One of the best, and most efficient, ways to learn a language is through conversation practice with a native speaker. This can be achieved through a number of means. Online social networking services allow potential students of Italian to seek out native Italian speakers or Italian language groups in their area. Joining these groups and attending meetings, or meeting a native speaker who gives credible lessons, is a great place to start. In college or university towns, check in with the Italian faculty at the school. Many language departments have weekly or even daily education groups lead by a native speaker or professor of the language.
Nothing helps a language learner pick up a second tongue like complete immersion. Going to Italy and speaking the language day in and day out with native speakers, in real-world situations, will help learners pick up the language in a way the classroom experience never will. Colloquialisms, idioms and regional quirks very rarely come across in situations other than immersion. However, total immersion can be useless and frustrating if students don't have a basic understanding of Italian grammar and vocabulary; taking a base class is essential before taking off to another country.
Though unglamorous, memorization is an essential language learning tool, and one of the best ways to learn Italian. Languages work in patterns. Memorizing those patterns bolsters a learner's ability to understand, speak and read Italian. Vocabulary is an indispensable building block of language, and is near impossible to learn through means other than endless repetition. The memorization of vocabulary is essential to comprehension and communication in Italian. Without a healthy stock of words any new language, Italian included, will always be gibberish to the ears.
Intensive programs in the United States, such as Middlebury College's summer Language Schools, and in countless locales abroad combine all of the above methods for an intensive and rewarding language-learning experience. The Middlebury program requires attendees to only speak in their desired language, both on and off campus, for the entire summer. Italian learners will room with other Italian learners, attend intensive classes in language study, watch films in the language, read books and magazines exclusively in Italian, and speak the language day in and day out for the entire summer.