What’s Ferragosto? When was pizza invented? How is Christmas celebrated in Italy? Host Gianluca attempts to answer these and more in conversations with native speakers and Italian learners. La Bottega di Babbelĭesigned for intermediate learners, Babbel’s La bottega di Babbel is our latest effort to tackle the tough questions. There are three seasons available, with episodes published from 2015 to 2018. For those eager to diversify their exposure to Italian, this is a great way to absorb regional differences in accents, traditions, food and culture.
I Provinciali is another Rai Radio 2 program that focuses squarely on the provincial life of Italy beyond Rome and Milan. This is “the podcast that breaks the monotony of learning made up of only books and professors,” focusing on funny anecdotes about living abroad and, at times, vintage Italian insults.ĭreaming of pastoral Tuscany, or the small-town Italy of your (likely Hollywood-influenced) imagination? This podcast can take you there. Listen to the show for the scintillating conversations between hosts Giulia Depentor and Stefano Nucera, as well as for the entertaining stories they tell in Italian. 4 Verticaleīabbel’s first Italian podcast was 4 Verticale. In 2015, the hosts petitioned the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award the Nobel Peace Prize of 2016 to the bicycle. They also aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty from time to time. The show is an afternoon radio program that airs on Italy’s Rai Radio 2, featuring hosts Sara Zambotti and Massimo Cirri dishing on the latest happenings in a sort of “cliff notes” version of what’s what. If you like getting your information in bite-sized chunks, the manageable pace of the Caterpillar might be up your alley. It’s not just news, either you’ll also get mini lessons on Italian grammar and expressions. You can choose from beginner, intermediate and advanced recordings, and each episode comes with a transcript so you can read as you listen. News in Slow Italian is exactly what it sounds like: weekly Italian lessons tailored to the listener’s comprehension level. Get your regular news - and have it spoon-fed to you at whatever speed you’d like. Italian Podcasts For Language Learners News in Slow Italian
If you’re on the hunt for some engaging and helpful shows, here are eight of the best Italian podcasts for language learners. Enter Italian podcasts.īeyond bolstering your budding language skills with real conversation, listening to Italian podcasts is an excellent way to immerse yourself further in the language and get a feel for how Italian is actually spoken - not to mention cultural topics and current events that matter to Italian people. That’s the sort of thing you can’t learn from a textbook alone.
Italians, after all, speak with their hands as well as their mouths. While cultural immersion is key to the successful study of any language, it could arguably be even more so for Italian, a language that has to be felt as much as spoken.