Useful suggestions for every level of Italian

Introduction

Watching movies and TV series in Italian is of course one of the most effective methods to improve Italian with movies, allowing you to enhance your pronunciation, listening skills, and cultural understanding. This approach allows you to work on your pronunciation, refine your listening abilities, and gain confidence in using the language. These tools, besides being engaging, offer a natural context to hear authentic Italian and improve Italian with movies in an enjoyable way.

In this article, we’ll explore how to improve Italian with movies, making the most of audiovisual content to progress in all linguistic abilities, from sounds to sentence structure comprehension.

Why Use Movies to Learn Italian?

Many learners struggle with pronunciation and comprehension, but a structured approach to improving Italian with movies can make the process both enjoyable and highly effective. Initially, it’s common to feel overwhelmed by the natural speed or cadence of spoken Italian, but over time, watching films regularly can help you improve Italian with movies while developing an intuitive understanding of the language. Learning Italian with movies is achievable by starting with subtitles in your native language. This allows you to focus on the sounds, rhythms, and musicality of the language without worrying too much about immediate comprehension. Over time, you can switch to Italian subtitles, promoting a match between what you hear and the written word, gradually improving both pronunciation and listening skills. This approach is particularly beneficial for those looking for structured Italian listening practice with movies, as it allows exposure to native pronunciation in real contexts.

A Gradual Method

A structured way to improve Italian with movies is to start with subtitles in your language and gradually transition to Italian subtitles.

This method has been very useful to me in studying Russian. I watched TV series in the original language with subtitles in my language, thus familiarizing myself with the melody and sounds of the language. In the second viewing, I activated subtitles in Russian, which allowed me to better connect sounds and words. I recommended this method to my Italian students, and the results have been satisfactory not only for pronunciation and listening but also for understanding sentence structures and conversation dynamics.

If you’re starting to learn Italian or wish to refine your pronunciation, I recommend trying my method, which I’ve successfully used to improve my understanding of Russian. This method is based on a three-step viewing of films or TV series, helping you familiarize yourself with the sounds and melody of the Italian language.

1. First Viewing with Subtitles in Your Language

This first step allows you to focus solely on the sounds of Italian without worrying too much about understanding every word. Follow the plot through subtitles in your native language; this will help you recognize the natural flow of conversation and start internalizing the musicality and cadence of the Italian language.

2. Second Viewing with Italian Subtitles

After becoming familiar with the story, switch to Italian subtitles. At this point, you can focus on how the sounds align with the written words. This second step is particularly useful for improving Italian with movies, as it allows you to notice differences between written and spoken Italian, learning to manage the rhythm and cadence of the language. Moreover, it helps to enhance Italian pronunciation using films, as learners can actively imitate native speech patterns and intonations.

3. Watch without any subtitles

This gradual technique helps consolidate the understanding of Italian sounds and pronunciation, making learning more effective and natural. It’s primarily designed for beginner-level foreign students but is also very useful for intermediate students who may carry unresolved pronunciation errors.

Dubbing or Original Italian Films?

Whether you’re using dubbed films or original content, both can help you improve Italian with movies by exposing you to authentic speech patterns.

If you’re a beginner, it’s not essential to immediately find Italian-language films or TV series. Even dubbed content, as long as it has subtitles, can be useful for improving Italian with movies. Remember, at a more advanced level, watching films without subtitles is an excellent exercise, and interacting with a native speaker can help clarify any pronunciation or vocabulary doubts.

Using Subtitles to Enhance Italian

• Beginner Level: Start with subtitles in your language. This will help you focus on the sounds without the pressure of immediately understanding everything.
• Intermediate Level: Switching to Italian subtitles is an excellent way to align reading with listening, making Italian listening practice with movies more effective. This method is particularly useful if you aim to improve Italian with movies without relying too much on written text.
• Advanced Level: Try removing subtitles to train your ear to natural spoken Italian, taking notes on words or phrases that you can later review.

For learners focusing on pronunciation, subtitles are an excellent tool for structured Italian listening practice with movies, helping to fine-tune understanding.

Besides listening skills, learners can also benefit from using films to learn Italian grammar, as it provides real examples of sentence structures.

Best Italian Movies for Language Learners and How to Use Them Effectively

Using movies, TV series, and even animated cartoons in Italian is an effective method not just for pronunciation and listening but also for understanding sentence structures and conversation dynamics.

To make the most out of your experience and truly learn Italian through films, it’s important to select content that matches your proficiency level. Here are some recommendations for different proficiency levels:

Beginners

1. Curioso come George – Educational animated series with simple dialogues.
2. Peppa Pig – Slow-paced conversations ideal for beginners.
3. Il Trenino Thomas – Simple stories to help understand basic sentence structures.
4. La Pimpa – Classic Italian animation with easy-to-follow speech patterns.
5. Masha e Orso – Everyday situations with simple dialogues.
6. Lupo Alberto – A fun way to learn everyday Italian expressions.

Intermediate Learners

1. Che Dio ci Aiuti – TV series with accessible dialogues and common expressions.
2. Don Matteo – Real-life settings with standard Italian usage.
3. Alex & Co. – Teen series with modern conversational Italian.
4. Heidi – Slow-paced stories that allow learners to catch details.
5. Violetta – Modern Italian expressions and engaging storytelling.

Advanced Learners

1. La Signora in Giallo (Dubbed in Italian) – Helps develop vocabulary with more structured speech.
2. Gomorra – Offers exposure to regional accents and dialects and fast-paced dialogues.
3. Il Commissario Montalbano – Great for grasping regional differences in speech.
4. L’Amica Geniale – A deep dive into different speech patterns from Naples.
5. Suburra – Engaging dialogues with a modern Italian touch.
6. Boris – A humorous approach to everyday Italian slang.
7. I Medici – Rich vocabulary with a historical storytelling approach.
8. Pinocchio (Disney) – A mix of storytelling and some old used expressions.

Conclusion

If you’re serious about learning, improving Italian with movies is an enjoyable and powerful strategy to integrate into your language routine!

Watching Italian movies and TV series is a fun and effective way to improve Italian with movies, helping you strengthen pronunciation and comprehension naturally. By following a structured approach with subtitles and progressively increasing difficulty, learners can learn Italian through films by building confidence in pronunciation, listening, and comprehension. Whether you’re a beginner or advanced learner, integrating films into your learning routine is an excellent way to improve Italian with movies effectively!