Even though your entire course will be in English, and most universities will not even require you to learn Italian for your rotations (unlike some, for example Milano Statale that requires to pass an Italian language exam to start internships), you will seriously be hindering yourself by not learning the language. You might be thinking “I’m going to live in the country for at least 6 years, of course I’m going to learn Italian just by being there”, but I have some terrible news for you. It is possible to live in a country for 10 years and not learn the language at all. In this article I want to cover why you should learn Italian, what are some common hurdles for students, and how you can best start your journey so you progress as fast as possible, allora andiamo ragazzi!
Why Do Students Struggle So Much?
You might think immersion alone will be enough, but I know students that have been here for almost a decade and still can’t hold basic conversation. You might be wondering how is this possible, but I assure you that learning the language is actually quite difficult unless you are very intentional and proactive about it. I too made the mistake of thinking that just by being in a country I would learn, but quickly realised that unless I put in very active effort it was not going to happen.
If we consider for a second that everything you do day to day is going to be English, you get to live in this little bubble of barely speaking any Italian. Outside of maybe being able to order for yourself in a restaurant, or the words for the basics in a grocery store, it is very likely that you will never improve past this. I unfortunately know this as a fact because I know A LOT of students in this exact situation, and almost fell into this trap myself for years. After all you’re going to be doing lectures in English and studying from all English resources as they’re the most comprehensive and the best. You might consider working part time while studying medicine, and it’s probably going to be teaching English, or tutoring in sciences which will either be in your native language or English. On top of that all of your classmates and people you meet will more than likely be using English to communicate, and even when you make Italian friends either your Italian will not yet be strong enough that they’ll be patient for you to improve or, in my experience, they themselves will want to practice their English.
To top all of this off, students become complacent about learning Italian. They start thinking “well the course is MEANT TO BE IN ENGLISH”, so of course everyone should speak English with them including on rotations. Even when you don’t think as entitled as that (please don’t be that person), let’s be honest: learning a new language drops in the priority list as your responsibilities start stacking up. Between studying, keeping on top of exams, making sure you’re eating well, looking after yourself, socialising, etc. it’s hard to keep balance AND learn a brand new language, especially if you also have other hobbies you want to work on. It’s not an issue of laziness, or unwillingness, it’s just, as it gets harder and harder, your priorities shift with focusing on studies or feeling better rightfully becoming higher. Especially since it is possible to get by on minimal Italian, even though it makes life more difficult, it does become something that eventually drops at the bottom of the to do list.
This is of course not to call anyone out, as I myself have fallen into these traps before. It’s just to demonstrate that it’s very possible to get to a country and never learn the language not because of a failure of the person, but because we don’t expect how difficult it’s going to be. Additionally, as someone who can now speak Italian, I realise that the way we’re taught languages compared to how we actually acquire them is completely different. I did French for 5 years in school, and Japanese for 2 years, but I could not tell you more than 2-3 sentences in either, and back then didn’t really realise that I wasn’t actually learning those languages. Now that I’ve learnt Italian, I recognize that the real difficulty with learning the language is that it takes so long to figure out how to actually do that. Immersion alone isn’t enough, and rote memorising verb tenses will never prepare you.
Why You Should Learn Italian as a Medical Student
The obvious fact aside that you are going to be living in a new country and immersing into a new culture so you really should put an effort in, I can’t emphasise enough how much your quality of life will improve being able to speak a good level of Italian.
First of all, even if the professors continuously translate for you, you aren’t going to get nearly as high quality of an experience not having a firm grasp on the language. You’re going to miss out on opportunities of conducting patient interviews yourself, which is one of the most important tools a doctor can have. You’re going to miss out on the nuances of what patients are saying, and how experienced doctors navigate difficult conversations. Even if the doctor is translating for you, they’re not going to do it word for word, and a lot of the nuances and important little details are going to slip through the cracks. This is not only going to cost you in the experience you get, but it’s going to lock you out of opportunities to maximise your own clinical experience. When a student is able to speak Italian, it is much easier for them to do unofficial rotations in departments that they have an interest in, instead of just being dependent on what little scheduled practical activities they might have.
When you’re interested in a department, and ask to shadow a doctor, if they see you’re interested and you’ve learnt Italian, they can actually give you real responsibilities and let you come in so much more because you are not “extra effort” to have to show around, and translate everything to. Once you get in with a department they can teach you so much, and even give you your own little roles to start training you, and if you speak Italian there are going to be so many more opportunities for you.
Advantages for you aside, it is absolutely ridiculous to expect sick patients in a hospital to speak in an unfamiliar language just so you get to learn how to do an interview. During our rotations, the professors would try to find English speaking patients for students who didn’t speak any Italian, but if there weren’t any on the ward you were out of luck. Still, even if you did find patients, it’s a bit ridiculous to expect a sick person to be out of their comfort zone as a favour to you. Again not to call out any current students, but let’s be real here, this is to not only improve your quality of education, but is an act of service to sick people to be able to communicate in a way that’s most comfortable to them.
Medicine aside, to be completely honest, learning Italian improves the quality of your life so much, and especially your day to day. Just simple things such as being able to go to a shop to get your phone screen fixed, or getting your shoes repaired doesn’t become an absolutely dreaded task because you don’t speak the language. You don’t have to wait for an Italian friend to be free to help you call the electricity company, or your internet provider because the wifi is not working again. You’re not as afraid as becoming sick because what if your doctor can’t speak English! I don’t want to generalise an entire country, or say that it’s really bad here, but Italy is one of the countries with the lowest level of English proficiency in Europe. Even in touristic cities like Rome, when you need to go to the post office to do documents etc. people usually only speak a very basic level of English. Like I said before, it’s very possible to just about get by without needing to learn the language, especially if you have friends that will help you out, but the quality of life difference when you speak good Italian and can do things independently without dread is priceless.
It wouldn’t be a brutally honest AcadIMAT article if we didn’t also mention the truth that it’s just also an absolute flex to be able to speak another language. Many of us already speak at least 2 with English as one (if your native language isn’t English), and it’s just such a huge flex to be able to speak such a sought after language like Italian, let alone be fluent in it! If you don’t want to do it for your education, or for your patients, or your quality of life, do it for how much more impressive your tinder bio will be.
Pros and Cons of Common Learning Methods
So you’re convinced you’re going to put a lot of effort into learning the language. Let’s go over some common ways to get started and speak about the pros, and cons of each of them.
Using Apps (Duolingo, Babble, Busuu, etc.)
This is the easiest way to get started and there are many popular options to choose from. Duolingo is probably the most famous way to get started in learning a language, but as far as language learning apps go it’s pretty basic. I think if you want a really low effort way of getting started before you start getting serious about it, say a year in advance before you plan on moving to Italy, it’s a great app to download.
An even better app I recommend though is Busuu. This is sadly not sponsored, but to be able to progress through the levels native speakers need to correct your exercises and speaking tasks, and in return you do this for others in your native language. It has broken down lessons etc. and in my opinion a much more powerful app to ease into learning Italian.
Language Learning Schools
Using a local language learning school is another popular option that a lot of people find some success with. While not the most ideal way to learn a language, this is a really great way to ensure being consistent with it, and having stakes in learning given the usually high prices. I think when starting off to learn the foundations of the language, going to a school regularly is a great idea especially because it’s also a great way to make your first few non-university friends!
Usually the lessons will be at your level, but still somewhat challenging, and has a natural progression that will keep you adherent to improving whether you feel like it or not (as long as you show up). After a certain degree though, being in a school is not the most efficient way to improve, and it’s certainly not enough alone to reach that comfortable fluency level.
If you’re on a budget you might also want to consider volunteering associations: there are plenty of them throughout the city and they usually offer Italian courses basically for free.
Comprehensible Input
This method of learning has been around for a very very long time and fluent speakers of all languages swear by it. It’s been popularised by many famous youtubers, and even recently has had a renaissance being called the “refold method”.
In this method, you consume as much Italian (or any language really) from as many resources as possible and it doesn’t matter if you don’t understand anything. It doesn’t matter that you don’t speak even a basic level or you don’t even understand 10%, you just keep listening, keep consuming, and keep sticking with it. This can be podcasts, youtube videos, netflix, books, etc. you name it but all in Italian even if you don’t understand a single word. The reason why this is so effective is a little outside of the scope of this article, but I leave some links expanding on it, and attach 2-3 great videos I saw that changed the trajectory of my language learning that I really advise that you watch (even though the languages aren’t Italian).
Combining It All Together
Obviously each of these methods alone, are just one piece of the puzzle and will help you get so far, but the easiest way to achieve success in learning the language is actually combining all of these together. Continuous comprehensible input as hard as it is, should be the foundation of everything, with apps to teach you and help you practice remembering vocab, and a school/lessons to allow you to practice speaking and hearing different accents etc. will probably have the highest chance of success if all are financially feasible to you.
Going to language tandems is another great way to practice speaking Italian, and also meeting international friends, but I think when starting out and first learning the balance of living in Italy and being a medical student, tandems can wait for a while while you get a grasp of the basics. Additionally, in my honest opinion, you should start learning Italian way before you get here. Even if you don’t end up moving to Italy, there is absolutely no harm in learning another language!
In Conclusion What Do I Recommend?
Hit the ground running as soon as possible. Even if you don’t plan on sitting the IMAT for many many months, and there’s no guarantee you get in, start learning now. You can just do a few hours a week with Busuu to get the basics and ease into it! It can be a fun little hobby you start now, that you will be so grateful for after a few months of living in your dream city. There is nothing to lose from starting learning a new language, and absolutely everything to gain.
Brute force your listening as much as possible. I think comprehensible input is the most boring and difficult part, but probably the most beneficial way to suddenly improve your language skills. Stick to it as much as you can, especially in all of your down time. If you just finished the IMAT and you’re waiting to move country, this is when I would be maximising every hour of the day I’m free with just pure input. Once you move here especially, you should just listen to music, audiobooks, podcasts, as much as possible, and only watch cartoons and movies etc. in Italian if you can. For me personally, especially when I’m feeling bored or under stimulated and would just love to be entertained in a language I know, this is the hardest one to do, but based on years of research this is going to be what gives you the most return on your investment.
Join tandem groups if you can to really force yourself out of your comfort zone, and meet lots of new people. Especially if going to a language school is not an option for you affordability wise, this is usually a free way to start practicing speaking, and applying what you’re learning from all your input methods!
The greatest return on investment for your new life in Italy though is making Italian friends. As hard as this is, if you can find Italian friends who care about you, they will absolutely not only help you whenever you’re stuck with Italian bureaucracy or other nightmares requiring fluency in the language, but they will absolutely take the time to help you learn the language, and push you as much as possible to practice. I like to think that my quality of life improved when I began to speak a very decent level of Italian, but I think the truth was that my friends just improved my life that much. 🙂
