Language learning for everyday life.
Learn Italian with Joy of Languages is an online language school helping hundreds of people achieve their dreams of learning a new language, travelling to another country and having authentic conversations with real people.
Everyone is capable of learning a new language – especially when they connect with others and focus on phrases used in real life. We help people see the fun in language learning so it becomes something to look forward to.
On this page
How we started
Joy of Languages Italian was set up by Katie when she relocated from the UK to Italy. Far from being a language fanatic all her life, she was in fact completely monolingual until her early twenties, napping her way through language lessons at school and university. The classroom bored her to tears – she assumed she was simply bad at languages!
Katie
However, as soon as she tried learning Italian away from the classroom, Katie discovered she could study in a way that complemented her own learning style. She found ways to absorb Italian that were personal, fun and – most importantly – really worked. After discovering her love of Italian, Katie went on to dabble in French, Spanish, Mandarin and German – the list keeps growing.
Fascinated by the science that underpins how adults learn languages, she went on to achieve a Masters in Linguistics from the University of Cambridge, and later an MRes in Speech, Language & Cognition at University College London. Katie wanted to share her passion and knowledge for language learning with others, applying everything she’d learned and helping new speakers discover the real joy of language.
Matteo
Our philosophy of learning
We believe languages are about people, rather than strict rules. Most language learning programmes don’t work because they don’t teach you what you need to know. Studying isolated words and complicated grammar is a complete waste of time unless you know how to use them in real conversations.
Speaking a language is a practical skill, like riding a bike or swimming. We all get better at practical skills by doing them, not by reading about them in books. The quickest – and most enjoyable – way to learn Italian is by using it in real conversations. It helps you organise your thoughts, find the right words and put them together to communicate in a meaningful way.
Louise, student
Our language courses teach you grammar and vocabulary on a need to know basis. This means studying useful words and sentence structures that help you speak in real situations, not random words for kitchen appliances that you’ll never use. Drawing on findings from linguistics, psychology and neuroscience, our philosophy of learning is based on four fundamental pillars –
Our approach
Conquer the fear of speaking
Most people feel a bit tense when they try to speak a different language. It’s normal. We’re worried we’ll seem stupid or people will laugh at us. Deep down we know it’s not true – but the fear still feels very real! Our classes give you a safe and supportive environment to practise. We'll help you get past your speaking blocks so you’ll soon feel ready to get out there and start chatting to native Italians.
Adopt the right strategies
Everyone can learn to have conversations in Italian by following the simple strategies taught in our lessons. Our courses are written by a native and non-native team – natives help you learn the most natural and correct way to say things, and non-natives can help you overcome the specific challenges you’re facing, because they’ve been there too!
Have fun along the way
Studies show we learn languages quicker when we’re feeling happy and relaxed. When we let go and have fun with a language, our minds are open and absorb new information more easily. Our lively classes are packed with entertaining examples, interactive games and simple explanations to help you enjoy the learning process and pick up Italian without the stress.
Fit in with day-to-day life
Learning online means accessing high quality course materials from wherever you are in the world. This means you can learn at home, in the office, on the move – wherever you have an internet connection. Pre-scheduled live classes provide some structure to your week, but the rest of your time is own, giving you the freedom and flexibility each day to choose when to learn new phrases, practice speaking or take part in story-based learning.
Our teachers
We have a wide range of friendly and supportive teachers, each bringing their own personal skills, knowledge and experience to our school. Together, they share a genuine love of language learning, helping students of all levels continue to improve their Italian through commitment, patience and passion.
Meet the teachers
In the media
Mamma mia! You’ve signed up – but without our weekly free lesson
Our free weekly lesson is a great introduction to learning Italian in a fun and friendly way. No boring grammar or lists of random words. It’s all about real Italian conversation!