Migration

Ciao a tutti! No, this blog isn't dead :)

I have been super busy the last few years while in graduate school. I am currently migrating many of the posts from this blog to my main web site/blog, Parola del Giorno (http://www.paroladelgiorno.com).

This will make it easier to update and maintain my various sites.

Thanks for your patience!

Radio Roma Capitale

In August, I moved to Rome to do graduate work.  It's been great for improving my Italian -- it's also the reason that I haven't updated the blog in a while.  Radio Rome Capitale is an interesting radio station that is about Rome and the happenings in Rome.  Founded in 2012, this station aims to bring the news of Rome to those who live in the city.  There are often lively debates about public transport, strikes, local government issues as well as election coverage.

If you're a fan of Rome and want to learn what goes on in the city while practicing your Italian, definitely give this station a listen.  It's often amusing and enlightening to hear locals call in to voice their concerns and opinions of what goes on in the city.

You can find the station here:
http://www.radioromacapitale.it

They also have an app!

Radio Chianti and first post of 2012!

Radda in Chianti, 2009

Ciao a tutti!

I'm sorry for not having updated this blog in a while.  The holidays came and went, things got busy...and, well, you know the drill! :)

I wanted to talk about listening to Italian radio stations and how they can help.  I often find myself a little annoyed that so many Italian radio stations play so much English music which is why, when I want to practicing listening to Italian, I head to Radio 24.

The other day I read about Radio Chianti in the July 2011 issue of "In Chianti", an Italian publication about the going's-on in Chianti in Tuscany.  You can read the article here - just head over to the web site, download the latest issue, and the article about the radio is one of the first - you won't have to scroll through it for long.

The radio station is fun to listen to, especially the banter between the various DJ's that host the programs on the show. They also have podcasts and Facebook page.  They play a whole range of music - Italian and English artists - and is fun to listen to during the day.  You can also listen on your mobile device (through your phone/tablet's browser).

Podcaster

Addendum (11 October 2011): Podcaster has been updated again, and the new look is pretty cool.  I use this app every day to listen to podcasts from Radio 24, Rai and other online sites to help practicing my Italian listening skills.  If you are looking for podcast suggestions, just check out some of the other posts on this blog.  The app also has a database that you can search, or you can simply input the feeds of your favorite podcasts and follow them with this app.  Hoping for an iPad version, soon.  Regardless, this app is an excellent tool for connecting with Italian audio content!  

--Original Review from June 16th--Anyone who follows my blog regularly knows how much of a proponent I am for listening to podcasts of Italian shows and programs to improve one's language skills. It's important to listen to Italian along with reading, writing and speaking, but, for those of us who can't get to Italy often or who don't have Italian friends with whom we can talk, we have to rely on more creative solutions.

Listening to spoken Italian is a great way to train your ear for the "real thing" -- last year when I went to Italy for a month, I was amazed at how well I could understand Italian from strangers. Listening to Italian podcasts can help prepare you for the speed that Italians use their language.

One such app is called Rss Player (it's been renamed Podcaster for a while now -- check out their web site)- they have a blog, and you can read about their app with links to purchasing the app in the Itunes store. They have developed a very useful program that allows you to stream and download podcasts through the device without having to sync up to Itunes. They've also created a listing of podcasts, and many of the podcasts that I've discussed here in the past are listed. If it is not listed, there's a way to add the RSS feed, too. The app has received some complaints about crashing and not working, but I've used the app for the past week, and it has not crashed once, works great, functions as it says. I find the app very useful and versatile, and I use the app to listen to Italian podcasts on my way to my Italian conversation class to get my ear ready!

Another reason that many people like this app is that it allows you to download without using Itunes, and there's no limit on how much or how long you can listen, no download limit, and you're not limited by the Apple servers. The app interacts directly with the servers where the podcasts are hosted. (FYI - if you don't have unlimited data usage, you might want to restrict your downloading to when you're on a wi-fi network. The app can be configured to work over wi-fi or wi-fi and cellular).

If you use the app, leave a comment and let me know what you think of it. 

Parola del Giorno iPhone App Available in iTunes

Ciao a tutti!

Our App is now on sale -- The app costs $0.99.  Click the widget on the left to download it.  The app has also has a special design for iPads so you do not get that pixelated/miniature version of the app on the larger screen.

UPDATE: The first bug fix has been submitted and was approved on 18 December 2010. If you’ve downloaded the app, please download the update. I have reduced the number of posts that display to seven because several users complained that the app was slow. Perhaps having 30 display was just too much. Over the coming days, I will tinker with the number. I will see about getting 14 days (two weeks) worth of posts visible on the app. For now, please enjoy the seven that are available!

ALSO: I have noticed that the button to tap to play the word sometimes requires more than one tap in the iPhone/iPod Touch version. We are looking into this, too.

There are no bugs so far in the iPad version and seems to be the more stable version.

Next year I hope to unveil an Android version, too! Stay tuned for more details!

Our app is a great way to improve your Italian vocabulary while also listening to the pronunciation of the words while seeing the words also used in their context. This makes new words easier to remember!