Ciao a tutti Sono departe a sydney a roma pio palermo per ventisei giorno. Sono molti eccitata (excited). Spero imparare abbastanza italiana. non c'è italiano parole per woohoo!!!! Fran

Ciao Fra, are you going to Italy soon or have you already departed? If you haven't left yet, you will need to use the future tense so the sentence will be : Partirò da Sydney per andare a Roma e poi Palermo per ventisei giorni. Sono molto eccitata. Spero di imparare l'italiano. In italiano c'è una parola per "woohoo"? If you have already left you will use the present perfect tense so the sentence will be: Sono partita da Sydney per andare a Roma e poi Palermo per ventisei giorni. Sono molto eccitata. Spero di imparare l'italiano. In italiano c'è una parola per "woohoo"? Congratulations Fran so you will see you family in Sicily !!! There is no translation for "woohoo" but knowing that you are very happy about it, I'd translated as "evviva" or 'urrà" (which will be as English "hurray"). Well, "BUONE VACANZE" ...enjoy your holidays:) Ciao

I am leaving Rome after a week, and it has been an absolute dream! I have only been working in Rocket Italian for six weeks prior to flying to Rome, and yet I was able to converse in Italian on a number of occasions. Besides the one time when I ordered soccer for dinner ("calcio" instead of their "ciccio" special) and got a strange look from the waiter, the only problem I have had is when people think I speak and understand Italian fluently. Brava, Maria, and thank you! I plan on pursuing Rocket Italian until I get fluent -- and then maybe jump over to Rocket German later!

Ciao Edoardo, I'm very pleased to hear that you had a great time on holiday and that you had the chance to speak Italian. Congratulations!!!! I guess the mistake to confuse "calcio" with "ciccio" still makes you smile :) Please remember that Rocket Italian course has been developed into three different levels: Premium (beginners), Premium Plus (intermediate) and Platinum (advance). Once you have completed your Premium course, you can jump into the next level. Thanks again for your feedback and BUON DIVERTIMENTO with Rocket Italian. Ciao

Well I'm back. My husband calls it an "experience", he didn't fully appreciate the sicillian hospitality, especially family that you've never met.... :-) For me, my nerves got the better of me and I froze for the first couple of days (I felt a certain amount of expectation and just got overwelmed) Thing is, I was understanding them talking about me :-). I also had children of family, friends and partners that spoke a bit of english. They saw me as an opportunity to practise. But when left on our own and the nurves calmed down I started speak. Not alot but enough and they soon realised that I was actually understanding them all this time. You could imagine their shock. I surprised myself at how much I was remembering, but soon realised where I have gone wrong in my studies. I listened alot to my lessons, even read alot, but when it come to pronounciation I struggled. I didn't do enough, I wasn't speaking out loud. I knew what I wanted to say, I could see the words in my mind, even hear them in my head, but saying them was challenging. And sentences, I realises i spent so much time wanting to know why a sentence/the italian grammer was expressed a certain way when maybe I should have just simply accepted it. Anyway, I come home with new vigor. Starting again, this time doing it right. So be prepare to hear more from me. Fran PS I absolutely love sicily, it is truely beautiful

Ciao Fran, I'm glad to hear that you liked Sicily :) For you it was the first approach to the language in the native country. I think the fact that you were able to understand your Sicialian family is a very good result. At the beginning it's normal that you find difficulty in the pronunciation. Learning a language is a slow process. I think you did very well and I'm very proud of you. Keep practising with your Rocket Italian and I'm sure you will notice an improvements in a short time. Have fun ! Ciao

I am a newbie in rocket Italian but I've started with a different program. I was advised to watch Italian tv so as to familiarize with the language. I keep on looking for a certain pattern in constructing sense but I think i' m having a hard time :) will you recommend watching tv or rather practicing alone will do? Grazie mile.

Hi Francis, I have been doing rocket for about 6 month (a slow learner) and I too watched RAI, italian tv. I found it good to pick up words and hear other voices, I didn't pick up any patterns. honestly I've learnt mostly from listening to the rocket over and over. Have a break from the TV and go back to it in a few weeks. That's when you will notice the difference. That's my experience anyway. You'll be surprised at how much you'll pick up. Fran :-)

Ciao Francis, ilstening to radio or watching is a good way to get used to listen a language. At the beginning it could seem very hard as your vocabulary is probably not enough to be able to understand the dialog. But you will notice that after you have practised with Rocket Italian for a while, you will get more familiiar with the language and understanding Italian programs will be easier. RAI, national Italian TV, offers a lot of good programs. Buon divertimento (have fun) con Rocket Italian. Ciao

Is there an Italian radio station online that I can listen to? I've been searching for a long time and I can't find one. Can someone help?

Hi Michael, Come sta? I just googled "italian radio podcast" and am now listening to "radio italia". Also itunes also has them for podcast. Hope that helps Fran

Grazie!

Ciao a tutti, there are couple of radio tht I like. Radio Italia is one of them. There are also "Radio Rai" and "Radio Capital" for the latest news and cultural programs and for the young crowd "Radio Dj" and "105". Buon ascolto :) Ciao

Grazie Maria. Vado a Roma in settembre per studiare nell' universita Gregoriana. Sono nuovo qui nel rocket italian. Quali sono le cose che devo aspettare nell'universita? C'e un orientamento sul linguaggio Chiesa? Ciao a tutti!

I started Rocket Italian a few months ago and so far I'm making some progress with the language. I'm trying to convince my parents to go to Italy next April and so far they seem to like the idea :) I'm really working hard to learn more and more everyday so that by the time we go, I'll be ready to converse with the native Italians. Can't wait! Grazie Maria! :)

Ciao Francis, congratulazioni per la tua nuova esperienza all'Università Gregoriana. Purtroppo nel corso Rocket Italian Premium non abbiamo trattato vocaboli sulla religione. Se hai bisogno di aiuto, mandami un messaggio sul forum e sarò felice di darti una mano. Ciao

Ciao Ally, that's a great idea! April is a lovely period to go to Italy. It's good for you as well because you will have time to study and practise before to speak with locals. Buon divertimento :)

I am thinking about going to the Foreigners University in Perugia next December to immerse myself in an Italian environment. I don't hear Italian where I live so think living for a month where I mostly hear Italian will help my speaking a lot. Do you have any advice for me about preparing myself for this adventure?

I plan to do the same thing. I am just starting to reserve plans to go to a language school in Sicily, immerse myself in the local culture. I am very excited.

Ciao a tutti, unfortuntately I can't advise you about a specific school. I definitely think spending some time (as an holiday) in the country will improve your Italian much quicker. I would avoid organized tours as most of the time English is the language spoken. A good idea would be staying in one small city and get familiar with locals. This will give the possiblity to practise the language every day. Sicily as well as Umbria are both beautiful regions so I'm sure you will enjoy. I hope this help. Ciao

ciao maria, is there any kids show on the italian tv that easy for learning. that is how i learn my english as well. on my computer i can only find rai uno. and thats sport. ellen

Ciao Ellen, on a private channel called skype tv you can watch "dora l'esploratrice" (Dora the explorer). This animation program teaches also kids first basic English words. I'd also recommend to read book for kids in which basic voabulary is used. Rai Uno is a one of the governement channels (RAI TV) which I personally like very much. Here the link: http://www.rai.tv/dl/RaiTV/homeTv.html Please let me know if you need more information. Ciao

Ciao Maria I have two questions. In Premium Plus 9.5 Conditional Present Part 1 Attivita Q4 Why is the answer piacherebbe instead of piacherei? i.e I would like to go to the theatre sometime. 2. The words potesse as in Carla dormirebbe tutto il giorno, se potesse and the word fossi. Danni

hi, so cool here, very, very cool, like it:)) I want to go to Rome in the summer and....learning, now:))

Ciao Danni, the verb "piacere" has got an unusual conjugation. Do you remember the present? You don't say "io piace" but "mi piace" (it likes me) In the same way you won't say "io piacherei" but " a me piacerebbe". It's actually very easy to conjugate: mi /a me piacerebbe ti/a te piacerebbe a lei/lui piacerebbe ci/a noi piacerebbe vi/a voi piacerebbe a loro piacerebbe I've asked to replace the sentence from quiz area as it could create a bit of confusion. "Potesse" and "fossi" are the subjunctive mood of the verb "piacere" and "essere". Have fun ! Ciao

Hi my dear teacher maria: Im saba from iran.im 16.i decided to learn ltalian when i heard an ltalian song.lt was senza riserva by annalisa.i love this song so i searched about learning italian n i found ur website.its amazing n very helpful.grazie maria

Ciao Saba I'm very pleased to know that you like our website. On it you can find alll the information about the course. Rocket Italian Premium is the first of the 3 levels. ciao

Ciao a tutti! My husband and I are planning a large trip around Europe to visit Italy, France, London, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. We are hoping to go Summer 2014, when we are both out of school for good. I am most excited about visiting Italy, which is why I chose to learn Italian and my husband is going to begin learning French with the Rocket program. I have been using this program for about 2 weeks now and I have enjoyed learning the language. Some parts are difficult, but the only thing that I really wish I had was someone else to talk with. I feel like I am learning the language in my head, but I just need to be able to hear it and speak it more. Anyways, my question is, because we will be traveling to many different places, are there any areas that are MUST SEE places in Italy that we just can't pass up? Grazie!

Hi Mariah! I wouldn't miss Venice, but having said that, don't limit yourselves by running about seeing 'sights'. You will experience the real Italy by traveling to small towns and villages (and staying in B&Bs instead of hotels) where you become involved in the local way of life. If you want to practice your Italian you will have many more opportunities to do this where fewer people speak English and where they aren't too busy to chat. For example: One of the highlights of a recent week in Umbria was getting involved in a conversation with a man about his home town which has the third largest dome in the country. By chance, I had read something about it, and he was delighted when I knew that only Rome and Florence had larger domes. You don't need to be able to speak in complete sentences or to be grammatically correct to chat with someone. When you're engrossed in a conversation you tend to forget yourself, you understand words in context and are able to communicate because of your enthusiasm for the subject..

Ciao a tutti! this is a very tricky question as I think it's a very personal choice. It really depends on how much time you have got and what your interests are. Most of the tourists choose Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples only because they don't have much time and they try to see as much as they can. If you love art, Rome, Florence or Venice will be a must for me. About the speaking factor, I agree with Ian when he says that in the big cities English is commonly spoken especially in hotels and restaurants. So if you want to have a bit of adventure in that, you may need to go to the countryside. As I said, I think it's all about the time . If you have 2/3 weeks you may do Rome, Venice and may go for a drive around Tuscany or Umbria so you can have a combination of type of holiday. If you don't have much time, I think it's better if you pick an area or couple of cities. Try to spend some time in each place instead that rushing. Please let me know if you need more info. Enjoy the course !!! Ciao

Ciao Mariah, I agree with all the above. For me it's Sicilia, what a most beautiful Island. I am currently here in Trapani, and yes I havnt had to use my Italian much. But besides the beautiful town there are the awesome Islands just off the coast, one where we hired a scooter and explored the place before going for a swim. Then theres Taormina, Cefelu, Mt Etna, in these places you get to use bit of your Italian. Personally I just love this place. But then there is the Amalfi Coast close to Napoli. Lake Como where Italy meets Switzerland, magical. Rome, Venice....... Too many places. For me it's the landscapes, the ancients towns, buildings. My husband calls it "the living art" Enjoy your research :-) Fran

Ciao a tutti!! Thanks so much for all your advice!! We are definately still researching everything and we still have a bit to plan anyways. Thanks! =) Ciao!

<p><br>Buon divertimento :)</p>