I’ve never put real effort into trying to learn a second language, but I have an opportunity to travel to Italy next year so I need to start learning some basic Italian so I’m at least not a tourist who doesn’t know a lick of the local language.
I’m honestly looking for some advice on where to start
Start with basic common phrases for greetings (ciao, arrivederci),
thank you (Tante Grazie), please (per favors), excuse me (scusi), and „I want“.
Watch a movie or tv show you already know (by heart) in Italian with Italian subtitles. Or watch an Italian show with English subtitles. This will give you a better feeling for the language, how it’s pronounced, some basic vocabulary. Maybe lookup words or phrases you like or hear repeatedly. Expose yourself to the language. A great current show is Mussolini son of the century.
Also learn to read the language phonetically. So you can read and pronounce any written words. For most languages this is far easier than for English.
_ Italians love when people try to speak Italian. So find some Italians to chat with on the internet.
learn some fun phrases, jokes, idioms, and compliments: Un bon café italiano é negro come il diabolo, caldo come l’inferno, e dolce come l’amore.
I’ve never put real effort into trying to learn a second language, but I have an opportunity to travel to Italy next year so I need to start learning some basic Italian so I’m at least not a tourist who doesn’t know a lick of the local language.
I’m honestly looking for some advice on where to start
I like the concept of “spoonfed” cards which keep adding most common words for learning more and more. I couldn’t find an Italian deck, though.