Back to school, back to work, it’s probably been a busy week for you.

You likely won’t have had much time for learning Italian.

Remember, though, that the ability to speak and understand a foreign language comes only with much time and practice. Grasshopper.

Little and often. Slowly, steadily. Progress comes from establishing good habits.

And since there’s no better time than January for organising yourself to achieve future goals…

…here are a few things you can do this weekend to get you started speaking and understanding Italian better in 2014!

[Read more…]

I hate getting “Merry Christmas” emails because everyone sends them: suppliers, competitors and spammers. Everyone uninteresting.

It’s such a cliché.

Writing them can be fun, though. And this year I even did my own tree image, instead of ripping one off from Google.

(If you can’t see my wonky Christmas tree over there >>> click the “show images” link in your email client.)

So, you probably worked out by now that if you need a graphic designer, you’re not immediately going to think of Madrelingua.

On the other hand, we hope to be your first port of call anytime you’re in the market for a top-quality Italian language course.

Christmas marketing message delivered. Ho, ho, ho.

Buon natale to you and your families, wherever you are in the world.

Daniel, Stefi, Francesca, Paola, Giulia, Paolo, Lucia

(and everyone else who helped in 2013!)

P.S. This article is open for comments, so if you want to wish us Buon natale or send Christmas greetings to your teachers or people you met on your course, go right ahead!

Just click this link  to view the article and write your message in the box at the bottom of the page.

You were meaning to do this.

With a deposit of just €120, you’ll save 20% on your group Italian course of any length, at any time in 2014.

It’s a no-brainer.

But you haven’t got round to it yet.

Well, today’s the last day.

There are just hours to the end of the offer.

Got Paypal? Or a credit card? This is going to take you just seconds.

And you don’t even have to decide the dates of your Italian course (just let us know when you’ve organised it.)

To make sure of your 20% discount, the best offer of the year, click here.

(Go on, save 20% on your next Italian course in Bologna now!)

This is your “last-day” reminder.

If you’ve already saved 20% on the price of your next Italian course in Bologna, well sorry to have bothered you again…

If not, please be aware you have only until midnight tonight to fix it so you’ll pay 20% less for your next Italian course in Bologna.

This is the best saving of the year, and will not be repeated for 12  months.

So get it now.

More info here.

Go here to pay a modest deposit and so secure your 20% saving.

See you in Bologna in 2014!

Just a quick reminder: the Winter Offer on 2014 Italian courses ends tomorrow.

You have just one day left to take advantage of the best offer of the year!

Save 20% on any group course in 2014

Hurry!  Speak and understand Italian better, taking advantage of these low, low prices:

• Try a one-week Italian course, with the Winter Offer 20% discount, for just €190,4!
• Or why not take your time? At €349,60, a two-week course would mean learning a lot more…
• Give your Italian a real boost with three whole weeks of lessons in Bologna. Only €508
• Or in four weeks you could expect to improve a whole level: €638,4 [Read more…]

Remember before the Internet? It seems so long ago.

To book a holiday or study vacation, we’d go to a travel agent. Maybe pick up some brochures to take home and leaf through.

A week or two later we’d go back and talk things through with the woman in the agency. Ask some questions, get advice.

Perhaps a few more days before making a final decision. Then, back to the travel agency and out with the chequebook to pay a deposit.

Haven’t things changed?

These days, it’s all so much simpler. And faster!

In fact, it should take no more than a minute or two to book your Italian course in Bologna, and without ever leaving your home or office.

Which means… you’ve no excuse for not improving your Italian in 2014!

Booking FAQ: your questions answered [Read more…]

If you have a job, a family, well let’s say a life, you may not be able to take much time out of it to learn Italian in Bologna.

In which case, you’ll want to absorb as much Italian as you can while you’re here.

The solution? An intensive Italian course!

But just how intensive IS an intensive Italian course in Bologna? Might it be, well, too much?

20 or 30 hours of Italian lessons a week? [Read more…]

You’re interested in learning Italian, or you wouldn’t be reading this.

But, as you’ve probably worked out by now, learning a foreign language is a time-consuming business, with a high chance of eventual failure.

Life gets in the way. Doubts, or conflicting priorities may well mean you make less progress with the language than you initially hoped.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

It IS possible to learn to speak and understand Italian to a good level.

How?

With a little help from your friends, of course! [Read more…]

Well of course it will.

And especially if you drink it in Italy, where you’ll be able to practice speaking and understanding Italian at the same time.

Here are a few of the ways that ‘il vino’ can give your Italian a boost:

1. While you’re in Bologna studying Italian, attend a wine-tasting. It’s great listening practice, for a start. Plus you might make new friends who you can speak Italian with!
2. There’s lot to learn about wine. Visit wine cellars and restaurants, read books and websites: you’ll also be improving your Italian at the same time…
3. When eating out, or ordering an aperitivo, you’ll have a ready topic of conversation. Quiz the wine-waiter or barman about the selection of wines available. In Italian, of course!
4. In vino veritas! After a glass or two, you’ll be less inhibited, and so will speak and understand Italian better. It’s a famous effect!

Just don’t overdo it!

P.S. There are just SIX MORE DAYS to save 20% on your 2014 Italian course (and so have more cash left to spend on wine…)

Click here for more information.