LearnItalianPod

29. Look, It’s Snowing! (Upper Intermediate)

 December 6th, 2009

• PDF Transcript - Dialogue - Expansion - Glossary - Quiz

Learn Italian with LearnItalianPod. Episode #29 of the “Upper-Intermediate Level Series” is entitled “Look, It’s Snowing!”. It’s Sunday early in the morning in Milan. Outside it is cold, as it’s the middle of winter. Christmas is just around the corner. Lucia and Italo just woke up, and there’s a quiet and peaceful atmosphere in the house. All of a sudden, it begin to snow… the Holiday season is finally here!

Let’s follow our friends Lucia and Italo as they enjoy a relaxing winter Sunday morning breakfast at their house and let’s learn a lot of informal and useful “everyday” Italian. On the grammar section, we will review and practice the “must-know” Italian pronominal verbs. Enjoy!

[LearnItalianPod VIP Members Extra Bonus: The Pronominal Verb “Andarsene”] Login to the Learning Center to download Audio & PDF Transcript of the “must-know” Italian pronominal verb “Andarsene” (to go away).

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• Difficulty Level Upper Intermediate
• Topics: breakfast, family
• No Comments

49. Nicknames Galore! (Culture Shot)

 November 29th, 2009

• PDF Transcript - Dialogue - Expansion - Glossary - Quiz

Learn Italian with LearnItalianPod. What happens when one fourth of the families living in a small Italian town of 50,000 people have the same last name and they can only be distinguished by their nicknames? Easy… a lot of confusion, as it becomes almost impossible to know who’s who; and confusion remains until those families find a way to actually make their nicknames become legal last names!

This is not science fiction, and that’s exactly what happened a few days ago in the small Italian town of Chioggia, near Venice. - So we’re going to dedicate this Culture Shot to yet another really peculiar and interesting piece of Italian creativity. Enjoy!

[Jobs & Professions in Italian - LearnItalianPod VIP Members Extra Bonus!] Login to the Learning Center to find, as a special extra bonus, a super useful audio file with PDF transcript entitled “Jobs & Professions“, containing the Italian names of some of the most common jobs and professions, words like “impiegato, negoziante, postino, idraulico”, and many, many more!

Culture Shot - Episode Nr.49

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• Difficulty Level Culture Shot
• Topics: family, work
• 1 Comment

26. Hi Grandma, It’s Me! (Upper Intermediate)

 October 18th, 2009

• PDF Transcript - Dialogue - Expansion - Glossary - Quiz

Episode #26 of the “Upper-Intermediate Level Series” is entitled “Hi Grandma, It’s Me!”. Even if nowadays is not like it used to be, when the traditional Italian family (which included grandparents and grandchildren) lived all together in the same house, for Italians family still remains of fundamental importance.

So, let’s take a little break from our couple Lucia and Italo and let’s celebrate the Italian family by following our Massimo as he makes a phone call and says hi to his grandma Giovanna. On the grammar section, we will review some of the most interesting expressions from the dialogue giving grammar rules and extra examples. Enjoy!

[Family Members’ Names - LearnItalianPod VIP Members Extra Bonus!] Login to the Learning Center to find, as a special extra bonus, a super useful audio file with PDF transcript entitled “Family Members’ Names“, containing all of the family members’ names, words like “zio, nipote, nuora, suocera”, and so on. Practice these, and become part of the “good old” big Italian family!

Upper Intermediate - Episode Nr.26

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• Difficulty Level Upper Intermediate
• Topics: family, phone
• 2 Comments

23. It’s Back To School Time! (Upper Intermediate)

 September 7th, 2009

• PDF Transcript - Dialogue - Expansion - Glossary - Quiz

Learn Italian with LearnItalianPod. Episode #23 of the “Upper-Intermediate Level Series” is entitled “It’s Back To School Time!”. For millions of Italian students the first day of school is just around the corner. In Italy in fact school traditionally begins the second week of September.

Let’s follow our friend Lucia as she makes sure her son Mattia has everything he needs to start school the right way. On the grammar section, we will review some of the most interesting expressions from the dialogue giving grammar rules and extra examples, and we’ll give an overview of the Italian school system. You’ll really find a lot of useful, informal, 100% “real” Italian on this episode, together with a lot of new vocabulary - so, let’s get to it right away!

[LearnItalianPod VIP Members Extra Bonus!] Login to the Learning Center to download Audio & PDF Transcript of the “must-know” Italian verb “Mettere” (to put, to place, to set, to stick on, to apply), and some of the most common and useful idiomatic expressions that use this important verb.

Upper Intermediate - Episode Nr.23

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• Difficulty Level Upper Intermediate
• Topics: family, school
• 2 Comments

16. Whose Turn Is It Tonight? (Upper Intermediate)

 April 26th, 2009

• PDF Transcript - Dialogue - Expansion - Glossary - Quiz

Learn Italian with LearnItalianPod. Episode #16 of the “Upper-Intermediate Level Series” is entitled “Whose Turn Is It Tonight?” - Italo and Lucia just finished dinner in their house in Milan. It’s time to do the dishes: whose turn is it to do it tonight? Italo says Lucia, and Lucia says Italo… but someone has got to do it! How to decide whose turn is it? Easy: with the good old “pari o dispari” (even or odd) game! So, let’s hear how to make quick decisions in a very democratic way by playing the old “odd or even” game. In doing so, we’ll learn how to do some quick math and, on the grammar section, we will finish reviewing the comparatives, with the so-called “comparatives of equality”. Enjoy!

[VIP Members Only Extra Bonuses!] Login to the Learning Center to download Audio & PDF Transcript of the “must-know” irregular verb “Prendere” (To Take).

Upper Intermediate - Episode Nr.16

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• Difficulty Level Upper Intermediate
• Topics: family, games
• 2 Comments

14. How Did Your Day Go? (Upper Intermediate)

 March 23rd, 2009

• PDF Transcript - Dialogue - Expansion - Glossary - Quiz

Learn Italian with LearnItalianPod. Episode #14 of the “Upper-Intermediate Level Series” is entitled “How did your day go?” - Lucia just came back home from work. Waiting for her at home is her son Mattia. Lucia asks her son how his day went, and sure enough, Mattia has some great news for his mother! So today we are going to hear a casual, informal conversation between a mother and a son. You’ll find one more time a lot of informal, “real” Italian here, the way it is spoken between Italians! In the grammar section, we will explain, review, and practice “impersonal constructions” which are so popular in Italian. Enjoy!

Upper Intermediate - Episode Nr.14

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• Difficulty Level Upper Intermediate
• Topics: art, family
• 3 Comments