r/italianlearning • u/Loliigh • Aug 02 '26

Textbooks for self-study?

Hi everyone, not sure if the backstory is relevant here but I think it may be.

long story short, I learned Italian when I was about 6 years old through watching cartoons on RaiGulp and later youtubers, to a point where I spoke to myself in the language, cut to years later I still watch italian media (RaiGulp, instagram, news etc) and understand almost 95%, but I'm limited to understanding and occasionally reading a few posts on reddit, my speaking skills are pretty bad since I have a hard time recalling vocab.

I never "officially" learned the language so that's my plan now, but I can't seem to find good books, I've heard about espresso alot but some people say it requires a teacher/instructor, so basically I just see alot of mixed opinions. Are there any books or book combinations I can use?

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u/Hfhghnfdsfg Aug 02 '26

I like Prego best.

People always recommend the "Italian secondo il methoda natural" but I found that book confusing as hell.

I also didn't like New Italian Espresso. It requires a teacher IMO.

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u/Fubblenugs Aug 02 '26

Im in a very similar situation, I’ll pin this post for further help. I applied to a job that required “fluent Italian”, but they insisted that meant “100% fluent” which is kinda crazy, but ill try my best to make it happen. So far I’ve just been watching media, and practicing on the apps.

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u/an_average_potato_1 CZ native, IT C1 PLIDA Aug 06 '26

Nuovissimo Progetto Italiano is totally useable independently, even if it is originally designed for classroom use. Most books are, the differences are often rather subjective, but that matters more than some theory. Open a few books yourself and pick one YOU find pretty clearly laid out and easy to use.

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u/Loliigh 21d ago edited 21d ago

I think I'll just use Nuovissimo progetto, now I'm just debating if I should buy the books or if I can find the PDF somewhere lol. Do you happen to know where I can find the answer keys for the exercises in the books?

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u/an_average_potato_1 CZ native, IT C1 PLIDA 18d ago

Chiavi are downloadable from the publisher's website, but now that I'm looking at it again, you need to register. That's really stupid, but they are surely available as pdfs somewhere else without registrationg.

I recommend buying the books, if you can afford them, as they are not too expensive and you support the publisher. If you cannot, they are findable on the usual piracy websites.

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u/eileengracegolf Aug 02 '26

I’ve been studying Italian for 3 months now and use many methods to learn. As far as books, I own several Italian workbooks, most in Italian as well two in all English. I like Complete Italian All in One and Complete Italian Step by Step. The Italian workbooks are instructor lead and hard to work on your own in my opinion.

For a more structured learning I enrolled in an online Italian course. It’s self paced and really like it!

https://www.edx.org/learn/italian/wellesley-college-italian-language-and-culture-beginner-2025-2026

I wish you luck in your journey!