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Italy Made Easy!
We're so glad you're here!
Do you dream of being able to speak Italian?
Have you tried every other Italian course, app and program out there but find that they fail you time and time again?
If you are not getting the results you want with your Italian by other means and have been left feeling disheartened and discouraged, then look no more.
Italy Made Easy is the solution you have been waiting for!
The Italy Made Easy Method
If you feel or have ever felt dejected after years of “failure” with learning Italian, let us first say this:
YOU ARE CAPABLE OF SPEAKING ITALIAN FLUENTLY!
What you need to know is that it wasn’t YOU that failed, it was the methods you used that FAILED YOU!
At Italy Made Easy we help you succeed where other courses and programs have failed you.
Other Italian learning methods focus too heavily on drilling in grammar rules (or ignore it altogether!) and memorizing set phrases.
While we do provide excellent lessons on grammar, our focus at Italy Made Easy is COMMUNICATION – actually learning how to speak Italian, to be understood and to understand Italian when you hear it spoken!
Every single piece of content and resource presented to you by Italy Made Easy has been carefully thought out and designed to be as useful as possible to you.
Why Do Other Methods Fail?
There are many reasons why other approaches to language learning fail you as a language learner. Some of them may seem very familiar to you. They might be the reason why you gave up on your Italian dreams in the past…
But rejoice!
The “Italy Made Easy Method” combines the best aspects of other methods, while removing what is pointless or harmful to your success!
TEACHING ITALIAN IN ITALIAN
This is a big one that we commonly see online! While some people argue that this is a great way to improve your listening and comprehension skills, the fact is that you shouldn’t be “practicing your listening skills” with information that you need to understand and learn.
This is a very inefficient way to learn a language as your brain will devote more resources to focus on understanding the words that are being said rather than absorbing the important information that you are supposed to be learning.
Moreover, if your Italian is already good enough to understand the explanation in Italian, then by logic you shouldn’t even need the explanation, right?
Using a “one-size-fits-all” approach to learning
As any linguist worth their salt will tell you, speakers of different languages have different needs, challenges and advantages when learning a new language.
Using a “one-size-fits-all” approach cannot possibly address your specific needs as an English speaker. Even if the course, app, or program is delivered in English, it doesn’t mean it is designed specifically for you.
Focusing too heavily on grammar
Let’s be honest- no one likes grammar. Don’t get us wrong though, grammar is a very important part of learning a language but it shouldn’t be the main focus.
Memorizing strict grammar rules and countless verb conjugation tables is enough to overwhelm anyone! Focusing too much on grammar takes away from the real goal of learning a language… actually SPEAKING it!
You are often on your own - alone
Whether you have tried to learn Italian online or in a classroom setting, the story is usually the same: You are just one number among many and don’t have the support or encouragement you need to excel in Italian.
This can lead a lot of students to lose motivation when they feel confused, lost or left behind, and sadly, they may just give up altogether. Your success in learning Italian should be the goal of any legitimate Italian course or app, but unfortunately, more often than not, it isn’t.
IGNORING GRAMMAR ALTOGETHER
While grammar should not be the focus of your learning journey, many methods totally ignore grammar, giving you no understanding of why something is done in a certain way. As adult, intelligent, curious learners, we are much better off knowing how a language works and the reasons why something is said in one way over another.
Grammar gives us a structure we can follow. Grammar gives us confidence.
The right amount of grammar, without the usual “fear factor” – typically students are punished for mistakes (what a silly concept!), will help you move faster.
Relying on memorization of vocabulary and set phrases
Apps and phrasebooks are major culprits for this. While many apps may be great for learning a ton of vocabulary, their use doesn’t really help you when you want to express yourself naturally and all you can say are random, isolated words!
Likewise, courses that get you to memorize set phrases may be OK to order a coffee or buy a train ticket, but in the real world, language is unpredictable and fluid, so the chances that someone will respond with the exact answer you memorized is not very high! And that's when the panic sets in!
No exposure to real,
authentic Italian
This one lets a lot of people down and is a common, unfortunate experience of many learners of Italian. Say you’ve been studying Italian for a while now, you’re feeling confident and excited about your upcoming trip to Italy, then you arrive and can’t wait to show off your apparent Italian skills.
What happens? With shock, you realise that you can’t understand or can barely follow anything that anyone is saying to you! They speak too fast! They have different accents! They use unfamiliar words! How utterly devastating…
Very few, if any, courses and programs actually expose their students to authentic, everyday spoken Italian, or at least nothing beyond snippets of single phrases or dictated passages – we think that’s crazy and makes no sense! If you’re really going to learn Italian successfully, you need to learn to understand the real language as it is spoken by everyday Italians.
Why is the Italy Made Easy Method So EFFECTIVE?
Italy Made Easy is specifically designed
FOR English speakers
All of the Italian content at Italy Made Easy is created with the English speaker in mind. We are a team of language experts with both Italian and English speaking backgrounds, so we understand exactly what challenges an English speaker may face when learning Italian.
Likewise, we know the similarities between the two languages and often incorporate Comparative Linguistics into our lessons to help you identify patterns, along with all the tips, tricks and “shortcuts” that you were never taught before.
We explain the important concepts in English
The most efficient way for you to learn new concepts about the Italian language is by learning about them in your native language – English!
Learning a new language is difficult enough, but when the explanations are in Italian, it makes it that much harder for you. We remove that extra hurdle for you and explain things using English in a way that helps you absorb the information much more easily and quickly.
We use a functional approach to grammar
While we strongly believe that “fluency” in a language is all about the ability to communicate in that language, we know that you still need to learn the grammar in order to speak Italian. The difference is that we teach Italian grammar in a very accessible and learner-friendly manner that will not overwhelm you or bore you at all. We approach grammar as a means of successfully organizing and communicating your thoughts in Italian. Our approach results in Italian grammar becoming second nature to you, rather than having to rely on arduous grammar drills.
We know that learning the grammar of a language isn’t about getting it right all the time. We don’t force you to do a million fill-in-the-blanks exercises so that you live in fear of making mistakes (like most academic approaches!). We teach Italian grammar like no other!
We teach you the right thing at the right time
When you begin learning a new language, it is completely normal to not know where to start. Then as you move on, it is even harder to know what you should be learning next.
Many courses actually rush ahead too quickly or focus too much on the less important details.
Italy Made Easy takes the guesswork out of the learning process, as each course is structured in the optimum way for you to learn the right thing at the right time, and get a ton of practice too.
Each lesson in our courses takes you deep into a specific topic and you always walk away knowing exactly how everything works. After each lesson, Manu gives you a ton of opportunities to test yourself and practice all the new things you’ve just learned. This way, you steadily feel more and more confident when speaking Italian so that you can progress and learn even more!
We give you the tools to express
your own thoughts
Learning a language is all about knowing how the words in a language are formed and how they combine with other words to create meaning. This is what we teach you.
You learn how Italian is structured and why it is structured in that way. When you have the building blocks of Italian at your disposal, you will finally be able to build your own sentences and express yourself as the unique individual that you are! None of those memorized pre-made phrases that never truly work in real life!
We expose you to real, authentic
Italian from the beginning
If you’re going to learn Italian, then you need to hear it and immerse yourself in it! Italy Made Easy members have access to an immense variety of invaluable Italian resources that focus on listening to authentic, naturally spoken Italian. For each listening-based resource you have targeted exercises that will help you vastly improve your Italian listening and comprehension skills.
YOU ARE NEVER ALONE
If you have never taken an online course before, then you might hesitate at the thought of learning Italian on your own. But with Italy Made Easy, you are never alone!
The experience of learning Italian with Manu is like having your very own private tutor, there with you, guiding you every step of the way.
What’s more, we have an exclusive members-only social network – Piazza Italia – where you can interact with the global Italy Made Easy community – people who all share the same interest, passion and love as you do for Italy and all things Italian. You can ask questions and share experiences or tips about any Italian-related topic as well as create connections and even friendships with fellow learners. It’s like one massive Italian classroom!
Not only that, but you will have direct access to our team of friendly native Italian experts who maintain an active presence on our platform. They are there to help you and answer any Italian or Italy-related question you may have.
All these reasons are why the Italy Made Easy Method does work and can work for you too! But don’t just take our word for it.
Thousands of elated students have shared their experience with us and their reviews are evidence of how the Italy Made Easy Method has helped them to finally make the progress they were yearning for and successfully guided them on their journey towards fluency in Italian.
mEET THE FOUNDER - MANU VENDITTI
Ciao, I’m Manu Venditti – the Founder of Italy Made Easy! Italy Made Easy is the online world I created to bring my beautiful language to students across the globe who love all things Italy, who want to learn to speak Italian and who dream of immersing themselves completely in the Italian culture.
Whether this is your first time studying Italian, or you’ve tried to learn in the past with other courses, apps or teachers to learn Italian with little not success, here’s why you can trust me, Manu, to take you to Italian fluency!
- I have over 25 years experience in teaching Italian
- I’m a highly experienced Linguist, who specializes in teaching Italian to English speakers (yes, because speakers of different languages have different needs, challenges and capabilities!)
- I’m a professionally trained translator, having worked in the industry for several years
- I created, coordinated and taught Italian language courses at the University of the Sunshine Coast (Australia) for 10 years
- I’m a polyglot (having achieved fluency in 3 languages, and dabbled in a few more)
- I am truly passionate about helping learners of Italian actually learn to COMMUNICATE in Italian
Our Mission and Core Values
We are here to help you.
Mission
Core Values
These are Italy Made Easy’s Core Values. We abide by these core values in everything we do – from dealing with you – the student, to other team members and when making decisions for Italy Made Easy, including in relation to the content we create for you.
1. EDUCATION GEARED TOWARDS COMMUNICATION
We strive to bring you the best Italian content and develop our courses in a way that always centered around the ultimate goal of speaking and understanding Italian. We want to teach you, as a native English speaker, what’s really useful and necessary to effectively communicate in Italian. That is at the heart of everything we do here at Italy Made Easy.
2. INTEGRITY, HONESTY, RESPECT, INCLUSIVENESS
We will always deal with our students and our team members with integrity and honesty and in a respectful manner in all communications and correspondence. Italy Made Easy welcomes all people and encourages cross-cultural communication, discovery and acceptance.
3. KIND, SUPPORTIVE & ENCOURAGING
We know that learning a language isn’t easy and that it can be very daunting. We want you to know that you are not in this journey alone! Our team is always available if you ever want to reach out. You will also be part of a kind, supportive and encouraging community of fellow students and we strive to foster this culture in every part of Italy Made Easy.
4. PERSONABLE & RELATABLE
We are a small, down-to-earth, passionate team, not a huge multi-national company. So you know that you are always talking to a real person. We all have names and faces that you will probably come to recognize. Most importantly, we don’t treat any of our students or community as just another number – each one of you is important to us and your individual success matters to us!
5. FINDING SOLUTIONS, COURSES AND SERVICES THAT MATCH A STUDENT'S LEVEL & INTEREST
As stated, our top priority at Italy Made Easy is your success with the Italian language. That’s why we will always do our utmost best to find and create the best solution for you based on your specific needs, interests and level.
