StudentsVille Italian Slang Expression of the Week #1: Che Palle!

Why you should watch RAI Televisione in preparation for your Italy trip!

Photo: www.lyngsat.com

So this week one of my students is traveling in Italy, and I'm starting an experiment here in the USA: I'm watching RAI Television every evening at my home in New Jersey on Verizon FIOS. I subscribed for something like $9.99/mo to the RaiItalia channel on my set top channel 1772, and TG1 displays a screen instead of commercials with the evening lineup of programming and the words "your country, your TV."

Every night this week, this game show has been on where there are 2 teams of 3 people, and the same team has been invited back every night this week! This kind of thing is the best for language acquisition because it makes you think about what the answer (the word) might be from the comfort of your own home. They say that when you truly start to become fluent, you dream in the language... well this is helping...

I am happy to be sharing the Italian culture experience with my student (albeit vicariously through television broadcasts) who is traveling Italy and practicing the language. I recommend anyone who is going to Italy to pick up some sort of phrasebook to have handy so they feel like they can practice their phrases anywhere in any situation - whether it be ordering a plate of pasta, or practicing verb tenses on the airplane! And of course, watch RaiItalia in preparation for your trip - it helps a great deal with fluency AND culture!