Perché studiare italiano?
Having studied a language at school (more than a few years ago, I should add) and briefly attended an Italian evening class in my 20s, I have been wanting to improve my Italian for a while. I am a believer that knowing a foreign language is a good life skill to have, whether you’re young or old. It is mentally stimulating as well as being useful on holidays and trips abroad. I enjoy traveling, and to Italy in particular, so learning Italian has had a particular appeal to me.
During the Covid lockdown, I started to pick up studying Italian again using an online app. More recently I have wanted to find something classroom-based to improve the depth of my knowledge of the language and also my confidence in speaking it. Although learning things online is good, face-to-face teaching is much better in my opinion. On my last holiday in Italy in 2023, I spoke Italian when I could although the locals usually replied to me in English! That gave me a fresh incentive to improve my Italian.
Perché un corso LfA a York?
On return from my latest Italian holiday, a long trip covering the places in the photos with this blog, I searched on the internet to find Italian courses in my local area. That is where I found the LfA Elementary course I am now on. I live about 20-minutes’ drive away from York, so studying at the University is ideal. The course also seemed to be pitched at the right level for me.
A slight downside of the LfA courses is that most of them are during normal working hours for those who work standard full-time hours. However, there aren’t too many places that offer face-to face Italian courses in Yorkshire and I am currently working part-time, so I have been able to fit my working week around the course. The course runs between 4pm and 6pm on a weekday afternoon.
Com’è il corso?
The course has been excellent so far. Our tutor has been engaging and supportive as well as being a good teacher, with there being lots of material on the VLE to help revise topics we have studied.
There is a good mix of undergraduates, postgraduates and members of the public on the course. I must confess to being a little bit jealous of those undergraduates who are using the course to prepare for a year of their studies in Italy. I don’t think such an option existed when I was an undergraduate at another Yorkshire university back in the late 1980s, but I wish it had.
E dopo le lezioni?
As well as the course, I am also involved in an online Italian conversation group and have noticed that my ability to speak within that group has improved lots since I started the LfA course. So it’s a case of so far so good.
I would like to do another course at an Intermediate level after this one and also intend to carry on speaking Italian as much as I can. Hopefully, much of that will be on trips to Italy. I have been lucky enough to have had some great trips to Italy so far, ranging from hiking in the Dolomites to watching football at the San Siro in Milan, as well as some family summer holidays enjoying the Italian sunshine, food, and wine.
I look forward to many more trips to come and, hopefully, the locals will start to reply to me in Italian before too long!
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