go chat! utilize your computer and chat it up in italian chat rooms.

my personal favorite when i started learning was the chat room at www.deejay.it.
you need to set up a user name and password to get started but once you're in start chatting it up or just observe to get tips on how the natives speak and how to use current slang.

my nickname is "bell'americana" so i would get a lot of guys private messaging to say 'ciao' but i have never had a problem with creepy types of chatters. most people i talked to were super nice and just there to chat... not for adult activities if you know what i mean.

check it out! it really helps. and you also pick up a few tips on how to abbreviate in SMSes.. like "c6(ci sei)... sn(sono)... cmq(comunque)..." and so on and so forth.

it also takes the pressure off of pronunciation when you're a beginner. i swear, within the first couple times i went there i was confidently using all the italian i had learned... it's a good supplement to a quality language course.