Two Fluency Classes and a Beginners Class
Book for yourself or invite a friend but don’t wait as class size is limited to ensure everyone gets to participate fully
Beginners Class
Starts Monday April 20th
10 lessons – €130
Learn, use and enjoy your Italian from day one in a fun and friendly class with a qualified, experienced, native Italian teacher. Class size is limited so book now to avoid disappointment
Upper Beginners Fluency Class
Starts Wednesday April 22nd
8 lessons – €90 (see note below)
Best suited to students who have done a Beginners or Continuation class previously. We will use real life situations, such as shopping, check-in and check-out, talking about the weather, and many others, to gain fluency and confidence in our use of Italian. Using supports like flash cards, videos and role playing in a relaxed and fun class with a maximum of 10 students ensures that everybody actively participates in the lessons.
Intermediate Fluency Class
Starts Tuesday April 21st
8 lessons – €90 (see note below)
Best suited to students who have previously completed Continuation class (2 modules), or an Intermediate class or are already fluent in another romance language,
We will be working on the past tense, our vocabulary, useful expressions and Italian idioms. At the start of each lesson we will do activities to revise the previous lesson. There will be no grammar but just reminders as we go. We will use our Italian to solve real life situation such as renting a house, complaining about something or visiting a pharmacy to become more fluent and confident in our Italian.
How do our online classes work
For our online classes, we are using a fabulous new video teaching tool (Zoom) that allows students to join and interact remotely. It even allows me to break the class into little breakout groups for conversation practice, allows me to go from group to group advising and assisting and then bring everyone back together just like in a regular class. The tool has a free app for whatever devices you prefer (phone, tablet, computer, laptop) that is simple to install and use (links and instructions provided). A few minutes before each lesson, you will receive a link for our class by email that will magically transport you to our virtual classroom (like teleportation in Star Trek).
What makes them great
I wasn’t sure how well it would work before I tried it but now I love it and having taught all my classes using it for a couple of weeks, my students really love it to. Some have even said they prefer it to regular classes. And not just because of the social distancing, there are a number of other advantages that I hadn’t thought about either:
- All the notes I write in class o the whiteboard (notes, new words, grammar references) are automatically saved by the program. You can see them in the app when I write them but I also email them to you after class as a reference.
- No more missing out on what I or other students say because your too far away from them. You just turn up the volume. The sound and video are fantastic quality
- I can share all the documents, grammar pages, newspapers and reference material directly so they just pop up on screen for you. I can also make notes on them directly and of course email them all to you after class
- Sit in your favourite chair, have a cup of tea (or vino) and relax during class. And wear whatever you want. We learn best when we are comfortable
- We can watch movies and other videos, play games directly through the app. We don’t even need to switch off the light
- The App is free, no login or signup process, no technical ability required
Pay what you can
It is a difficult, sad and moving time for all of us. To keep our minds busy, enjoying learning in each others company is a way to keep up our relationship with others who have the same interest, have fun together and switch off for a while from our ‘Forced Isolation’. It’s great that many of us kept working, and others are receiving some government support, but some of us might be facing harder cut backs. In that case, pay what you can. To be together is more important and I wouldn’t like that some of you would miss out on taking part in these classes (and all that comes with them) because of financial restrictions. Just let me know. Grazie mille.
Happy to help.
Email carolina@italiancork.com or call 087-9588375 to know more or with any queries you might have regarding these classes.
I have been preparing students for their Junior and Leaving Cert in Cork for many years. Last year one of them told me something remarkably interesting, ‘I am very lucky Carolina (he was talking to me in Italian, obviously) because I know many languages. I am not as stressed out as my classmates and I don’t have to work as hard as they do’. He took French (he is bilingual French/English), Italian (incredibly fluent and accurate), Spanish and Irish for his Leaving Cert and he passed it brilliantly. 
Fancy learning Italian? Whether you are going to Italy for your holidays or you have decided to learn this beautiful, musical and colourful language, let’s start with our Beginners course. Practical conversation is included from our first class and, during our lessons, we will learn how to introduce ourselves, place an order at the restaurant, ask for information and more. Grammar is immediately implemented in practical and useful conversational tasks, but it will also give you good foundations if you decide to progress with your Italian and join the next course. Booking your place is essential and remember that this course is for a small group in order to allow students to fully participate and get the best learning experience… but hurry as it gets booked up very quickly and it’s already filling up. To book your place email carolina@italiancork.com
