I firmly believe that to truly master a language and make it an integral part of who you are, some form of full immersion is essential. But what exactly does full immersion mean? It’s about living and breathing the language as if it were your native tongue.
If you reside in a country where the language isn’t widely spoken, achieving full immersion can be challenging but not impossible. It might involve reading books in that language, listening to its radio stations, chatting with native speakers on social media or language apps, or taking online classes with a tutor. While these are all effective methods, they require consistent effort and proactivity on your part.
This is why full immersion travel has become such a popular choice. It’s undeniably the fastest and most effective way to achieve incredible results in a short amount of time, whether you are learning Italian or any other language. Let me show you why.
You have no choice but to use your target language
When you’re fully immersed in your target language, speaking it often becomes a necessity for navigating daily life. To give an extreme example, when I was 18, I spent a year in Japan living with a host family who spoke very little English. The entire time, I barely spoke a word of English to anyone—not even to my parents on the phone! To meet my basic needs and get by, I had to learn Japanese quickly. Was it mentally draining? Absolutely. I often went to bed at 9pm just to recover from the mental effort required to make it through the day. But did I see results? Definitely. Within three months, I was holding basic conversations in Japanese and understanding much of what was said to me. That’s the true power of full immersion.
Now, you don’t need to go to the extremes that I did, but even if you spent just half the day speaking Italian, I can guarantee you’d see amazing results in a very short time, not only in terms your language abilities but also your confidence to navigate life in Italy.
You receive authentic daily input
When you’re fully immersed in a language, you stop obsessing over memorising every new word and mastering every grammar rule you come across. This is because you’ll naturally encounter these words and patterns in everyday conversation. In other words, you don’t need to study them as intensively as you would if you were solely attending classes!
For example, I chose to learn Welsh because I live in Wales, but since everyone around me speaks fluent English, I had to make a real effort to learn new vocabulary and understand grammar rules through more traditional methods, like textbooks and flashcards. However, when I lived in Italy, I was fully immersed in the language. While I did try to remember new words as I encountered them, I didn’t feel the need to formally study them with flashcards because they would come up again in conversation anyway!
You’ll experience greater satisfaction and motivation
As I’ve already mentioned, full immersion accelerates your language learning progress, allowing you to see rapid improvement in a short amount of time. This leads to greater satisfaction, which in turn boosts your motivation to continue studying even after you return to your non-immersive environment. In fact, many people choose to go on multiple immersion trips to maintain that feeling of satisfaction and motivation, helping them stay on track with their language goals.
A great example of this is my friend, who is learning Spanish. The other day, she told me that in the weeks leading up to her holiday in Mexico or Spain, she always immerses herself in studying Spanish on Duolingo because she knows that her full immersion experience is just around the corner. I couldn’t help but smile when she shared this – it’s a perfect example of how the anticipation of immersion can motivate you to dive deeper into your studies!
You’ll make lifelong friends and connections
Last year, we hosted an exchange student from Italy who stayed with us for four months. In that short time, she made more friends here in Wales than I have in the ten years I’ve lived here!
Needless to say, her English improved dramatically thanks to the incredible connections she formed. Since then, she and her friends have visited each other multiple times and continue to text and call each other as if they were still just five minutes down the road.
By engaging in a full immersion experience, you too will build friendships and relationships that may last a lifetime—not only with native speakers, but also with fellow learners who are on the same journey as you.
Full immersion will change your perspective
Speaking from experience, full immersion will undoubtedly improve your language skills, but even more importantly, it will cultivate a deeper compassion for other cultures and people who are different from yourself, as well as a more open mindset. After a full immersion experience, you may find that you no longer feel like you completely belong in your own country, and that’s completely normal. A part of you will always belong in Italy, and there’s something truly beautiful about that.
Are you interested in participating in a full immersion experience in Italy?
If so, Daily Italian Words, in collaboration with Vero Viaggio and Flyway Travel, offers full immersion trips to Montepulciano twice a year. These trips include morning language lessons with a qualified tutor at Il Sasso Language School, a cooking class, a farm tour, wine tasting, day trips to Pienza and Orvieto, and much more!
Our two October 2025 trips are already fully booked, but if you’re interested, we are offering a third trip in March 2026. Follow this link to register your interest!
If you’re unable to attend these Daily Italian Words trips, Vero Viaggio also organises other full immersion experiences throughout the year. While I won’t be able to attend due to family and work commitments, you’ll still experience the same incredible immersion and care. Discover all the options here!
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
