13 Sep Exercise Classes in Italian – Two Birds, One Stone
An EXCELLENT way to bump up your Italian language skills is to take part in what we call “Passive Practice”. This could be watching a movie, listening to music, or reading the newspaper. This could also be in the form of taking a Yoga or Dance class instructed in Italian.
The beauty of taking an exercise or dance class in Italian, is that you can pretty much follow along by watching, then you have the added bonus of verbal reinforcement from the instructor guiding you.
Exercise classes are incredible vocabulary builders when it comes to:
– Parts of the body
– Directions (Left, Right, Up, Down, Forward, Back etc)
– Speeds (Faster, Slower, Start, Stop)
A couple other added bonuses of taking a class in Italian are:
– You’ll undoubtedly meet some locals
– The People-Watching in Italian gyms is TO DIE FOR
– Um..your’e exercising
Italy is a culture rooted in tradition, so if you would like to make Italian friends, showing up to the same place week after week is an excellent way to establish rapport and get Italians interested in knowing you!
A basic conversation in class with a local could lead to a invitation to meet with their friends that weekend, a healthy meal/smoothie/coffee after class, and a friendship. Shared interests are what bring people together so find something you love to do at home, or something new you’d like to try, get out there and do it.
A couple examples of classes The Ganzo Team (TGT) recommends are:
– Salsa Dancing Class: TGT’s FAVORITE. Italians love Salsa so you will find posters and fliers advertising classes in most cities. You will be led through moves and routines, lots of new words will be thrown at you, and the mood is quite light-hearted and fun. Plus, you may get invited to go practice your new skills at a local Salsa club during the weekends.
– Yoga Class: A bit more relaxed, not as much opportunity to interact with locals during the class itself, but likely a very open and welcoming group of people taking the class.
– Aerobics: Upbeat, lots of verbal instruction and plenty of water-breaks to exchange pleasantries with your other classmates.
– Modern/Ballet: Dance is a language in itself, so if you’ve danced Modern or Ballet in the past, it should be fairly easy to integrate into an Italian dance studio. The dance community is quite supportive and Italians love to dance.
For a local listing of Dance Classes in your Italian city just google the following phrases:
SALSA: ballo latino americano + (your city)
YOGA: corso di yoga + (your city)
AEROBICS: Aerobica + (your city)
MODERN/BALLET: danza moderna/classica + (your city)
Good Luck!
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