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Learn Italian — Dante's language, opera's language, food's language
italiano
Italian has 67M native speakers across Italy, Switzerland, and parts of Croatia, Slovenia, and San Marino. It's the lingua franca of classical music, opera, art history, and (some of) fashion. Koydo's Italian tutors include natives of Rome, Milan, Florence, Bologna, Naples, and Palermo. CILS + CELI exam prep at every level.
You learn Italian on Koydo with a native tutor you choose yourself, with CILS and CELI exam prep at every level. The rhythm is two 30-minute lessons a week plus a 5-minute daily ritual through a CEFR-graded curriculum. Italian is among the most beginner-friendly Romance languages for English speakers: phonetic spelling, transparent pronunciation, and grammar that is simpler than French in many ways. The hard middle is the subjunctive and irregular passato remoto, the same hill as Spanish and French. Expect A2 by six months and B1 by twelve months, with B2 — required for many Italian university programs — around month 24 to 30. Start with standard Italian rather than a regional dialect, which you can explore once you reach B2. First lesson is a trial, Koydo takes no commission from your tutor, and you can cancel anytime.
Why Italian
Dante, Petrarch, Calvino, Ferrante. Verdi, Puccini, Vivaldi. Bernini, Caravaggio. Italian unlocks reading Inferno in the original, watching Fellini without subtitles, ordering at trattorias in non-tourist quarters. Cultural-immersion learners stick with Italian past month 12 more reliably than most other languages.
Italian is among the most beginner-friendly Romance languages for English speakers. Phonetic spelling (what you see is what you say). Regular pronunciation rules. Simpler-than-French grammar in many ways. The middle hill is subjunctive + irregular passato remoto — same hill as Spanish + French.
Italy gets ~65M tourists per year. Italian-American + Italian-Canadian heritage learners often reactivate childhood Italian via Koydo cohorts. B1 Italian fundamentally changes a 2-week Italy trip — locals stop switching to English; you have access to non-touristy regions where English isn't spoken.
Italian universities + research institutions often require B2 Italian (CILS B2 or CELI B2). Italian fashion + design houses sometimes require working Italian. EU institutions accept Italian as a working language.
Realistic timeline
Two lessons per week + 5 daily minutes ritual. CEFR targets assume consistent attendance and committed practice between sessions.
First 3 lessons
Week 1-2
Pronunciation rules + alphabet. 200 high-frequency words. Greetings, family, food vocabulary, simple present.
A1 milestone
Week 8-12
Present + passato prossimo + futuro. Articles + gender. Can order food, navigate a city, hold a 3-min conversation.
A2 milestone
Month 6-8
Imperfetto + condizionale. Pronoun clitics (le, lo, ci, ne). Can sustain a 30-min conversation; reads short news articles.
B1 milestone
Month 12-18
Subjunctive (congiuntivo) begins. Passato remoto in writing. Reads contemporary novels with effort. CILS B1 ready.
B2 milestone
Month 24-30
Holds professional conversations; writes formal letters; reads literature. Required for many Italian university programs.
CEFR at 6 months
A2
CEFR at 12 months
B1
Regional note
Italian has significant dialect variation. Standard Italian (toscano-based) is what's taught in schools + used in media. Roman Italian (Romanesco) has distinct vocabulary + grammar shortcuts. Neapolitan + Sicilian are often considered separate languages, not dialects — heavily different. Northern Italian (Milanese, Venetian) is closer to standard but with regional accent. Pick a standard-Italian tutor unless you specifically need a regional variant.
FAQ
Two 30-min lessons + daily 5-min ritual gets you sustained 10-min Italian conversations by week 12. A2 (real travel Italian) by month 6-8. B1 (literature, opinions) by month 12-18. B2 (work + university) by month 24-30.
Roughly similar to Spanish; arguably easier than French. Italian pronunciation is more transparent than French (no nasal vowels, no silent letters). Grammar load is similar to Spanish. The subjunctive (congiuntivo) is the hard middle, same as Spanish + French.
Two Italian-language certificates. CILS (Certificazione di Italiano come Lingua Straniera) is administered by the University for Foreigners of Siena. CELI (Certificato di Conoscenza della Lingua Italiana) is administered by the University for Foreigners of Perugia. Both internationally recognized + accepted for Italian university admission. Coin flip — pick by which is offered in your region.
Always start with standard Italian. It's what every Italian understands; what schools teach; what media use. Regional dialects are fun once you're at B2+ — and Italians appreciate when foreigners can recognize them — but starting with a dialect limits tutor pool + textbook compatibility.
Yes. Sprouts age band (5-7) does Italian songs + games. Junior (8-11) starts CEFR-graded curriculum. Italian-heritage families often see kids progress 2× faster — the brain has a head start when one parent has any Italian.
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