Learn Italian your way with a TakeLessons expert

By llaria Piani, Italian Teacher in Chicago

Are you interested in taking Italian lessons in Chicago? Taking a vacation to explore Italy is a dream of most Americans. You don’t have to travel thousands of miles or spend a lot of money, however, to get a taste of the Italy. Chicago has many points of interest for students to explore and practice their Italian from museums to restaurants and more. Start by visiting the “Little Italy” neighborhood, just south of the Eisenhower Expressway. Taylor St. has popularly been known as Chicago’s Little Italy. Little Italy is home to the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame, a nonprofit organization that recognizes outstanding American athletes of Italian descent. If you love sports and Italy, this is an amazing place for you to go.

What’s more, every August, the neighborhood hosts the Chicago Festa Italiana, an Italian festival that celebrates Italian history and heritage. Longtime family-owned restaurants and neighborhood newcomers serve up some of the best food in the city, while native Italian and Italian-American singers perform classic songs. Festival-goers have the opportunity to play Italian card games, compete in contests, and buy Italian-themed art and other merchandises. This is a great place to put what Italian vocabulary you’ve learned to good use and even work on your pronunciation.

There are several other areas that have significant Italian populations, such as “Little Sicily,” “Heart of Italy,” and “Grand Avenue.” Even in the Loop (Chicago’s central business district) you can detect the fragrance and spirit of Italy. For example, “Eataly” is a huge and fabulous Italian market located close to the Magnificent Mile. Eataly is not only a market where you can buy real Italian products and dine on some authentic pizza or pasta, but it’s also a square where you can speak Italian with natives.

After you’ve explored the Italian culture and food in Little Italy, you might want to consider joining a meetup. There are a handful of groups that get together to practice speaking Italian, while also exploring the culture. The Chicago Italian Language Meetup Group, for example, welcomes people of all skill levels from beginner to advance. Joining a group like this is a great way to supplement your current Italian lessons and practice your language and pronunciation skills.

Before our tour of the common Italian spots in Chicago is finished, I would like to say one more thing. Spend some time walking around, and keep your eyes open and you will discover more and more opportunities to learn Italian. You never know when you’ll strike up a conversation with an Italian-native.

I love giving Italian lessons in Chicago. My students are amazing because of their progress. Despite the difficulties of the Italian language, they’re improving their skills day in and day out. I am proud of them and I’m happy to be teaching my language in such a wonderful city. So, what are you waiting for? Start taking Italian lessons today!