DID MY ITALIAN ACTUALLY IMPROVE DURING MY STUDY ABROAD?

Did my Italian actually improve during my study abroad?

My Italian learning journey in a nutshell

When I started learning Italian, I already had a pretty good knowledge of Spanish. Because of that, I found it quite easy to follow my language course on a basic level. However, after a year of studying Italian, I decided to take a break to focus on my final exams at the end of high school. After another year, I slowly went back to learning Italian and enrolled in a B1, and then B2 level course. After finishing the first semester of this course, so just after 2 years of learning Italian, I went to Rome to study at university fully in Italian (was I crazy? well, maybe a little bit).

The state of my Italian before going to Rome

Before my departure, I had to take an exam in Italian (both written and oral) so they could assess my level of the language. To my surprise, the results showed I had a B2+/C1 level in Italian. They gave me the green light to study in Italian, and I also signed up for a C1 language course at my host university (is there a better place to study Italian than Italy? don’t think so). Anyway, in my view, even though some exams can be useful when it comes to evaluating your level in a language, they aren’t always a 100% true reflection of your knowledge. For instance, I felt pretty good about understanding complex grammar structures in Italian, however, I knew I lacked more advanced vocabulary. I was hoping I’d manage to learn some new vocabulary words before moving to Rome, but it all happened so fast I didn’t really have time to practice anything apart from reviewing some old flashcards.

My first months in Italy

My first month living in Rome was very intense in terms of immersion in the Italian lanaguage, culture and lifestyle. I had to quickly adapt to attending lectures in Italian, communicating with the locals, reading different announcements in this language, and so on. The biggest challenge for me was speaking with my peers. At first I had a bit of a language barrier that stopped me from talking to them, because I feared they would speak too fast and use too much slang so I wouldn’t understand anything. Over time, however, with practice, I started feeling more comfortable talking with them, and realized it wasn’t as big of a deal as I had thought (everyone was super nice and patient even if I didn’t understand something).

Also, although I spoke Italian in a technically correct way from the very beginning, somehow people always knew I was a foreigner and sometimes they would even answer me in English. Honestly, I hated it. However, by both overhearing and participating in short conversations in Italian every single day, I eventually learned to speak in a more natural manner, which I wouldn’t have done if I had stayed in Poland. I also noticed I gradually grew in confidence with each successful interaction in Italian.

What took me much longer than increasing my speaking skills in Italian was probably getting used to following lectures in this language. At first I could understand only about 65% of the lectures, which was a bit stressul at times, as you can imagine. However, after a while I actually managed to get used to it and towards the end of my study abroad I didn’t have any difficulties at all understanding what was being said by the lecturer. This just goes to show that studying abroad in Italian really helped me reach more advanced level of Italian and learn to speak in a natural way.

My last month in Rome

My last month in Rome was, of course, the exam season. In Italy the university courses usually end in the middle of May, and you have almost a full month to prepare yourself for the exams. I remember reading presentations and textbooks about economics and political science in Italian almost every day during this time. The challenging part for me wasn’t reading comprehension, but memorizing what I read. I’m not gonna lie, a lot of the times it was super frustrating. Plus, most of my exams were oral and conducted in the presence of many other students, which made it even more terrifying. However, I somehow managed to pass all of my exams and learned a ton of new vocabulary along the way. So I guess going through this tough experience was worth it in the end.

When the time came to say goodbye to Rome, I was devastated. I realized how much I had fallen in love with this place, how many great friends I had made, and how much I had gotten used to living there. It’s the small things that I miss the most, like going to the local bars for a cup of coffee, talking with my neighbors, or watching the sunsets with my friends in our favorite garden (Giardino degli Aranci!). Anyway, I definitely feel like my Italian improved a lot during my stay in Rome, mostly thanks to my language course, other university courses and, last but not least, everyday interactions with the locals. I faced a number of challenges related to the Italian language, but now I see that I had to go through it in order to learn everything that I learned. And thanks to this experience, I had never been more motivated to study a language. All in all, in my opinion living abroad and being surrounded by your target language all the time is one of the best ways to learn a language naturally (although it does require some effort on your part too, obviously).

Maintaining Italian

Now that my level of Italian has improved so much, of course I want to keep it that way. I try to listen to podcasts, watch TV shows, and consume content in this language as often as I can. Also, I find it very helpful to write in my journal and speak Italian whenever I have the opportunity to do so. There are many awesome ways to maintain a language, but my personal favorites have to be reading and writing. When I was living in Italy, I bought quite a few interesting novels and a beautiful handmade journal, which is a bonus motivation for me to practice Italian. I have also just started an Italian course at C2 level, and I have to admit I’m very excited to go back to learning this incredible language! My goal is to pass an exam next year to confirm my Italian skills at C2 level and potentially use it in my future career:)