…Living somewhere really is the best way to learn a language.
After spending just five weeks living in Sorrento, I have noticed a drastic difference in my ability to speak Italian. I am much more confident thanks to all the practice and I am now able to use more complex grammar in my speech with better fluency.
Before arriving in Sorrento, I imagined that I would eat lots of pizza, take pictures of stunning views, make friends with locals and improve my linguistic and cultural competencies by continuously using Italian inside and outside the classroom. And I was right. I ate lots of delicious pizzas, the diavola being my favorite. I saw incredible views, made Italian friends around Italy and spoke Italian at every given opportunity – it was amazing!
Whilst going out in the evenings with classmates, I met locals who taught me about the Napolitano dialect. For example, I learnt that instead of saying ‘salve,’ to say hello, they often just say ‘ve.’ Learning such specific features of the Italian language helped my confidence even more! It was so much fun casually saying phrases and seeing shocked Italian faces. Finally, as I said I would, I went on as many adventures as possible. The coolest of these was a weekend trip to Verona where I watched the Italian opera ‘Aida,’ in an ancient Roman arena!
This trip has solidified my love of communication and my desire to be able to communicate with more people through foreign languages. To others with the same goal, my best advice would be to not be shy. When studying abroad, try and start conversations with shopkeepers at the local market, ask for recommendations from your professors of where they like to eat or activities they enjoy doing. By really engaging with the community you can learn so much more about them and have incredible experiences that you otherwise couldn’t imagine!