by Serena | Aug 27, 2025 | learning tips
When you first start to learn Italian, progress feels fast. You pick up greetings, order food in Rome, and master the basics of grammar. But once you reach the intermediate level, the journey often slows down. Stitching sentences together still takes effort....
by Serena | Aug 22, 2025 | learning tips, Italian short stories
The intermediate plateau is real: you understand a lot, but you feel stuck, and textbooks start to feel boring. In my experience, short stories are the best way out. Over the years I’ve tested dozens of Italian short stories with my students, and the titles...
by Serena | Aug 16, 2025 | learning tips
Did you know that reading in your first language accounts for around 70% of your vocabulary? The same idea applies to learning Italian: reading in Italian is one of the fastest and most natural ways to expand your vocabulary. Reading helps you activate your...
by Serena | Aug 14, 2025 | learning tips, Italian short stories
I’ve been learning and teaching languages for over a decade. I speak several, I write short stories in simple Italian, I publish Piazzetta Italiana (a magazine about Italian life, in easy Italian) and I run the blog you’re reading right now. After all...
by Serena | Jun 8, 2025 | learning tips
Learning a foreign language has never been easy. We’re surrounded by Italian content: YouTube videos, podcasts, books, blogs, Instagram accounts, even AI tools. But here’s the real question: how much of it actually sticks in your long-term memory? How many...
by Serena | Jun 2, 2025 | learning tips
Teacher’s tip: at A1 and A2, a good textbook gives your Italian structure. On its own, though, it’s not enough. What works best with my students is a mix: a textbook, some grammar practice and an easy reader. Reading is where everything you studied in...
