizza & pasta. I know, I’m such a cliché.
The beach is my special place. Not when it’s crowded. Have you ever been to the Tuscan coast? The smell of fresh pine needles, the cicadas, the long walks to get to the beach. It wakes up all your senses.