L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 20 L'Italo-Americano Y ou may have a little Italian under your belt, perhaps from family experience, travel, tutors, or classes, and you want to improve your skills in a way that is not only fun but works. Perhaps you have no Italian, but you long to understand the beautiful language of the Old Continent... and maybe hope to order dinner in Verona using the chef's native tongue. No matter your previous experi- ence or desire to learn Italian, often the hardest part is actually understanding native speakers during everyday life, on the street, or with friends. Do you want to improve your comprehen- sion and vocabulary so that you can connect with real Italians? There's an app for that: Yabla Italian. It's effective, enjoyable — even addictive — because on Yabla you watch authentic Italian television and play games that are designed to effectively immerse you into the Italian language. Yabla is accessible from your laptop, tablet, phone, or digital television, and provides patented language learning technology. Yabla offers binge-worthy con- temporary Italian TV shows and Italian films from RAI (Radiotelevisione italiana) and other networks, and rounds out its programming by producing origi- nal content for learners. With an expert team based in Rome, Yabla Originals are designed especially for language-learning and make the Yabla Library a comprehensive resource for Italian. Yabla enhances RAI pro- grams with "EVM," or "Enhanced Vocal Mix," reducing background noise, and enhancing speech, making regular television ideal for closer listening of the language. The Yabla Player pro- vides numerous features that make it a powerful language learning tool, including the ability to easily navigate the Library, control the speed and captions of the videos, and reference a multi- source bilingual dictionary. Yabla features active learning tech- niques, such as dictation and comprehension games, which build your listening skills, your vocabulary base, and overall knowledge of Italian spelling and grammar. Yabla Italian programming includes popular RAI dramas such as Il Commissario Manara and Provaci Ancora Prof!, as well as documentary, travel, cooking, and even game shows. All programs immerse you in Italian, spoken by authentic, col- loquial, native speakers. Not only do the shows introduce you to an array of vocabulary and new phrases, they provide an opportu- nity to watch genuine Italian pro- gramming — what the Italians watch — giving the Yabla user a sneak peek into contemporary Italian culture. After coming back from a home stay in Italy, Yabla sub- scriber Joan Engelhaupt reported: "A real point of connection was that this family had watched TV programs I had become acquainted with through Yabla: Provaci Ancora Prof! and Il Commissario Mannara. We were delighted to discover we had this in common. The wife of the family and I enjoyed raving over how bello Luca Mannara is! So thank you for having made it more possible to connect with people in Italy. I guess you could say that you gave me some cultur- al competence. Grazie! P.S. My weakest skill has always been aural comprehension, and the Scribe exercises have really honed in on that. " Yabla's patented dictation game, Scribe, builds listening, writing, and spelling skills by challenging the user to listen to everyday Italian and transcribe what is heard (but providing real time feedback, as well as hints and clues when you need them). In this way, Yabla differentiates itself from traditional, textbook examples and speech patterns. John DuQuette, the founder of Yabla, explains why Yabla chose this approach: "We are looking to change the paradigm where peo- ple very often graduate from years of language study without the ability to actually hear and understand native speakers they encounter on the ground, people who don't sound like textbook recordings." Possibly the best part about learning with Yabla: it's fun and addictive. Not only do you get to watch the authentic Italian shows you enjoy from all over the region, you are engaged in both passive and active learning styles while you do so. You can binge a series, and at the same time hone your language skills with Scribe and the other Yabla exercises. Robert R., a satisfied (and veri- fied) Yabla user states, "I'm an advanced intermediate speaker, and it has lots that can help me grow my abilities. I even got hooked on one of the 'series' I'm watching - it's more like fun than work." Yabla content includes full- length films, episodic television programs, everyday scenarios for practice, and more — coupled with real video from Italian lan- guage classrooms and instruction with top professors, Yabla puts comprehensive Italian language immersion at your fingertips. "I have just signed up for my fourth language at Yabla. I find the videos very useful for learn- ing, and very engaging. They are short enough (3-4 minutes) that I can watch at any time of day when I have a few minutes. Some of the videos are stand alone sin- gle lessons, others are serial sto- ries that you can get immersed in. I don't know any reason why a language learner would not at least give it a try for a month. I predict you will sign up after that." -Robert, Trustpilot verified Yabla subscriber Yabla is in active use by the U.S. Department of State (Foreign Service Institute), The University of Michigan, The International School of Genoa, Boston College, Iowa State University, the US Army, The University of Colorado, as well as hundreds of K-12 schools throughout the USA and Canada. You can get start a free 14-day Yabla Italian trial risk free by going to yabla.com/italo (Also, your friends and family back in Italy, studying English, can get a free trial of Yabla Inglese at yabla.com/inglese ) FRANCESCA BEZZONE Yabla: Learn Italian with TV, Film and Videos Among the many series avalaible on Yabla, Commissario Manara is the most popular (Copyright: Yabla/RAI) A view of the video section of the Yabla app (Copyright Yabla) LIFESTYLE FASHION FOOD ARTS ADVICE LANGUAGE

• Cover