Mr. Kilowatt & Radio 24

Sorry for not blogging recently, but things have been hectic.  In the past few months, I have run across some more great listening resources.  I just want to remind readers that listening every day to Italian is important.

When learning a language, it helps to do a little something each day, even if it just ten to fifteen minutes each day!  Try to apply that same concept to your listening comprehension!  Just remember, it's not important to understand each and every single word being spoken, but to understand the sense of what is being said.

On that note, I think that the Radio 24 program, Mr. Kilowatt, is a great program to practice with because 1) it's short in duration, between 10-15 minutes 2) it talks about energy and how it affects our lives, the environment, political influences and more.  This is a program that discusses themes that are relevant to each of our lives as the world strives to find renewable and sustainable sources of energy.  As we all know, this is difficult in the current political climate on our planet!  Although it may not be a topic that is of interest to everyone, the words used should be familiar as it is an argument and topic that is hard not to know about.

The show airs Monday through Friday on Radio 24 at 9:00 PM (21:00).  You can listen to it live or following the program through podcasts!

image credit: SolarGIS © 2011 GeoModel Solar s.r.o.

INGV YouTube Channel

INGV is the Italian institute for geophysics and vulcanology, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, and they monitor seismic and geophysical events all over Italy. If you're a fan of science like I am (I enjoy reading about geology and volcanoes), you might find many of their short videos interesting to watch which you can view on YouTube by visiting their channel.  These great videos for learning about seismic activity in Italy as well as learning new words and phrases related to geology and earthquakes.

They also track earthquakes in Italy, and it's no surprise that there are at least a few each day in and around the country.  Check out their YouTube channel and web site.  They also have a friend iPhone app that relays all the seismic activity in Italy - letting you know where and when earthquakes have taken place and their magnitude.

La Scala Richter = Richter scale

BellItalia

BellItalia is a program produced by TGR (part of Rai) that explores the culture of Italy by going to cities, town and museums across the country (the episode above is from 2010 and is a portion of the episode which discusses the town of Vigevano).  Each episode discusses a different city or museum, and there are often discussions of festivals, culture and other cultural happenings around the country.

I like this program because the segments are short (between 8 to 10 minutes each), and this is an optimal amount of time to practice your listening skills while learning about new places in Italy that you might not see on your normal trip to the country!

Divertiti! (Enjoy!)

Corriere TV: Spotlight

Another quick video stream to watch online is Corriere TV's Spotlight, a short video segment where a famous person is interviewed and asked a series of questions. The interviewer is not seen and only the responses to the questions is heard. It's a sort of conversation without the conversation, so to speak.  There are several of these interviews with various people in Italian politics, film, literature, etc.  They are a great way to connect with important and influential people in Italy and hear their thoughts.

Corriere TV: 3 minuti 1 parola

A very entertaining program on Corriere TV called Tre minuti una parola that looks at a particular word in Italian and explains how it is used, its history and some linguistics when it is relevant.  The show is down with animation and graphics which often helps to explain what Beppe Severgnini is saying, so if you're having trouble following the conversation, just watch the images, and you'll find that it is easier to understand what he is saying.

This is one of my favorite programs, and you are bound to enjoy it!

Not only will you find the program entertaining, but I am sure you will learn a new word or two!