How to improve your Italian speaking skills — grammar, vocabulary and confidence
Speaking well and without fear is the goal of almost everyone who starts learning a foreign language — and Italian is no exception. But how do you actually improve your Italian speaking skills in a concrete, lasting way?
There’s no universal recipe, but to speak Italian well you need at least three essential ingredients: grammar, vocabulary and confidence. Three separate elements — but deeply connected to each other.
Grammar as a tool to improve your Italian speaking skills? Sure!
There are usually two typical approaches to grammar. Some people hate it: they think it’s useless and want to start speaking immediately without worrying about rules. Others enjoy doing exercises and would happily do nothing else. Both approaches are understandable, but neither is particularly useful for improving your Italian speaking skills.
Ignoring grammar and relying purely on intuition only works if you’re surrounded by Italian all day and even then, something structural will always be missing. Focusing exclusively on grammar, on the other hand, means learning the rules well and being able to solve exercises, but then finding yourself stuck and uncomfortable in real situations.
The right approach, in my experience as a teacher, is a middle path. Learning grammar in a practical and functional way — grammar you can use immediately in concrete situations. Focusing on the verb tenses that matter most for speaking (presente, passato prossimo, imperfetto, futuro semplice) without spending too much time on forms that are less useful at the start. And above all, treating grammar as a tool, not a goal. Knowing it well and functionally is the key to building free, clear and precise sentences. That’s exactly what we practise in my Italian conversation classes online.
Vocabulary: speaking Italian with the right words
Knowing the grammar is useless if you don’t know the words you need to say what you want to communicate. But which words are the right ones? They’re not the same for everyone.
Italian textbooks for foreigners almost always start with school vocabulary. That makes sense for students learning in a traditional classroom setting. But my students are adults who study online in their free time. They don’t need school words. A while ago I ran an intensive course with a young footballer who was about to start a season with an Italian team, we focused on everyday vocabulary for living, and sports vocabulary for working. Nothing else.
So how do you learn the right vocabulary? Again, the key is a balanced approach. I’m a fan of podcasts — I record Salvatore racconta specifically for people learning Italian as a second language — and listening is definitely a natural way to pick up new words. But it’s often not enough on its own. At the same time, writing long word lists and trying to memorise them can be frustrating and ineffective.
The best approach is always to learn from context. Hear a new word in a film or podcast, make a note of it, and then try to use it in a written sentence or a real conversation. This way you learn actively, practically and concretely. Also, using new words straight away, even in simple sentences, will give you the confidence to speak Italian without fear.
Confidence
The third ingredient for improving your Italian speaking skills is confidence. This partly depends on personality and it isn’t always easy to change.
I’m a fairly shy person by nature, and the idea of making mistakes or speaking badly still makes me uncomfortable even though I’ve spent years learning to speak English and Polish. At the same time, I know that speaking in a foreign language is an act of openness and generosity towards other people. And that makes me feel good.
The good news is that everyone, from the shyest to the most extroverted, can build their confidence to speak Italian better. And the most effective way is to work on the two elements we’ve already discussed: grammar and vocabulary. If you know the grammar you need to speak, and you’ve learned to use the words that interest you, confidence follows more naturally.
You also need to get past the fear of making mistakes. When you speak Italian with people in real life, the important thing is to be understood. The people you meet in Italy aren’t your teachers — they won’t judge your mistakes, and they might not even notice them. And you shouldn’t be afraid of making mistakes in front of your teacher either. I have no patience for a culture of error, I always correct my students in a constructive way and try never to interrupt them. Because the ultimate goal is always to speak.
Want to work on your Italian grammar, vocabulary and confidence in a friendly, pressure-free environment? This is exactly what we do in my conversational Italian classes online.
Do you want to know more?
No commitment, let’s talk and let’s see if classes with me fit to you 🙂