My Journey From Darkness To Light

For years I have been trying to learn to speak Italian, and the key word is SPEAK. Using self-study courses - written, audio and video - I certainly gained technical knowledge of the language. You know ... understanding articles and verb conjugation and pronouns - the list goes on. But none of that truly helped me SPEAK Italian.

Yes, of course, the courses provided plenty of spoken Italian for me to listen to. But always 30 seconds of Italian mixed in with 5 minutes of English explanations. It's hard to get into a groove that way. It's hard to train your ear and your brain to stay engaged with the sound of a new language when that new and strange sound is constantly interrupted by one's native language.

And yes, the courses allowed me to talk back to them. Some even analyzed my pronunciation (inconsistently, I might add). But talking back to a computer is NOT "speaking."

SPEAKING is the combination of listening AND talking ... and more listening and talking ... and being able to clarify what someone said immediately to enhance your understanding ... and adjusting your own words based on the conversation flow ... and learning to understand what you hear AS you hear it; not after you translate it in a notebook when it's too late to respond intelligently. You get the idea.

And that's where ALL the self-study courses failed me. Don't get me wrong. I have learned a lot through self study. But knowledge unimplemented is simply wasted time. And, to implement what I learned from the self-study courses, I NEEDED to be able to SPEAK ... to have a reasonable conversation with another human being!

And then I stumbled upon the Amazing Talker website. I didn't know such a site existed, but it makes perfect sense when you think about. People who can teach connected with people who want to learn. I mean, why not, right? So, I started browsing through the site ... figuring out how the whole thing works ... and checking out various teachers.

Then, I found Guidi. There were lots of great teachers available, but Giudi was so charming in her introductory video that I decided to give it a try. Of course, the prices are so reasonable it made it easy to book a trial session with Giuddi. And I did!

The trial went wonderfully, and now we have completed 7 lessons together. All the "book knowledge" I gained is finally turning into the ability to SPEAK with a native (or any) Italian speaker. I won't lie. It's not instantaneous. Italian is still a foreign language to me, and my ear and brain still struggle to interpret all the strange new sounds. (Plus, as the old joke goes, it's like they have a different word for everything!)

But after only 7 sessions I can already see - well, hear is more accurate - the difference. What used to be trapped in computer files and notebooks is now coming alive in conversation. What used to be theory and technical knowledge is being transformed into communication with another human being - who's six time zones away, I might add!

The other day, Giuddi said something wonderful to me - simple but wonderful. She said, "Hey, Joe, you're speaking Italian!" And I was!

In June, I'll be visiting distant cousins in Italy who speak no English. By then that won't matter! I don't expect to be fluent by then. But I know I'll be able to have a basic conversation with them, and that will be wonderful!

Thank you Giuddi and Amazing Talker!