italian language in italy: George Clooney Desperate To Learn Italian

Hollywood heart-throb George Clooney is so desperate to master the local language while staying at his Italian retreat, he spends most of his nights at home studiously repeating useful phrases.

The Ocean's Eleven star, who has a house on Lake Como, northern Italy, spends hours reciting lines from language CDs so he can converse fluently with his European neighbours.

But the star admits he struggles to get his tongue round the language, and fears it will be years before he is proficient.

He says, "It will take an eternity! But it's embarrassing to live in a country where you don't know the language."

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