1. Schedule your time. One of the most important factors in keeping your motivation up is developing it into a habit. Whether it be 20 minutes or 3 hours, schedule time to study every day and stick to it. Regular exposure solidifies what you learn and keeps you progressing. To make sure you stick to your routine, a great idea is to build a schedule for your day and decide that every day/Monday/weekend, you study from 6pm to 8pm. Just remember that 30 minutes a day, every day, is better than a binge 8-hour study session at the end of the week (though it’s obviously better than nothing). 2. Learn a word a day with our great Word of the Day learning tool. Trying to learn everything at once and getting overwhelmed by the sheer number... Show more

Imagine you have landed in Italy and are out and meeting people and exploring your surroundings. After you say "Ciao!" ( the equivalent to 'Hello' in English), your Italian friend may become more curious about you and your origins. And if your new friend asks you: Da dove vieni?  Don't be surprised! Your friend just wants to know where you come from. Da dove vieni? (informal) or Da dove viene? (formal), translates to "Where do you come from?"  In this case, you should answer with your country of origin. For example: Vengo dall'Italia (I come from Italy) You may also hear Di dove sei?, which also means  "Where do you come from?" , with the small difference that Di dove sei? requires a more specific location, and you should... Show more

As you may have seen in Italian movies or during your stay in in Italy if you had the chance , you will notice that ciao is the easiest and most common Italian greeting people use to say "hello" or "goodbye." Usually though, you should only use this greeting with people whom you are well acquainted with, such as friends or relatives. As a special case, you may notice that it is common to address foreigners entering into Italy with ciao. The reason for this is that it's a friendly and easy way to greet them. Sometimes owners of casual, modern shops may greet customers with ciao as a way to keep social distances at a minimum and make talking easier and faster,thus making you feel more comfortable (and this way making their... Show more

Assumption Day/Assunzione or Ferragosto – Italian Assumption Day observes that Mary, the mother of Jesus died and her body was united with her soul and ascended to heaven instead of enduring the physical decaying of the body through normal death. It has been a belief of the Roman Catholic faith since the fourth century CE and is celebrated as the Feast of Our Lady of the Harvest. This day was once a pagan holiday until it was decided to be Christianized and make it solely about the Virgin Mary. Before, it was first celebrated in honor of the goddess of the Isis of the Sea who was said to be born on this particular day according to myths that have been spreading. Ferragosto (Assumption Day) is celebrated on August 15th in Italy.... Show more

Everyone knows how important holidays are especially when they symbolize a specific event in your life. In Italy, for example, there are people who experienced the change in their government and use this public holiday, Republic Day, as a reminder of how important that occasion is. This holiday is also known as Festa della Repubblica and it was created after a referendum in 1946 was filed by the Italian government to change from being a Monarchy to becoming a Republic government. The House of Savoy ran the monarchy. The entire population of Italy was asked to vote on this referendum and the majority ruled. The Italians celebrate this holiday on the second day of June each year and they treat it just as important as the United... Show more

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from everyone here at ItalianPod101.com! We're grateful to have listeners just like you, and we're eagerly waiting for the upcoming year to learn Italian together! And when the New Year comes around, be sure to make a resolution to study Italian with ItalianPod101.com! Have a healthy and happy holiday season. From the ItalianPod101.com team!