Completion of course

Hi, I know everyone is different, but I would love to know ON AVERAGE how long it takes to complete the full Italian course, as if working as a full-time college student?   ie all categories not just conversation,

I have lived (alone so no talking at home) )in Italy for 4 years but my Italian although understandable, is but by NO means perfect.  My accent is great though!!!!  

My project for 2018 is to become as fluent as possible as quickly as possible!! 

Many thanks Team
Karen

Hi Karen,

I see that you wrote this post 4 months ago but I'm going to reply anyway! :)

I too have been in Italy for 4 years (I'm spotting a theme here ha ha!) and have learned Italian purely by listening and talking. In fairness It's got me a fairly long way and like you, I'm able to make myself understood and I understand pretty much everything that is said to me. That said, I have had no formal training and therefore my confidence in what i'm saying is pretty low. I'm terrified of arriving at the 5 year mark and still not being able to communicate fluently so here I am!!

I see nobody has responded and i suspect that is because it's an impossible question to answer.  It very much depends how much Italian you already know and how much you study every day. I've decided to start at the very beginning in case i've picked up any bad habits (I'm not sure if you've noticed but Italians are the first to admit that they don't always speak Italian very well!!) and have reached the middle of module 2 in only 2 days without dedicating much time which is probably much faster than someone who has never spoken or listened to Italian before in their lives! Our situation is probably very different to most other people here in that we're surrounded by the language and have a million opportunities to practice every day.

I'm curious how far you've got since you posted and have you are finding it?

Jo

Karen and Jolou,  I am envious of both of you because I live in the US and I NEVER get to hear Italians speaking nearly as often as you do!  I listen to the occasional  TV show or movie or radio station in Italian but what I do EVERY DAY is use Rocket Italian. I do all the tests in order and it really takes time but I feel I really get a foundation for the language. When I have gone to Italy, I can understand but not at the speed I'm sure you are adapted to living there.  I really enjoy these lessons and I am making progress but I can't help but think there is a happy medium between where you are and where i am!

Living here is a blessing and a curse as you pick up a lot of bad habits! For example, just about everyone where i live uses 'mi fa' in place of  'mi ha detto' for example " ho parlato con la mia sorrela  e lei mi fa........" instead of "ho parlato con la mia sorella e lei mi ha detto....." . I asked a colleague what the difference was between mi fa and mi ha detto and he basically shouted at me and told me NEVER EVER to use mi fa in this context as it was "Italiano sbagliatissimo" but it's sooooo hard not to use it when you hear it all day every day!! This is just one example but there are loads more I could give you! On the other hand  I get to speak it and hear it all day long (which is exhausting  sometimes believe it or not).

That said, living in a country is no guarantee that you will learn to speak the language. I learned the basics quickly as basically after 6 months of living here my husband (a chef) bought a restaurant and threw me in the dining room and I had no choice but to learn and fast!! The first year was the worst year of my life, I found it hard, exhausting and went home in tears nearly every day. Now i obviously find it easier but you'd be surprised how many expats live here and do not speak the language!!! I have customers that regularly tell me that they met so and so who has lived here longer than me and yet do not speak Italian as well which makes me feel better :) 

Not sure what a happy medium would be.....Perhaps looking on  meetup  to see if there is a meetup near you with native Italian speakers? if you live in a big city there will be one for sure....

I never spoke or even heard much Italian before I took this course. I did take French in school, a long time ago.  It took me about 6 months to complete Level 1 Italian. I am retired, and maybe it takes me a bit longer to remember everything, but I studied it nearly every day and repeated lessons many, many times.  I took every review at the end of each lesson, (say it, write it, know it, quiz, and flashcards). I also wrote every lesson out in English and Italian to help me remember the spellings, accent marks and word sequence. If I were still working, this would have taken me twice as long, so my answer is 6 mo to 1 year for a complete newbie, less for someone who already knows some Italian.  

My grandmother was Italian and lived with us  in Australia until I was 12 and although she spoke to me in Italian from time to time, in very accurate northern Italian, I never spoke back but understood much of it.  It was helpful when I was singing opera. Now nearing retirement I speak like a two year old - I point and name things. We are going to Tuscany in September  after no having been there since the late 70's so I'm on a mission to be confident to speak un poco and to continue learning into retirement.  I do about 5 lessons a week and with lots of revision it takes about 2 hours a day. I'm annoying my work mates with italian gems but it keeps my language ticking over. How lucky of you to live in Italy.

The only thing I would add is that apart from a specific job or relocation deadline for example, enjoy the journey! Italian is my fourth modern language, not including Latin, and the joy of deciphering the structure and vocabulary is part of the buzz. Everyone is different, plus, individual learning environments, motivation and processes will hugely influence how long it takes.