I Spent Five Months Learning Italian, and I got kinda fluent!

It's over! Five months of learning Italian and trying to become fluent. I had such an incredible experience learning this beautiful language and meeting so many brilliant people along the way.
Next, I'm going back to Italy to keep working on my skills and keep putting out language learning videos. Let me know what you want to see by leaving me a message in the comments!
---
More from me
/ tomcrewther
/ tomcrewther
--
Audiobooks!
I talk a lot in my videos about listening along to an audiobook when you're reading in order to get better at languages (for me it's usually Harry Potter...)
Audible is a great service, and if you're interested in trying them out then you can get a free trial here - goo.gl/8DrzG4.
It really helps me out if you use this link :)
---
My Kit (for camera nerds)
Big camera - amzn.to/2HxOSW3
Little camera - amzn.to/2o9YxKv
24mm lens - amzn.to/2ocXt8O
50mm lens - amzn.to/2HwX0WH
Microphone - amzn.to/2FfJo1l
Big tripod - amzn.to/2HwXSKX
Little tripod - amzn.to/2FeSGe0
Tiny tripod - amzn.to/2HvbvdL
Phone stabiliser - amzn.to/2obUeOy
Drone - amzn.to/2HuL4F9

[@youngnope4664]

Listening is reading with your ears lmao.Seriously,Tom, good job and thank you for sharing the experience with us.

[@medeeannexo]

This is the first video I’ve seen of yours and I must say, I loved the editing style! Also, as a fellow language learner, I loved this 👏🏾

[@TomCopeland]

Thanks!

[@ElGringoSam]

A couple of fun series ideas you can upload while in Italy would be interviewing locals over a variety of Italian subjects, or analyzing the spoken English of Italian celebrities!

[@TomCopeland]

I love that idea! Would be a really fun way to get me out there speaking Italian too!

[@femmeNikita27]

Good choice! ;-) I do love both Italian and Spanish. Funny thing You say there are so many rules in English. I'm helping native speakers of Polish who always complain that they feel like there are no clear rules of English, merely guidelines. What yes, for a monolingual native speaker of a Slavic language can be true (not a monolingual one myself, I had no idea people may have so strange issues with English. I should keep a record of them since I would never come up with some of them myself). I also find it interesting that You may have some issues with structure of conditional sentences, since due to cramming Eglish grammar once again in my life it has finally fallen into place for me and I see in relation to English how logical it is (let's face it- subjunctive mode works pretty much the same way in all romance languages, that's how I see it now. So smart I've got now since high school times when I had no clue what subjoncitf is all about). But maybe because I'm a "grammar girl". All in all, good luck with Your journey and keep learning Italian. Should You ever consider mixed tandem trading ssome spoken English (not for me, but for someone I teach) for some help with Italian, let me know. Same if You should look for "let's support" this journey ideas or simply for useful resources to learn Italian from. Since I do have some ;-). take care. Nice channel.

[@ApprendreLangues]

Awesome work, Tom! Thanks for sharing these videos. Hopefully it helps more people catch the 'language learning bug'! #learningitalian !

[@bridoshea9745]

Thank you for sharing your Italian learning experience. Your videos were excellent and informative. I watched all of them. Congratulations on learning Italian and for living in Italy.

[@ITALIamo]

Sto guardando i tuoi video "di nascosto" da giorni: in bocca al lupo per i tuoi progetti futuri! Mi fa piacere sapere che ci sono persone così appassionate per la lingua italiana ;) (Ti scrivo in italiano così fai un po' di pratica :P)

[@mariageo199]

I just love checking on your channel from time to time! Your videos are very inspiring and your style is awesome. Keep up the good work! :)

[@falcasantos]

More Tom on KZbin sounds good to me! What will you do about your other languages? I'd be really keen to see some videos where you talk a bit about contemporary Italian culture, like current-ish music, films, series, etc. I know pretty much nothing about contemporary, current Italy, so it would be cool to learn more about it.

[@TomCopeland]

Thanks! I'm also looking forward to being on KZbin more! In terms of other languages, I think it's important to work out what my objectives are for them. Do I want to maintain French as a hobby, or a serious fluent language? What about Dutch? How can I practise German whilst here in Bologna... Lot's of things to think about, and a great topic for an upcoming video :) I'd also love to talk about Italian culture. I really wanted to go into detail about it in this video, but I just didn't have time! I have some really lovely Italian friends in Bologna, so I think I'll rope one of them into making something about this with me :)

[@danielthomas5052]

A belated congrats by the time I've got to this video Tom! Would be interesting to know a bit more about how you get yourself started for work and life in each new country you move to with a limited control of the language!

[@veronikaong4447]

Hi Tom, I just stumbled on your video , starting with gli italiani film in videos, I am still struggling with learning the language, watching the films in their language can be a great assets to my learning. Can I get the films your mentioned on KZbin? Congratulations on your completion of studying Italian in 5 months, great achievement , bravo e complimenti! Which school did you attend in Bologna, I was at Arca 2 years ago, for a short time, . What city did you study at Dante school, where you received the certificate? I am still thinking of going to Italy again to improve my speaking fluently, which I am lacking in practise. I subscribed to your channel on your KZbin, to get some tips. Auguri, in bocca del lupo .... Ciao , Veronika.

[@Howtogetfluent]

Congrats on completing the project, Tom. Loved they way you did the first part of the vid cuttng in shots from the "future". Haven't seen that done before and I'll certainly be trying it :) The freelance video plans are exciting...I'm sure it'll work out. Did you do the filming for the schools in the end? Language questions - at the beginning, why did you decide to go for full time language classes rather than self-study the way you did so well in NL? Will you be having fewer hours at the school when you're back in Bologna? Was it a no-brainer to return to Bologna or did you consider other cities for the next leg?

[@TomCopeland]

Thanks! I wanted to find a fun way to show the journey without having to take you through every single train transfer, haha! Filming - yes, I ran the KZbin channels for both the schools whilst I was studying there. I'm really appreciative of their support and it was great to get the opportunity to contribute in that way. You can see what I made by going to the KZbin channels for Academya Lingue and Scuola Dante Alighieri Recanati! For the schools, I think it was important for me to have a routine and the schools gave me that. For NL I was travelling for a short time and was making a video every day, so I had a lot on my plate! Learning the language solo therefore made a lot of sense. For IT, I knew it was going to be a long time and I would be able to work for the schools whilst I was there, so it really made sense! And Bologna is just great! I really love it. It's a great size, and I've built a lovely group of friends over there. I am a big fan of Rome though and also really liked Napoli. I think the deciding factor for me was that I didn't want to have to "start all over again" in a new city. I decided I would have more fun enjoying the time until xmas in a city I knew with people I liked, rather than try and build all that again in Rome or Napoli.

[@Howtogetfluent]

The schools' channels are looking good, Tom. Looking forward to updates from the next stage in Bologna.

[@maylinghawk]

Hi Tom! I love your videos. I share with you the passion of learning italian. I am from Peru but have lived in the States for over 20 years. Currently, I am in Peru. I have been researching schools in Italy and I prefer learning in a smaller city. From you experience, what school impressed you more out of all the schools you attended. I am looking to travel May 2019. Best of luck and thank you so much for bringing people closer!

[@karrysmi8923]

A W E S O M E !!! Greetings from Italy 💙

[@jonlilley2832]

Hi, Tom! What language school did you attend and how did you find it? Cheers!

[@katyteixeira3056]

Oi Tom!!! Adorei o vídeo. Você está a um passo de falar um bom português, já que o italiano é parecido com a língua dos Brasileiros. Um abraço!

[@topmoments2419]

I'm trying to learn Italian what's your advice

[@melaniay5521]

I started learning through apps and KZbin videos. I think it's helpfull. We will see. I improve my English levels just because of apps.

[@aliaflow6877]

Che belloooooooo

[@quietcat]

Hi Tom, Congratulations on your success with Italian. I found your channel a few days ago, through your video on german tv series. I've seen the videos about films and reading material for german learners and I was wondering if you'd be up to doing something similar about KZbin/podcasts. With KZbin I mean regular channels not specifically about german learning. Now that you've learned both French and Italian, I would also be interested in seeing how much you'd be able to understand of other western Romance languages, specifically Spanish and Portuguese (spoken and written), maybe also Catalan . With Portuguese I'd be interested in what you think about the differences between the European and Brazilian variants. I'm also curious about your video making process and abilities. Have you been doing it long before you started KZbin channel? The channel seems to have started properly only 1 year ago, and your videos are quite good. Did you learn by yourself, with the experience or did you take some sort of class? I would like to see a video about that as well (a different sort of learning, but learning none the less); how you learned, what you've learned, etc. Sorry for the long comment. Best wishes for your next months of Italian immersion!

[@TomCopeland]

Hey there! I actually really want to expand this series and find some more resources for language learners like this. I have a big list of KZbinrs / Podcasters that I really like, so I'll totally make this soon! I actually now understand a decent amount of Spanish! One day at school I asked Ester to speak to me just in Spanish for a bit and we could actually speak quite well! It's quite a strange feeling actually, but because the rhythm and grammar feels so similar I can get quite a lot! Absolutely can't speak a word of it myself though - that's something really different! And about the video making itself - well, I've always been really interested in the craft and I've always played around with making videos, but I never felt like I had a good enough story to tell before now! I'm 100% self-taught via experimentation / KZbin / watching films, and I found the process really fun! I agree that this would be a fun topic to make a video about - I'll put it on the list!!

[@elenaruiz32]

Hello Tom, Where did you attend school in Bologna?

[@leandroseoane4926]

You are so handsome! Im Cuban living in the US and I’m looking for a schooling system, maybe just a month out there. Io parlo un po’ d’italiano.

[@thisiswhatyouget]

Tom, wie lange lernst du schon Deutsch? Wie alt warst du, als du angefangen hast? Und hast du es am Anfang alleine oder mit dem Goethe-Institut gelernt? Ich möchte wirklich mein Deutsch mit ihnen verbessern, aber ich frage mich, ob es das wert ist.

[@TomCopeland]

Ein Bisschen schwer zu zagen, weil ich Deutsch nur seit ein Paar Jahren *wirklich* gelernt habe. Ich hätte ein Bisschen in der schule gelernt (mit 15) und das hat mir natürlich eine Grundierung gegeben, aber es war nur 2015 (mit 24) als ich wirklich angefangen habe. Immer mit Goethe, erstens im Hamburg Sommer 2015, und danach Berlin im Sommer 2016

[@citizen102266]

I am a Spanish Speaking student and I decided to learn Portuguese before Italian and it has helped me with pronunciation and reading fluently but I do not know how to speak I become a mute when trying to have a conversation with someone. I actually learn to speak and read Portuguese just by reading in 4 months. any advice ?? please ? I don't use books at all never have in the time I have been learning languages it may sound a bit strange but I do everything by voice clips and reading articles. so far I am on my 5th language ... THX Mario Rivera

[@wild4fp]

Any more vids your making??

[@Martin-delta]

Great as always. Going back to Italy sounds exciting, thanks for bring us along. :)

[@TomCopeland]

Thanks Martin!

[@Causily]

what’s next? writing is reading but with your hands 😂😂 great vid btw

[@SaadonAksah]

Thats great to hear!

[@TomCopeland]

Thanks!

[@DANVIIL]

Having studied Spanish and lived for a year in South America, you aren’t really fluent until you can understand jokes and make jokes yourself.

[@kc7159]

I don’t even know her but I miss Ester 😢

[@TomCopeland]

She's great! I'm hopefully going to visit her in Madrid soon - will be doing a video if we make it happen! You may see her again soon :)

[@leenobody3249]

Tom, are you able to understand Italian television programmes now?

[@TomCopeland]

Great question! Usually I can, but I find it much easier with subtitles. I'm currently compiling a list of my favourite series / films for Italian learners and I'll be sharing that soon.

[@Virusnzz]

Has it really been 5 months already?

[@TomCopeland]

I know right?! Tell me about it, haha.

[@drake8691]

Fluency is reading up to a 5th grade level your fluent