Studying foreign languages is a passion of mine and I am so excited that you want to do the same! It’s hard for anyone to discern exactly when you cross over from feeling overwhelmed by all the grammar rules and hopeless at interacting with local speakers, however, I would say it took me about three months to learn very basic Spanish and the same in Italian. Obviously, if you want to have deep relationships and be eligible for jobs, you will need to study a lot longer. Here are some videos I have made to help you learn Italian. YouTube Playlist – Learn Italian
In particular, you will find I talk in detail about my study methods in this video:
Although I studied Japanese for eight years in high school and at university, with Italian, I learned the bulk of the grammar and vocab just on my own at home after I’d come home from work, back when I was saving money and dreaming about moving to Italy. You can do this too. Don’t worry if you can’t afford a language school. BUT you must be disciplined. Set aside time to study at least once a week and during the day, listen to songs in the foreign language, when you chill out and collapse on the couch to watch Netflix or a film, try to put subtitles on all that you watch so that the foreign language is always seeping into your subconscious even if you’re not actively studying. Good luck! I know it feels impossible – but it’s not. I have no Italian heritage and yet I now feel completely comfortable living in this foreign language.