Dealing with Language Anxiety

This summer will find me on my first trip to Italy.  Plans are to travel around Northern Italy by local train for a week and then meet up with friends and family at a villa in Tuscany.

Italian Villa - Le Due Volpi

Sounds like a dream vacation, doesn't it?  Then what is the source of this anxiety I feel when I visualize the trip?  It may be language anxiety rearing its ugly head.

My husband, Wayne, reminded me recently that this is the only trip we have taken for which we have zero ability in the native language.  Our previous travels have been to countries where English, French, Spanish or Portuguese are spoken.  English is my native language (although I must admit that in Scotland, one of our favorite travel locations, communication was sketchy, at best!)  

I know enough of the other three languages to survive in Canada, Spain, or Portugal.  But my 

halfhearted attempts to learn Italian through the years have not resulted in even minimal  communicative ability.  And, to make matters worse, since I am the language nerd of the family, I am expected to know some Italian.  No pressure there!

Should I cop out and speak Spanish to the Italians, hoping there is enough similarity in the two languages to communicate?  Some of my Spanish-speaking friends have suggested this solution because it worked for them.  But a nagging voice inside tells me to use this trip as an opportunity to learn some Italian. I suppose it is time to get serious about this Italian study.

Italian is already one of the languages I study on a daily basis on Duolingo, my favorite free online language learning course. I work on Italian exercises about ten minutes daily, which has lulled me into thinking that Italian isn't that hard if one knows other Romance languages. 

Duolingo, Italian

You (plural) eat the bread, right?  The problem is that I have a passive understanding of Italian, which means I can read this sentence or maybe even understand it when spoken  But what if I find myself in a situation where I have to create the same sentence? 

Restaurant in Florence, Italy

 (The Florence restaurant is candlelit with violins playing "O Solo Mio" softly in the background.The waiter brings a basket of freshly-baked bread to the table.  I turn to my dinner companions and say magnanimously, "Voi mangiate il pane," remembering that I want to save room for the gelato on the dessert menu.)  

Even though I plan to continue with Duolingo to build up Italian vocabulary and grammar skills, I need an additional method to force me to think in the language, that is, to turn thoughts into language.  The method I have chosen will sound familiar to you—flash cards. 

I must admit that flash cards had never appealed to me before because they seemed to be all about rote learning and memory.  My Italian flash cards, however, will be personalized flash cards and used in a slightly different way.  As I do each Duolingo Italian lesson and come upon a useful word or phrase, I write it in English on one side of a small card and Italian on the reverse side. Choosing and writing the Italian words for myself has the added bonus of helping me focus.  

One of my first flash cards says, "The newspaper"  "I read a newspaper" "I have a newspaper."  Once I have confirmed that I am saying the correct words, I begin to practice conversations in which I use the phrases.  I continue the imaginary conversation as long as I can express myself and expand it if possible, sometimes researching other vocabulary and grammar that I need.  What is the plural form of newspaper?  How do you say, "Do you read?"  or "Do you have?"  Or, "How much is the newspaper?"  My Italian dictionary and Google Translate app are always close at hand.

Italian newspapers

An added benefit of flash cards is their portability.  I can carry a stack in my purse to practice Italian in waiting rooms or on long car trips.  And flash cards don't need power or a cellular connection. 

So if you have language anxiety (and most of us do), how about inventing a new way to continue learning that language, one that works for you personally and, above all, is something you look forward to doing on a regular basis?