When am i ready to go to italy?

Question

I've been learning little bits of italian since 1st grade! In 7th grade we started learning from text. I will be going into Italian 3 next year, a sophomore. My dad wants to take me to Italy next May, but i don't know if i will know enough to speak the language. My dad said he is depending on me, so i feel pressured.

Answer 1

Just go!

You'll be fine!

Answer 2

Go.  You'll be fine.  I know very little Italian and got along fine.  Most people understand a little English.

Answer 3

When I went to Italy to study abroad, I didn't know Italian. I won't say that I didn't know Italian at all because I did learn some basic stuff but not enough to effectively communicate the way that I would want to in a foreign language (or, at least, not at the level of my Spanish).

I would say that you'll be fine. I think that it's safe for me to assume that you'll be going to one or more of the major tourist city and not one of the small towns on the rolling Tuscan hills. At tourist attractions and in touristy districts, people will know English. And when they don't, however much Italian that you do know should be sufficient.

When I was in Italy, I started talking Italian classes and since my trip, I'm now on an advanced level but I met many people, and I spoke lots of Italian. Really, I think you'll be absolutely fine. Allora, ciao!

Answer 4

You certainly must know more Italian than about 90 percent of the tourists who come to Italy! Most don't speak anything more than "pizza" and "spaghetti."

Italians are very generous with tourists and will applaud and encourage all your efforts to speak their language and will even try their English out with you. Italians don't speak English as well as a lot of other Europeans but they generally try to communicate with people.

You say though that you feel pressured by your dad -- is there something else other than tourism that is going on for the trip? (What I mean is, is there an important situation that he's expecting you to be able to communicate in Italian for such as a business meeting or meeting with non-English speakers). If you are just coming for tourism, you will be just fine. Take advantage of this wonderful opportunity -- and part of the fun of international travel is working to communicate with the locals.

Buon viaggio!

Answer 5

Go when do you want, the problem is not the language, english is the world's language and  if you know a little bits of Italian you won't have problems