A little over a year ago in the summer between my sophomore and junior years in college, I discovered a new kind of bored that was not so easily remedied with work or video games. I felt as if I was wasting time that could be spent acquiring useful skills. But with work and a summer class (neither of which really benefiting me beyond paying me and filling a gen ed requirement) taking up most of my time, I needed something that I could spend thirty minutes to an hour on each day and still make tangible progress.

Long story short, because of the improved marketability of speaking foreign languages and the cognitive benefits of learning a second language, I decided to take up learning Italian. I picked Italian partially because it’s the language of my ancestors (my last name is Tripi, if that says anything about my heritage), partially because it’s closely related to the language I studied in high school, Spanish, and partially because I didn’t know anybody else who spoke it and I wanted to be a special little snowflake. And Clint Eastwood speaks (or spoke) it. That should be reason enough.

I tried several different popular as well as a few unconventional methods of language acquisition. I focused on what works and pruned what didn’t. Here is what I learned about how to teach myself a language in just a year:

Things that worked:

Pimsleur recorded lessons. These were what I started with. I did a google search for Italian audio lessons because I wanted a way to utilize my hour commute between Canton and Marietta on the days I had class, and these were the first ones that I found. Each lesson/unit lasts about thirty minutes, and there are a little less than thirty units in each level with three levels total. It was a great way to pick up basic vocabulary and grammar quickly. It uses sentence generation exercises to help make the language familiar, as opposed to rote memorization or repetition; the mind learns by using, not by regurgitating. It also makes sure never to teach concepts that are too similar at the same time, and this is why that’s important.

Michel Thomas audio lessons. What Pimsleur lacks, Michel Thomas fills in. Much shorter lessons for my shorter commutes, MT provides more explicit grammar instruction (foundation) and vocabulary that isn’t covered by Pimsleur until late in the game. MT even dives into idioms (language builder) and different verb tenses (advanced) fairly quickly. These recordings are almost mesmerizing they’re so effective.

Duolingo. I cannot recommend this site enough. An easy, fun way to practice a language, and the most effective way I have yet found to learn to read and write in my target language. It also is a fast vocabulary builder. Don’t rely on it for speaking or listening practice, though; the speech synthesizer they use is kinda shitty a little bit. But that’s why you have Pimsleur and Michel Thomas.

Changing my default Facebook language. This also works with Twitter. It’s fun, if only because it confuses the hell out of people trying to change my status to “I’m gay”. This little tweak enabled me to pick up technology and internet-related vocabulary that would not be covered in introductory or audio lessons.

Playing video games I knew well in my target language. If there is one series I know better than any other, it’s the first two generations of the Pokemon games. I was able to find totally-not-pirated [sic] ROMs for versioni Rossa e Argento. I also purchased for my DS Versione Bianca 2 on amazon.it and even set the default language of my DS to Italian. Starcraft II allowed me to change either the game text, audio, or both to my desired language. I also discovered this little nugget, a youtube video that provides a link to a mod that allowed me to convert my PC copy of Skyrim entirely to Italian (both text and ALL voice acting). I also found that one of the built-in settings in Assassin’s Creed II allowed me to change all the voice acting to Italian, but the captions remain in English. So far, I’m finding the Skyrim mod to be the most immersive.

Practicing in several different domains. One thing I learned in my cognitive psychology class is that you more easily remember stuff in the domain in which you practiced it; e.g. if you study for your math final in the math class, you will be more likely to recall what you studied. Because I didn’t want to just remember my target language while driving my car, I made sure to practice it everywhere: at my desk, in the bathroom (Duolingo has an Android and iOS app), at LAN parties, mowing the lawn. Wherever.

Following fluent Italian speakers on Twitter and Reddit. Leave your apprehensions about being a stalker at the door. Find random native speakers of your target language on Twitter and follow them. Try to translate their tweets. This is a great way to pick up current slang and idioms. Also, /r/libri is the best all-Italian sub-reddit I have found so far.

Things that didn’t work:

Rosetta Stone. RS is a joke. Its introductory courses don’t provide anything nearly as applicable as those of Pimsleur, Michel Thomas, or Duolingo. It also ignores the issue of interference, which tells me that the developers of this software did not communicate with any cognitive psychologists when creating their method. An effectively marketed product isn’t always the best, and Rosetta Stone is proof of that.

What I want to try:

The one thing I’m missing and wish I had was full immersion. I don’t have time to dedicate to scheduled Skype conversations with people I meet on language exchange sites because my schedule during the school year is so variable. I wish I could dedicate a lengthy amount of time to going where I would be forced to use the language exclusively. One option, as my brother had suggested, is taking part in WWOOF and absconding to Italy for a month or so in the summer to work on an organic farm. Living in rural Europe, practicing my target language, and being paid via lodging and food sounds ideal. Now comes the issue of paying for a plane ticket and setting aside the time to do it (because I usually spend the summer taking more classes).

My goal is to become fluent enough that I can passively understand Italian. While I’m able to unintentionally overhear a conversation in English and pick up what is being talked about, I have to make a concerted effort with Italian to comprehend what the topic even is. I want to fix that. That way, I will be able to understand what mob bosses are talking about when I spy on them after I become Batman.