For anyone in NY City this weekend there is HD Opera shown nightly at 8PM in Lincoln Center plaza. I'm especially looking forward to Monday when Madame Butterfly will be shown. Of the 5 or so arias I've attempted to memorize "Un bel di, vedremo" is in the top 2 for ease of learning to the point of hearing it without the need for translation. https://www.metopera.org/season/summer-2018/summer-hd-festival/

Ciao, I am looking for suggestions on Language schools in Italy. I love the Fluenz program but I need more conversation and practice! Grazie, Francene

I just read this article on the BBC web site. Thought my brother and sister students of Italian might like to read it as well.

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20170621-how-italian-became-the-language...

My partner and I recently spent 13 days on a guided tour around Italy (Lake Como, Milan, Venice, Florence, the Amalfi Coast, and Rome). In preparation for the trip, I purchased the Fluenz Italian program and although I was only able to make it through Level 3 before it was time to head for Italy, the program gave me the confidence to ask politely for the menu, drinks, food, the bill, and of course the location of the bathroom whenever we had free time to enjoy a city on our own. Although most everyone speaks English, I was thrilled to be able to say a few things in Italian to show respect for the Italians, their language, and their culture. Although our trip is done, I plan to complete levels 4 and 5 of Fluenz Italian. I'll continue to use the audio files and flashcards as well. I enjoy the Fluenz approach to language learning and find it both effective and engaging. Italian is my second language with Fluenz, Spanish having been the first. A big "Thank you!" to the Fluenz team for creating such a great product. Keep up the good work!

Here is a video I put together of a demonstration in Locorotondo, Italia (southern Italy) on how fresh mozzarella is made. There is Italian being spoken along with a translation into English. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/zG_Nb2xXSlU

Years ago I saw "The Big Night," a film about two brothers who had immigrated from Italy and were running an Italian restaurant on the Jersey shore, and it stuck with me. The two brothers at the heart of the story were named Primo and Secundo. Now that I've studied a little bit of Italian, I understand that means they were named First and Second. Is it common to name children in Italy for numbers?

Anyone want to weigh in with some restaurant recommendations for Rome and Florence areas? Thanks. And they can be "for God's sake don't eat here" as well ;-)

This has nothing to do with language - but rather with money. Italian 5, Session 12, has "Quando abbiamo versato i soldi, la commissione era 2 euro". When we deposited money, the fee was 2 euro. The entire lesson is about banking, so the implication is that we are putting the money into a bank account. The question: do the banks in Italy really charge a fee to make a cash deposit?

Last year I did all 150 lessons of Fluenz French. This year I am doing Fluenz Italian. Does anybody have any tips on how to keep up (maintain) both languages. I'm finding it very difficult and confusing, so I end up just focusing on the Italian for now

Brian

I just returned from Italy after a fantastic two week vacation with my wife
and two adult daughters. It seemed virtually everyone spoke some English,
but being able to communicate some in Italian greatly enhanced the experience
for me. I used " non siamo pronti ordinare, abbiamo bisogno di qualche minuto".
at quite a few cafes....smile. I got a few "bravos". Very gratifying. I will say this;
the most common word you will hear is "allora". I heard it everywhere, all the time.
Italy is just wonderful. Rome exceeded my expectations and the Cinque Terra is
breathtakingly beautiful and not to be missed. I am always happy to recommend
Fluenz and point out its superiority to that other, over-rated competitor. My only
concern that the Italian has crowded out a lot of the German I worked with last
year. Was kann man tun? Nur so viel Platz, und das ist der Wahrheit. Thanks
for putting out this great product. Ci vediamo