CIAO!
If you are reading these words it means you are interested in learning or perfecting your Italian. Excellent! Your desire to learn is the most important ingredient of the whole recipe. Picking up a foreign language means to have direct access to a different culture, its nuances, its flavours, its unique ways of structuring thoughts and embodying life. Mastering the language means embracing that culture in its fullness, driven by the belief that diversity can enrich all parties involved and help you expand your horizons towards a deeper understanding of human interactions.
If you want to take part in the colourful carousel of the Italian culture it will be a pleasure for me to accompany you in the journey.
- I will help you get a solid grip of the language to be able to hold an everyday conversation.
- I will guide you to use grammar and learn how to structure sentences correctly, in order to express yourself properly, articulate your thoughts and be understood well.
- We will look at many different topics to enrich your vocabulary and gradually build your potential for following and engaging in conversations on multiple subjects.
- I will share exercises, book excerpts, newspaper articles, recipes, songs, podcasts, films to stimulate your curiosity and diversify and deepen your knowledge.
- And most of all we will have fun together in this cultural exchange!
I will help you explore, recognise and master the different sounds of my native language. We will look at phonetics. A clear pronunciation is very important to be understood without any confusion. I am a professional actor and I studied phonetics at drama school; I have been working consistently at shaping my sounds to speak in different accents. I can therefore teach you how to place the sounds correctly within the mouth and release them confidently: you will learn how to reproduce clean consonants and vowels. And of course we will look at Italian hand gestures, and at all those body expressions that make Italians unique, for the better or the worse, everywhere in the world.
I am a strong believer that learning should be fun. So your enthusiasm and curiosity will stir the direction of our exploration and prompt me to challenge you with new material. I will give you foodback to satiate your hunger for knowledge. Classes will be refreshing and satisfying for both of us and a moment in the week to look forward to!
During the past 20 years I have taught many students from very diverse backgrounds and nationalities, and with different goals. Some of them just wanted to learn Italian to be able to go on holiday, order their food and get on the right train. Others approached me for job related reasons: they needed perfect their language skills in order to engage with their Italian clients. Others simply wanted to reconnect with their Italian heritage. I myself have studied 3 foreign languages to a very good level of fluency so I have experienced on my own skin all the progressive steps in the learning process. As a teacher I have seen many scenarios and every time I choose a bespoke approach to engage with the client and help them successfully achieve their aim.
Classes are taught online on Zoom. The platform serves the purpose extremely well. Through the camera, the student can see my mouth moving, which is key to learn how to reproduce sounds properly. They can see my gestures and my expressivity and I can see theirs. The live chat box is ideal to have an almost instantaneous display of the correct word spelling. Through the computer we can exchange audio/visual learning material with ease.
Classes can be private or booked for a little group (up to 4 people). Learning together with your partner or your friends can be a very fun and motivating experience so I am, by all means, open to give this opportunity.
Any questions, please, get in contact with me and book your first class. I shall look forward to teaching you Italian!