Don’t you love it, when you find a great website by accident! That happened to me the other day. I was searching for an Italian recipe, but I wasn’t finding what I wanted. So, I kept clicking “here” and “there” and suddenly I came to a website for “learning Italian.”
The site is called, “The Italian Experiment.” I noticed that they also have the “same” site in German, Spanish and French. In ALL of these languages they take three fairy tales and translate them into the foreign language you choose, and even better, they have audio where someone reads the story to you!
As you listen to the story, you can hear how they pronounce the words. Excellent! If you have “no idea” what the reader is saying, there is a button that says, “translate,” if you click that the English translation appears.
I chose the Italian version and listened to “The Three Little Pigs.” You can listen to them tell the story here. While I can speak Italian fairly well, I’ve got to say the words in this story had me lost and this is a short book. Yikes, I need to practice.
In part of the story they say in English, “the first little pig,” which translated in Italian is, “il primo porcellino.” You have to hear the translator read these words, it is very cute sounding. Suddenly the little porcellino seems like your best friend.
This site has a review for an online language course called, “Rocket Italian.” They give it 4.5 Stars. I went to the Rocket Italian website, it seems good. I’ve been wanting to practice Italian and build up my vocabulary. Maybe I will rock my Italian by taking the Rocket Italian course! I like the name “rocket,” makes me think if I pass the course, I will be ejected to Florence and find myself in a beautiful cafe!
Gotta hope!
Brilliant Viewpoint 
This is awesome! I have to admit that before I had even finished reading I had gone on to the website to check it out (I’m too enthusiastic it’s honestly my downfall), and I’ve sent the Italian website to my best friend who has Italian heritage and would like to learn. Good find!!
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Oh, so glad you shared it. I liked the idea they had of reading a book, so you can hear how they pronounce the words. Usually, it is just the simple sentences of “How are you,” etc. that we do need to learn, but I think it is important to HEAR them speaking in the language and these are simple Fairy Tales. I should send that person an email letting them know I enjoyed the site, can they ADD more stories. Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
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What a great idea Monica. Thanks for sharing this information. Lorelle 🙂
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Your welcome! I have to send the Website author a message, it’s really a wonderful site. I hope he would ADD more stories which is beneficial when trying to learn a language to “hear” them speak the words.
BY THE WAY, I was thrilled to see your story where you met with some fellow Bloggers in Singapore. That was wonderful.
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It’s great when you have audio. It definitely helps the comprehension.
Thank you Monica. I was very happy to meet such lovely people. Have a great week. 😊
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That sounds like such fun. Thanks for sharing the site(s). I just might give The Three Little Porcellinos a try 🙂
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Yes, do…you will smile and I bet your “muse” will say, “You see, you’ve learned something new, and might get an idea for your next book.” :).
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What a creative approach to learning (or re-learning) foreign languages. Great find, Monica. Gives me hope that I can still improve my command of a language, even if I’m well beyond my formal education years. Va bene!
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Va bene! Good job Dave, you haven’t forgotten everything!
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Just listened to ‘I Tre Porcellini” So cute!!!!!! Thank you so much for sharing. I’m bookmarking this.
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Yeah… I have to listen to Little Red Riding Hood, that should be interesting. 🙂
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Great fun way of getting into the language! I teach Spanish and love using stories students already know, of at least are familiar with… I wrote a little blog post about myself once.
Im certainly going to check this site out. Thanks so much for the information. Your enthusiasm is great!
Regards. Marie.
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Learning languages is fun! You will enjoy that website.
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Oh, man. This is absolutely beautiful. Thanks! I’m learning all these languages this year and this another excellent resource to add to my repertoire.
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Thanks for stopping by. I think you will like it.
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I think this will help me immensely.
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