Coffee Break Italian - Podcast Rankings and reviews

I’ve tried many tools for learning a language from apps to podcasts to books. This is one of the best.

The focus on real world situations and grammar sets it apart from solutions like Duolingo, which spend hours training you on less useful phrases without giving you the grammar tools to own the language. I have more confidence with Italian after four months than people I know who have been using Duolingo for years.

Each episode has a perfect mix of vocabulary, stories, grammar, with native speaker pronunciation and pauses so you can practice. Mark is relentless about translating every word that’s spoken, providing literal translations to help you master phrases, and pointing out the nitty gritty details that help you sound like a native. The hosts are personable, and it’s fantastic that Mark and Francesca are still producing new content so many years in. I can’t believe that this much top shelf material is available for free. It’s also great that you can play the podcasts in the background so you can get language learning in on the go, or as Francesca says “Turn your downtime into do time.”

I have been trying to learn Italian for several years. My mother and Grandparents were born in Sicily and I am wanting to go there on vacation. I want to be able to communicate especially if I see any cousins. I have tried apps and classes this has helped me the best. I can replay episodes to help me remember. I love that they actual have Francesca that is from Italy that corrects the pronunciation. They also teach formal and informal grammar and actual sentences that we would use when traveling. I will recommend these podcasts to everyone that is trying to learn a language.

Using this podcast helped me be able to navigate Italy and has helped me reach an A2 level of understanding of Italian. Thank you Mark and Francesca for your well-planned lessons.

I listen while doing my nightly routine. Quick and lots of repetition to get it on your head. I wish we did more repetition of things we learn in the second half of the lessons but overall amazing!