When you think of the world's most romantic travel destinations, Italy is probably close to the top of your list. It's not just the warm climate, the charming people, the sumptuous food, the incredible architecture, and the relaxed lifestyle - it's all of these things, and more. Don't you wish you knew how to learn Italian, so you could visit this earthly paradise and fit right in? Well, you can - and you can begin by listening to the way the language is spoken.

Amazingly, research shows that listening is pretty much all you have to do. Children learn from listening to their parents. First, as babies, we listen to the sound of the language our parents speak; we don't understand the individual words, but we sort out the sounds that belong to our language from all other possible vocal sounds. Eventually we begin to attach meaning to certain sounds we hear; your Mother may ask "Where is your nose?" and we touch our noses. Finally we begin to try making some of those sounds ourselves. If our Father or Mother understands our speaking attempts, they will respond joyfully and will reward us verbally. If not, they don't respond, and we try again. This is exactly how to learn Italian too!

But suppose you don't have Italian parents, or even a neighborhood Nonni. It's not too late. If there is a nearby school, university, or community center that offers Italian classes, consider taking advantage of the opportunity. But if there's not, or classes don't fit into your schedule, choose a good audio-based language program to learn Italian. Make sure it's audio-based; you will never get a authentic Italian accent out of any text book learning. Reading may be a good way to learn Dostoyevsky, but it's not how to learn Italian!

When you've learned some basic Italian words and phrases and got use to the sound of the language, then you must do everything you can to hear Italian spoken by authentic speakers and speak it yourself whenever you can. Watch Italian movies, with and without subtitles. Go to see an Italian opera, and try to understand what they're singing about. Go to your neighborhood pizza joint, and find out if the owners speak Italian; they probably do, and would be happy to chat in their native tongue. If your community has a civic association or an Italian-American club, make new friends. They will be more than delighted to teach you how to learn Italian.

Italian is a dynamic, living language, the language of Dante just as much as it is the language of the Godfather. Learning it will give you a window on not only a beautiful country (which you may sometime want to visit), but on a wonderful culture made up of vibrant people. As you discover how to learn Italian, you'll find you've opened the door to a whole new world.