- My wife and I moved to Italy in 2019 and knew we had to improve our Italian language skills.
- However, once I arrived there, I had a hard time learning the language.
- Since adopting our dog, people have become friendlier and learning to speak Italian has become easier.
I moved to Italy In 2019 I want to understand the basics of Italian and continue to improve my speaking skills. I quickly learned that developing second language skills is not easy.
simply Immerse yourself in Italian society It was not a fast track to language proficiency. Although I completed several Italian courses in college and practiced diligently on Duolingo, I couldn’t build up the confidence to have deep conversations with strangers. Yes, I could understand the grammar rules and vocabulary, but it was difficult to move from theoretical understanding to conversation.
After a year, I was ready to conclude: Progress in learning Italian It probably took some time, but then help came from the most unexpected of places.
In 2020, my wife post A good Samaritan posted on social media about a pair of abandoned puppies he saved before they nearly drowned in a puddle. The male puppy was up for adoption and we decided to give him a home right away. Based on his background, we named him Lucky. We quickly realized how lucky we were to have him in our lives.
Before I got Lucky, I had trouble having meaningful conversations with strangers.
when move to a new country, It is important to understand that locals have their own lives and are not language learning avatars who can immediately support eager foreigners in acquiring language skills. I learned this lesson the hard way.
Before Lucky, most of my interactions with locals were purely transactional and mechanical. Although I was able to practice basic conversations at grocery stores and restaurants, most of the people I met didn’t have the time to have the deep conversations I needed to improve in Italian.
Research shows that yes, but Learning a new language is difficult for adults, it is not impossible to strengthen vocabulary and grammar until you are proficient. To reach proficiency, I needed to find a way to overcome the basic conversational elements I had already mastered. Luck was the key to getting strangers to open up and talk to me.
Lucky is the ultimate icebreaker
People on the street always want to talk to me when they see me walking around. This is beneficial for my language learning as I no longer have to look for excuses to start a conversation.
Because I have luck, people are now friendlier and talk more openly with me, and it turns out to be mutually beneficial. I get to hone my language skills and they get to meet my wonderful pups.
After I started taking Lucky for walks every day, I noticed that my neighbors started calling me “American,” “Lucky’s owner,” and just his first name. Lucky makes me feel like part of a community. Thanks to him, he has become even more connected with his neighbors, and now he is able to improve his language skills by having daily conversations.
Thank you Lucky for always being by my side
Italy is a dog-loving country and dogs are allowed in most restaurants and stores. I almost always have a loyal companion by my side.
My wife jokes that Lucky has visited more regions of Italy than many Italians. From the shores of Lake Como to the Italian Alps to my home in Emilia-Romagna, Lucky has given me the opportunity to meet and talk with many interesting people who I might not otherwise have had the time to stop and talk to. They provided it to me.
During my travels with him, I learned countless colloquial expressions and new vocabulary words that I don’t think I would have learned without him by my side. When I adopted Lucky, I thought I was saving him, but in reality he was saving me. Grazie Lucky, Ti Voglio Bene.