Language blackouts are normal, It’s not You

Have you ever got stuck while speaking Italian?

• Have you ever had a blackout and couldn’t find the right words?

• Hai mai fatto morire una conversazione perchè non avevi le parole?

• Hai mai scelto (choose) il silenzio a causa di un blocco linguistico?

I’ve been through all these situations. Let me tell you how I learned a valuable lesson that I know will help you tremendously:

Nel 2016 sono andata in Perù e parlavo un po’ spagnolo. Avevo fatto qualche lezione su italki prima di partire ed ero fiera (proud) di me stessa perché sapevo: 1) ordinare al ristorante, 2) parlare del tempo, 3) chiedere indicazioni. Food - weather - directions. What else would I need? 

E infatti, la prima settimana di viaggio tutto ok: Lima, Cusco, Machu Picchu… all smooth and easy! Poi, però, ho deciso di passare una notte sull'isola di Amantani, sul lago Titicaca, ospite di persone locali. Ero felicissima! 

Quando sono arrivata, abbiamo fatto brevi conversazioni su di noi e sul tempo (I was so good at small talk in Spanish!). Ma durante il pranzo, il padre di famiglia ha iniziato a fare discorsi più difficili per raccontare la sua storia e la cultura del posto (argomenti che io adoro, ormai lo sai!). 

E lì, blackout totale. Bum. Zero. Capivo qualcosa, ma non tutto. E non sapevo come rispondere. Non avevo le parole. Non avevo le strutture. Non avevo la capacità di fare connessioni più significative di "la vostra isola è bellissima". I couldn’t have a meaningful conversation.

E la conversazione si è bloccata, ed è calato il silenzio. Abbiamo finito di mangiare e poi siamo andati a incontrare il gruppo di turisti con cui ero arrivata.

That was a turning point for me. I missed out so much that day, and that moment won't come back. That opportunity to talk to someone who lives quite isolated and could have shared with me his unique stories and points of view. I didn't need to know Spanish perfectly. I just needed to know how to have a meaningful conversation. I needed vocabulary, I needed structures. 

The Spanish I studied for travelling was not enough. It was good as a start, but it was not enough to go deeper, to look under the surface and dive into the language at a more meaningful level. 

But it wasn't an easy path: finding accessible information at my low-intermediate level was hard and time consuming, and it took me a year to find a teacher who was keen to discuss off-the-coursebook topics. 

That's why I've created Italian Time Zone, to help you:

• take a step forward in your learning path

• find accessible material to learn through Italian history and culture

• make new, meaningful connections 

So that you can have new, meaningful conversations.

To give you a taste of what I mean, I’m sharing with you - and just with you one of my first podcast episodes as well as an extract from the supporting material that comes with it.

What about you?

Have you ever missed something out because you didn't know enough words? Have you ever had a language black out? Have you ever wished you knew more? Do you listen to podcasts to improve your Italian?

I’d love to hear your story and connect with you. Just leave a comment below!

Until then, ti auguro una buona giornata/serata :) 

A presto,

Giulia.