Italians speak too fast? Here’s why it feels that way and what actually helps.
Do Italians speak too fast? I’ve heard this complaint many, many times from people who study Italian with me. And the answer is: yes and no.
The truth is that I felt the same way at high school, when I tried to watch English TV series and films. Everyone seemed to speak too fast.
Many people learning Spanish feel the same about Spanish speakers. And Cameroonian, Finnish, Bolivian or Filipino native speakers probably all sound too fast to a foreign ear as well. The point is this: when we don’t know a language well enough, it’s completely normal for the pace of native speakers to feel overwhelming. So yes — from the perspective of someone learning Italian, Italians do speak too fast.
Why Italians seem to speak too fast: the real reason.
Let me start from a personal experience — not as a teacher this time, and not as a language learner either. But as someone who started learning to play the banjo at the age of 30.
I love the banjo. I love its cheerful, bright sound, and I love listening to the great masters play it at extraordinary speed. Obviously, playing at that speed was — and still is — impossible for me. Do you know what my banjo teacher told me, quoting the legendary Earl Scruggs? To learn to play fast, you must first learn to play well slowly.
And what does that have to do with a foreign language? To understand Italians when they speak fast, it’s better to first learn to listen when they speak slowly.
I’ve been teaching Italian to foreign learners for over ten years now, and I’ve developed an almost unconscious filter. When I’m in a lesson with my students, I slow down my pace and articulate my words more clearly than I would with my brother, my parents or my friends. I also pay attention to the vocabulary I use — but speed is the first consideration. I know how frustrating it is not to understand someone because they’re speaking too fast, and I want to avoid causing that feeling.
At the same time, speaking slowly doesn’t mean speaking unnaturally — the way some old Italian textbook dialogues used to sound. You can speak clearly and carefully at a reduced pace, giving the listener’s ears and brain the time they need to adjust. And then, step by step, the speed can increase.
How to train your ear: the banjo lesson and slowing things down.
What about outside lessons? Today, every multimedia platform — from Spotify to YouTube to RaiPlay — allows you to change the playback speed. You can speed things up when you’re in a hurry, but you can also slow them down and listen at 0.75x or even 0.50x. It’s a genuinely useful technique.
Goran and Jessica, a couple of my students from the Netherlands, do this regularly and with good results. They watch Italian films and series this way to train their listening in a relaxed, low-pressure way. They say it helps them understand more while still actually enjoying the film. A double win.
So yes — Italians may speak too fast, but this is the completely normal experience of learning a new language. The important thing is not to surrender to frustration, but to practice with patience: in lessons with a supportive approach, and then also with slowed-down content to build your ear gradually.
In my Italian courses — for beginners, intermediates and advanced learners, individual and group — my approach is always to help people feel comfortable when they speak Italian. And that means speaking slowly when it’s needed.
If you like my approach, take a look at the courses page to get started and then maybe we can have a short introductory call, 30 minutes at most. In Italian if you feel up to it, or in English, or even in Polish. We can talk about your goals, your level, your needs and wishes — and then, if it feels right, about schedule and costs too. If you’d like to, we could even start a course together almost immediately. And if I don’t convince you — no hard feelings.