I'm Getting It

I don't want to sound like I'm bragging or being over confident in this post, so if that's the way I'm coming across, then I am sorry but this is my blog. I have not spend a lot of time studying Italian, nor any of the other languages I am learning, but the few times I have sat down and worked on it, I have found that I pick it up quickly. The software program I'm using, I'm on Level 1, disc 1, and in the numbers category it teaches you to count to 20, and I worked on that and I got it! I will admit that I have a bit of problem in numbers 11-20, especially 17-19, but I know how they sound. its pronouncing it that is the problem. but I can understand the numbers 0-20 now, and I can for sure count to 10, all the way up to 16 actually. not bad for 2 hours or so of work. I know that this is the baby stage, the learning of words, but I'm excited that I am picking it up fairly easily. it is close to Spanish and french and so I suppose that gives me a big of an advantage, like I've said in previous posts. I know that I'm just learning words, but it makes me feel good about myself to know that I am off to a good start on this journey. someday,I will be able to have conversations in Italian, and be able to read books in Italian(albeit not as fast as I do in English of course). I am very excited. I do have a bit of a confidence issue sometimes, and I love it when I do something well.

at this point, I am starting to realize that understanding Italian wont be as hard as speaking it. when I work on my Italian with the software, I learn to recognize the sounds and the words quickly, and memorizing and learning to say them takes  a bit longer. I suppose that makes sense in a way. in my language, culture, and communication class, we learned that the way we naturally learn a language(as seen when we are first learning to talk)is we learn to hear first, to recognize the words, and then we learn to speak, and then read, and then write. with that in mind, it does make sense that I can understanding the words in Italian and know what they are, and saying them is the skill that comes after that. I love it that I get to experience what I learned about language learning first hand. granted, learning english counts but I was 8 when I did and at that age, it is so easy to pick up a language that within 6 months I was speaking it. so it counts but...in a different way. so far I love Italian and I cannot wait for that day that I read a book in Italian or have a conversation in Italian. years and years away but...it'll get here.