My 30-Day Study Plan to Learn Basic Italian
I love Italian — it’s melodic, expressive, and surprisingly approachable. A few months ago, I decided to give myself 30 days to reach a conversational level. Here’s the exact plan I followed, day by day, to build basic Italian skills quickly and consistently.
Week 1: Build a Foundation
- Focus: Pronunciation, basic grammar, and essential vocabulary
- Tools: Duolingo, YouTube (ItalianPod101), Anki deck (Top 500 words)
- Activities:
- Learn the alphabet and sounds
- Introduce yourself and ask simple questions
- 15 minutes of listening and 15 minutes of vocab daily
- Goal: Understand the structure of simple sentences
Week 2: Start Speaking and Reading
- Focus: Simple dialogues, listening comprehension, basic reading
- Tools: Easy Italian videos, HelloTalk, LingQ
- Activities:
- Practice speaking with native speakers (or yourself!)
- Read short dialogues and highlight new phrases
- Keep a journal in Italian
- Goal: Have a basic conversation about your day
Week 3: Expand Vocabulary and Practice Writing
- Focus: Daily routines, food, directions, and useful verbs
- Tools: Memrise (Italian 1 & 2), Clozemaster, Google Translate
- Activities:
- Write short paragraphs
- Watch Italian shows with subtitles
- Practice verb conjugations (especially essere, avere, andare)
- Goal: Understand and use 300+ words
Week 4: Real Conversations and Listening Immersion
- Focus: Listening fluency and speaking confidence
- Tools: Podcasts (Coffee Break Italian), native speaker chats
- Activities:
- Speak with a language partner 3–4 times this week
- Listen to one podcast episode per day
- Review previous vocabulary decks and journal entries
- Goal: Hold a 10-minute conversation with ease
Final Thoughts
This plan helped me reach A2-level Italian in just one month. The key was daily, focused practice and mixing input with output. You can adapt this for any language — just commit, simplify, and enjoy the process.
Are you planning a 30-day language challenge? Let me know which language you’ll choose!