Semestre de italiano

In this semester-long Italian class, the learner will be immersed in Italian story stories by the language expert Olly Richards. The stories are designed to be interesting and while teaching vocabulary, grammar in its natural context. These classes are personalized so that learners can work at their own pace and level, and maximize their learning time. Learners have an opportunity to receive a level of attention that is not often available in general classroom settings, yet is ideal for learners who want to master Italian language skills! 

We will learn the language through storytelling, images, and music. Students will acquire the language through games, visuals to be able to express themselves. Each class we start with a calendar talk to discuss emotions, weather, days of the week, what you did yesterday. Calendar talk is a way to encourage natural conversational skills. 

The topics covered in this lesson will vary from story to story. Each short story will provide a glossary with important vocabulary words for student comprehension. The learner will read the story along with me to practice the Italian pronunciation and cadence. To deepen comprehension, we will play games such as 3 truths and a lie about the story. 

 I will guide you and give you some tips and tricks to understand the language without complicating the process.  I've got a little secret for you, everyone can learn a language! It's possible! You are brave and ready!  I promise I'll make learning a new language a piece of cake for you! By the end of this course, you will feel comfortable and confident expressing yourself in Italian. 


Week 1: Conversation #1: Getting to know You: first words you will need to use in every conversation, introducing yourself, describing interests.

Week 2: Short Story, La mia Famiglia: Presentation of family members and relatives, expressing age and profession

Week 3: Conversation #2 Talking about family and friends: getting to know someone where they live, with whom, families names and description, learning how to make the adjective agreement.

Week 4:  Story Story, The Creature: two friends hike and encounter a mysterious creature. We will learn the present tense of the 20 most common Italian verbs.

Week 5: Conversation #3 Enjoying Food: asking and answering food likes and dislikes. Giving personal opinions about food.

Week 6: Mini-project, creating a digital emoji comic, utilizing and reinforcing conversations 1-3. Using the Italian phrases, grammar, and vocabulary used in the previous conversations.

Week 7: Learning Italian through music. In each class, we will learn a new popular song in Italian culture and play a lyrics matching game.

Week 8: Short Story, What Do I Wear?: Dialogue story about plans, colors and clothes. Students will learn basic clothing and colors.

Week 9: Conversation #4 Talking about Yesterday: telling a story about your past, say what you thought, where you went, and what you learned.

Week 10: Review week playing Kahoot, Gimkit, and Jeopardy.

Week 11: Short Story, The Watch: two friends discover a time-traveling watch and by accident bring a pirate into modern-day Italy!

Week 12: Conversation #5 Your daily routine: describing your daily routine with times of day and frequency.