I studied Italian briefly many years ago and once upon a time I could follow along and hold my own in conversation, but I have forgotten so much in the intervening years. I haven’t been able to visit Italy in a long time, which is the best way to immerse yourself in a language. This podcast is the perfect way to ramp up my comprehension and get back into Italian. I tried a few internet classes, but the focus on grammar over comprehension left me cold. I guess I’m lazy. Then I found Sergio’s podcast — it’s mellow and quite interesting. I try to listen to it before going to sleep and often again in the morning with my coffee or cappuccino. His tales of life in Costa Rica and Italian traditions cover a wide range of topics. I’m truly surprised by how natural it feels to just listen to him chat about various aspects of daily life. I’m not trying to translate word for word, just letting it flow and hoping it sticks to my “Velcro” brain. It’s working! Sometimes I listen to the same podcast several times and with each repetition my comprehension improves. As he said, it’s easy to find introductory Italian lessons online, and if you’re fluent you can dive into radio or tv, but that’s quite fast and is often colloquial or spoken with regional accents. There isn’t much available for those of us at an “intermediate” level. Sergio knows how non-Italians learn the language and he speaks in a way that’s clear and comprehensible, occasionally even stopping in mid sentence to explain a word or phrase he thinks we might not know. What a great podcast! I may have to sign up for lessons once I’ve gotten better at conversing. For now, I’m delighted to follow these podcasts, and I’m also working my way through a few classic Italian tv shows like Don Matteo that are less frenetic than much of the daily fare on Rai. Highly recommend this podcast for anyone who enjoys listening to and learning Italian. The hum of cicadas, the purring cat, and a charming host make this podcast truly unique.
