All upcoming classes will be listed here with all the details currently available. Often future classes will not be available to book until closer to the start date. If you would like to be updated on a class, please enter your email and the level you are interested in on the blue bar at the top of this page and we will let you know when that class is ready to book.
Often students are perplexed about nouns that are masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural. These ‘transgender nouns’ can be blamed on the Romans. Because they had neuter nouns in Latin and these neuter nouns are the roots of the Italian transgender nouns.
Many neuter nouns are from the third declension but some are from other declensions, such as the second or the fourth (my son is studying Latin, grazie Kevin).
Many of these nouns are parts of our body.
As you can see all these nouns are not only masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural but they all finish in a.
The reason for this is because they were neuter in the second or third declensions in Latin and, so, they used to finish with a in the nominative, the accusative and vocative cases (grazie Kevin).
Nowadays, there is still a place in Calabria called ‘Le Castella’. In Italian, it should be i castelli, the castles, but castellum used to be neuter in Latin and the plural castella is the version we are still using, we just added Le to sound really Italian!
I’m very happy to tell you that, due to great demand, we are starting soon a new class online for Beginners!
Whether you are planning a trip to Italy or you have decided to learn this beautiful, musical and colorful language for fun, let’s start with our Beginners course.
Italian Beginners will be held online (Zoom) 7.30-9.00 pm on Wednesday, starting on the 26th of March.
Places are limited, therefore I would recommend that you book your place as soon as possible in order to avoid disappointment.
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 so much 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 our next course. Many of my students started with this class and they are now fluent!
At the end of each class, you will receive an email with notes from that day’s lesson, materials used, pdf pages and (optional) homework. And if you have to miss a class for any reason, just let us know and don’t worry, you will receive the video recording of any new grammar we worked on so you won’t fall behind. All the equipment needed to keep up your Italian during the week!
Booking your place is essential as places are limited in order to allow students to fully participate and get the best learning experience.
Italian Beginners classes have been running online for several years and have been very successful: small groups, a conversational approach in a fun and relax environment are the keys for this success. Finally you can learn and enjoy our classes from everywhere in the world from the comfort of your home!
Full course description:
Fancy learning Italian? Whether you are planning a trip to Italy or you have decided to learn this beautiful, musical and colorful language for fun, let’s start with our Beginners course. In fact, we will learn how to introduce ourselves, to talk about ourselves, to order our breakfast in a café, and so much more. Grammar is immediately implemented in practical and useful conversational tasks, such as booking a table at a restaurant, placing an order and talking about likes and dislikes. It will also give you good foundations if you decide to progress with your Italian and join our next course.
At the end of each class, students will receive an email with notes from that day’s lesson, materials used, pdf pages and (optional) homework. And if you have to miss a class for any reason, don’t worry, you will also receive the video recording of any new grammar we worked on so you won’t fall behind. All the equipment needed to keep up their Italian during the week.
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.
Si chiude una porta e si apre un portone! You have almost the same saying in English, but, ours is more drammatic, obviously: as a door closes, the entrance door (portone) opens. This was my answer when the lovely girl at the beach bar told me that she broke up with her boyfriend… si chiude una porta e si apre un portone → meaning→ a better boyfriend or ‘The one’ is on the way;-)
Italian Beginners classes have been running online for over a year and have been very successful: small groups, a conversational approach in a fun and relax environment are the keys for this success. Finally you can learn and enjoy our classes from everywhere in the world from the comfort of your home!
Full course description:
Fancy learning Italian? Whether you are planning a trip to Italy or you have decided to learn this beautiful, musical and colorful language for fun, let’s start with our Beginners course. In fact, we will learn how to introduce ourselves, to talk about ourselves, to order our breakfast in a café, and so much more. Grammar is immediately implemented in practical and useful conversational tasks, such as booking a table at a restaurant, placing an order and talking about likes and dislikes. It will also give you good foundations if you decide to progress with your Italian and join our 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.
Today I was talking to a lovely girl who works in a beach bar near our house. She told me that she broke up with her boyfriend and she told me (and reminded me) of a lovely Italian saying: ‘Fatto un papa se ne fa un altro!’ (when a pope dies, another one is made)! Meaning that nobody is irreplaceable, especially her ex boyfriend 😊
Italian Beginners classes have been running online for over a year and have been very successful: small groups, a conversational approach in a fun and relax environment are the keys for this success. Finally you can learn and enjoy our classes from everywhere in the world from the comfort of your home!
Full course description:
Fancy learning Italian? Whether you are planning a trip to Italy or you have decided to learn this beautiful, musical and colorful language for fun, let’s start with our Beginners course. In fact, we will learn how to introduce ourselves, to talk about ourselves, to order our breakfast in a café, and so much more. Grammar is immediately implemented in practical and useful conversational tasks, such as booking a table at a restaurant and placing an order. It will also give you good foundations if you decide to progress with your Italian and join our 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.
Friday 25th of August 2023, a very important day for all Irish students who were waiting for their Leaving Certificate results. But an important day for me, too. I have been preparing students for their Italian Leaving Cert for thirteen years. Working with them every school week, teaching, seeing their improvement and boosting their confidence. On call 24-7 in March (oral part of the exam) and June (exam papers). Waiting and waiting for their results in August. It is a cycle and a rollercoaster of emotions!
The secret for success really shouldn’t be a secret at all: start early! We cannot cram excellence in a language and be able to use it proficiently in a year. If students start studying Italian at 12 or 13 years of age and they keep it up every week and every day with games, watching Italian cartoons and books, they will have most of the work done early and effortlessly.
Students don’t need to be Italian in order to get H1 as long as they start early. One of my Irish students (no Italian relations whatsoever) texted me on Friday about her H1 in ITALIAN “Carolina, we are so extremely delighted.” She wrote it in capital letters. She hoped, we hoped, but we know that it is hard to get H1. She started studying with me when she was in first class of secondary school. We had a class per week with some homework for 6 years. As soon as she consolidated enough grammar and vocabulary we started working on the Leaving Cert itself. As we had so many years ahead, her oral preparation was completely stress free and fun. Her oral had been ready since she started her 5th year. We just perfected her grammar, enriched her vocabulary and got her even more confident and natural. By then, our lessons were mostly in Italian. During the last two years we worked on the prescribed book, all the possible subjects for a possible essay and very hard comprehension texts… We worked in person and online (very convenient, especially when we know each other so well).
And now here we are with such a fantastic reward for all her work and time. She is ready to go to the University of Oxford to study architecture this September. I have also arranged for her to do an internship with an architect I know in Lake Como, Italy. Which will be ideal as she is now completely fluent in Italian.
All my students did very well this year as they have in all the previous years. Almost all have gotten either a H2 or a H1!
The other advantage of starting early is that when it comes time for the exams, these students can concentrate on their other subjects and just maintain and fine tune Italian. They can also take the Italian exam with little stress because they have been ready for so long and I make sure they know how ready they are going in full of confidence.
What about students who are a little older, what can be done for them? I do sometimes take students who are going into 4th or 5th year also who have already studied Italian in school or independently (or are already fluent in a romance language). However, in these cases, the student needs to have a reasonable level of Italian already and the willingness to work to prepare on a shorter schedule. But I have had great success with these later arrivals too.
In both cases, the importance of working with a qualified Italian teacher like myself (Irish teaching council number: 224790) who understands the exam process and how to maximise results while teaching the language and fluency at the same time is vital to success in the leaving cert. But also in giving these young people the fluency to be able to converse fluently enough to travel in Italy for studying, culture or fun!
Well done to all my students, I am very proud of you all…
And now it’s time to go again 😉
Here some messages from this year:
I just got my results a few minutes ago and I got a H2 in Italian! I cannot thank you enough for all of your help over the past few months!! I.
Grazie mille!!! You were an amazing teacher! 🙂 M.
Ciao Carolina, spero che tu stia bene! Ho preso H1 in Italiano, grazie per il tuo aiuto 😉 A.
H1 in Italiano per E.;-) E.
Hi Carolina, very happy with my results overall! I got the H2…. Thanks so much again for all your help. A.
‘Formaggio vaccino, caprino, pecorino, venite alla macchina dei latticini locali (come to the car of our local milk products)…’ shouts the man in the white van around Botricello’s lanes, our small Calabrian village. What a great idea: here in the south of Italy shops are on wheels and they come to your house!
Negozi ambulanti, shops on whiles in the South of Italy!
Ma, cosa significa formaggio (what does formaggio mean)? You all know, of course: cheese!
Surely, all of you love formaggio italiano, so let’s get ready to approach the man in the white van or the bancone del formaggio (cheese counter;-) in the supermarket.
I am almost sure that you all know about Pecorino. You can easily find it in Irish supermarkets nowaday. In Ireland, it is known as a hard type of cheese and it’s often grated on pasta. Ma (but), what does formaggio pecorino mean?
In order to fully understand the meaning, we have to go back to the word (la) pecora. Pecora significa (means) sheep. Therefore, formaggio pecorino is cheese made using sheep’s milk! And there are hundreds of types of it with different texture, consistency and taste: from the softest ricotta to the hard Pecorino cheese.
La pecora (sheep), la capra (goat) e la vacca (cow)
Back to the man in the white man: Formaggio vaccino, what does vaccino mean?
Let’s go back to the word (la) vacca. Vacca significa (means) cow. Therefore, formaggio vaccino is cheese made using cow’s milk! And there are thousands of types of it around the world.
You might know that we do have another word for cow in Italian: (la) mucca. This is a newer word and probably comes from the sound that the cow makes (mu) or from the verb mungere (to milk).
Finally, the man in the white van or in the ‘Macchina dei latticini locali’ (car of the milk products) advertises also ‘Formaggio Caprino’. We already know the drill
Capra significa (means) goat. Therefore, formaggio caprino is cheese made using goat’s milk! We also have several types of formaggio caprino.
Now we are ready to get our formaggio priorities in order when we approach the man in the white van. Just be sure that the back of the van is a refrigerator full of great cheese (vaccino, pecorino or caprino) like the one in the picture ;-)))) and enjoy!
