Learning Italian Through Songs

Language teachers know that songs are really useful to learn languages. Simply they help to practise listening and to learn new words. Furthermore it is motivating for the students as it is an easier and FUN way to learn grammatical concepts. Songs can be easily played over and over and often contain repeated grammatical structures accompanied by melody.  This combination helps the student to achieve quick and easy memorisation.  

Whatever is your taste in music you might agree that some of greatest music in the world comes from Italy. As an Italian language learner nothing is better than choosing Italian songs to practise the language. Here is a list of some of the most popular Italian songs, perfect to improve your skills.  The Language Class has compiled this list from Italian pop songs and it encompasses different levels. 

Vieni Via Con Me. 
If you are a beginner a song that you should listen and work on is “Vieni via con me” of Paolo Conte. The song is a collection of love moments, full of solitude, irony and future projects. It tells the story of a man and his love for his beloved. He asks her to come away with him, promising that he will protect her and give her a future together. Conte’s songs are full of feelings and emotions and this song could be useful to practice the simple present and all the prepositions. 

Una Su Un milione. 
If you have reached an intermediate level often referred as B1 level, you can try something more difficult such as Alex Britti’s “Una su un milione”. Another modern Italian canzone about pure and sweet love. The song using simple words and similitudes will help you to learn a new vocabulary and useful wordplays. The songs uses various Italian tenses and it could be a good way to revise them all, making it ideal for more advanced learners. 

Tutto l’amore che ho. 
From beginner to  B2 level students some of Jovanotti’s repertoire is highly recommended. Almost always Jovannotti songs have very simple lyrics often repeated in rhymes making them the best way to learn Italian with songs. For example the song titled “Tutto l’amore che ho” is useful to revise the implicit forms and the hypothetical period. 

Come si cambia. 
If you have reached the C1 level it means that at this point you know the Italian language quite well, and you are ready to deal with more complex song, like “Come si cambia” of Fiorella Mannoia. It is a very introspective song: a woman is analysing her life and she does not know if she wants to believe in love again. Listening to this song you will revise all the tenses and several adjectives. You also will put yourself at test in interpreting the meaning of the song...according to your personal opinion. 

Una donna per amico. 
Lucio Battisti’s “Una donna per amico” is an evergreen song that will not only help you to learn Italian but also will help to understand Italian culture better. So if you are heading toward near native fluency (C2 level)  you are ready to work on it. You will practice verbs, prepositions and even pronouns all at once The song is nice and catchy and talks about a strange mix of friendship and jealousy between a man and a woman. 

​One last recommendation. 
If you are looking for an innovative and funny way to practice Italian you can resort to songs and do like teachers and students all over the world who use music to improve their skills. For this reason, why not add the book “Canta che ti passa” to your library: it is divided in 14 units based on 14 Italian songs, it comes with the songs on a CD. 

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