Fall is here and it’s a perfect time to restart our challenge to speak Italian every day!
We have spent summer outdoors exploring and enjoying the sunshine but now it is time to curl up on the sofa enjoying a nice cup of coffee and practicing Italian!
This is why I have decided to launch the fall edition of Pausa Caffè, the challenge to overcome your fear of speaking Italian by practicing a bit every day. Many people loved the winter and spring editions and I really hope you’ll enjoy this new challenge as well.
In case you absolutely have no clue of what Pausa Caffè is, let me tell you a bit about it.
As we all foreign language learners know very well, we may be the best students when it comes to reading, listening, writing, or studying grammar, but we struggle a lot when it comes to speaking. And this is basically due to the fact that we do not have that many chances to speak the foreign language we are studying so hard if we live in our native country.
This can be really frustrating and might make us students feel very insecure when we have to speak, even if our overall level is good. Unfortunately, there is only one solution to this problem: speak more. After all, speaking is just like going to the gym: the more you exercise, the easier exercising becomes for you.
But this is easier said than done. Finding a language partner is hard, committing to language chats with a teacher can feel overwhelming, and speaking alone does not serve any purpose. This is why I have created Pausa Caffè, as a sort of fun shock treatment to get you to speak more, at least for a month.
Even if Pausa Caffè lasts only a month, many people told me that they felt way more confident and less anxious at the end of the challenge. And this is mainly because they went out of their comfort zone and started speaking a bit of Italian every day.
But what is Pausa Caffè, exactly?
Basically, Pausa Caffè is a month-long challenge to help students of Italian overcome their fear of speaking the language and become more confident when they have to use it.
As I said, it is a challenge to help you speak more and it works this way: if you sign up, you get a daily video from me. Each video contains a question and an idea for a possible answer. You then need to answer the question in either video or audio form. For each video you’ll send me, I’ll email you with feedback and I’ll correct possible mistakes if needed. But let’s see things in detail.
How does it work?
It’s super easy: you sign up to Pausa Caffè and you get a video every day for one month. Each video will contain a question for you and an idea for a possible answer. You have to reply to that question – in audio or video form – with your answer. For each video you send me, I’ll email you with feedback and I’ll correct possible mistakes if needed.
When does it start?
It starts on Monday, October 11 and ends on Friday, November 5. In that period, you will get an email every day from Monday to Friday with a video recorded by me. Each video will never be more than 2 minutes long, so that it will super easy and quick for you to watch it. I will use VideoAsk, which is a platform that gives you the chance of chatting via asynchronous videos.
How much does it cost?
It’s 45 USD, which is more or less the cost of one coffee a day.
What will you get?
– the chance to speak Italian consistently, every weekday (Monday through Friday)
– a safe and relaxed environment – your own home – where you can speak freely
– tips and recommendations to improve your speaking skills
– a bit more confidence when speaking Italian
Let’s summarize:
– Pausa Caffè is a challenge to make you speak Italian daily, for a month
– it begins on Monday, October 11 and ends on Friday, November 5
– every weekday (Monday through Friday) you get a video with a question you need to answer with a video or audio file
– for every daily answer you send me, you will get an email from me with feedback
– it costs 45 USD, which is just a bit more than the cost of a daily coffee for a month, here in Italy
– it won’t be back again soon, so grab it while you can!
You have time until October 8 to sign up. If you have questions or need more information, just send me an email at cinzia@instantlyitaly.com.
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