Christmas is approaching and in many European countries it’s time for Christmas markets. Christmas markets are street markets organized during the four weeks of Advent. This tradition seems to date back at least to 1434 in Dresden, Germany. The first Christmas markets in Italy, instead, began to spread only towards the end of 1900. I …
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How to overcome shyness in language class
We are all different. In a language class, you can find yourself surrounded by extrovert people, who start talking from the very first lesson – even if they have never learnt that language before – and by people like you and me, who prefer to stay silent and listen.We are the ones that are usually …
Five Italian books you might like
Reading is one of the best ways to acquire new vocabulary. Indeed, in books words are presented in context, and this makes it easier for readers to understand their use and meaning. Moreover, with the advent of ebooks and e-readers – like Amazon’s Kindle – acquiring new vocabulary is even simpler, since you have instant …
Texting in Italian
If you’re planning to spend some time in Italy, knowing some of the abbreviations people use when texting in Italian can probably come in handy. Since the advent of mobile phones, texting has become always more and more popular. Every day, Italians send more than 150 million text messages. And if at the beginning texting …
American stereotypes about Italians (Part 1)
I already talked about some stereotypes other cultures have about Italians in a previous article – Eight common stereotypes about Italians. However, searching the web, I came across a video entitled “Some questions Americans have for Italians”. I decided to watch it, and I found out that many of those questions are based on American …
