Unusual Question

I am a beginning student of Italian, but I am also a classically trained singer, which means that I have had to learn how to pronounce (with a pretty good accent) and spell Italian. Other than pronunciation of that pesky letter "c" I can speak pretty well if I go slow. I am finding the speaking and writing exercises unhelpful, perhaps because my brain is used to doing that without any knowledge of the meaning of the words. I am not retaining as much as I would like. Does anyone have any suggestions about how to improve memory retention in this context? Grazie!

Ciao Anne, I think that I have the worst memory in the world. I print out every lesson from the pdf symbol on the top of each lesson. it sits on the coffee table, i can take it to bed as last minute ready/practise and i can put it in my bag if i am going somewhere that entails me to sit around for periods of time. Usually I have a pen to scribble notes or write out words or sayings. I find this helpful, I feel like Im runny around in circles but when I've needed to use the language it was amazingly there somewhere in my memory. Hope any of these suggestions help. Buon fortuna :-) Fran

Ciao a voi . Everyone has got a different ways to memorize. In the course we have included a section called "advance learning techniques" which you can find in the "my toolbox" link located on the left side of the page. This section will give some great tips and technique to improve your learning. Good luck .

People have different ways they learn best. Some learn best through listening, some learn best through visual material and some learn best through applying action to the material. By applying combinations of these methods, you will hit the sweet spot for your learning.