We learn Italian step by step | Impariamo l'italiano piano piano
Impariamo l’italiano piano piano is a story-based podcast for B1–B2 Italian learners who want to improve their grammar and vocabulary by following an ongoing mystery, rather than studying isolated lessons. Beginners are welcome too - everything unfolds piano piano, one step at a time.
Each episode advances a serialized story, Le Pagine del Passato, allowing you to experience Italian in context as meaning builds gradually through memory, dialogue, and investigation. Grammar structures such as the imperfetto, passato prossimo, congiuntivo, and object pronouns emerge naturally through the narrative, helping you recognize how Italian works in real situations.
Hosted by Myra, an instructional designer and adult language learner, the show is joined by Antonio - a dramatic, opinionated presence who interrupts, comments, and occasionally derails things, making the learning process both human and entertaining. Together, they guide listeners toward greater confidence in Italian, step by step.
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We learn Italian step by step | Impariamo l'italiano piano piano
Questa settimana al Meetup - Incontro 1 | Reflexive verbs and the many jobs of SI
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
What happens when one little Italian word seems to be doing several completely different jobs?
Before you listen to this episode, take the poll on LinkedIn and see how much you already know. Take the poll here.
In this first Questa settimana al Meetup, we follow the questions and discoveries that came up during our weekly Italian Meetup. We look at reflexive, pronominal and reciprocal uses of si, including rendersi conto and innamorarsi, and discover why sentences that look remarkably similar can work quite differently.
Along the way, we also explore avere a che fare con, the difference between vecchio and anziano, and finish with some story practice as Zina deals with her rain-soaked jacket.
It’s the kind of conversation that doesn’t follow a straight line, which is often exactly where the interesting Italian turns up.
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⏳ CHAPTERS
1:11 Paul Puts a Podcast Phrase to Work: avere a che fare con
2:12 Un vecchio or un uomo anziano?
4:09 Rendersi conto: Why the si?
6:51 Innamorarsi: Reflexive, Pronominal or Reciprocal?
8:11 Three Jobs for SI
13:56 Story Practice: Zina's Wet Jacket
15:27 Wrap-up – Meetups Don't Follow a Straight Line
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Voice Credits
Special thanks to voice actor Joshua Hess for lending his voice to Impariamo l'Italiano Piano Piano. - Contact: SpeakingOfVO@gmail.com
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