After having the pleasure of learning Italian with Olimpia for more than one year, I recently had the opportunity to interview her about her time and experience at TLC. Olimpia has been a member of TLC since 2018, first as a student learning English, and eventually becoming a facilitator and teaching Italian.
1-Tell me a little bit about yourself:
I’m 46 years old, I am Italian, and I’ve been living in the UAE for more than five years. I moved to Abu Dhabi with my husband and two children aged 8 and 6. I graduated in Law from the University of Bari, Italy, in 2004. After that, I worked as a lawyer’s assistant at law firms close to Milano, for a total of 8 years.
2-What is your educational background?
I attended a classical high school, studying Italian grammar and literature, as well as classical languages, Greek and Latin. For this reason, I’m finding it quite easy to teach Italian, even if it is not my professional background. However, since October 2020, I’ve been collaborating with the language school Eton Institute, as a freelancer, teaching Italian to adult students, supported by Eton teaching materials and with additional self-arranged material and exercises.
3- When and how did you find out about TLC?
I have to say thank you to my husband, because he discovered TLC on Facebook and pushed me to join, with the intention to help me improve my English. Since January 2018, here in Abu Dhabi, I’ve been a member of TLC. I am driven to do this, as a student and as a teacher. Teaching Italian helps me learn new things, and I also get the opportunity to be acquainted with new different cultures.
4- How was your experience at TLC?
My experience with TLC has always been positive, it allowed me to achieve my initial purpose of improving English communication skills. TLC also allowed me to meet new people and experience different cultures. I particularly enjoy hearing different individuals with diverse accents speak Italian.
5 -What is the biggest difficulty for Italian language learners?
Especially for beginner learners who have faced many challenges in understanding Italian grammar and its rules. Also, for some students that don’t speak any Latin languages, it is even harder to pronounce some sounds due to phonetic differences.
6- What was the best way to help them?
Regarding Italian grammar, it is very useful to learn the rules properly and try to practice regularly with exercises. As for learning the sounds associated with the Italian language, it is important to hear conversation to familiarize oneself with speaking (through audiobooks, Italian music, or films for example).
7- Did you see any progress?
I’m noticing progress, but not in all my students because it depends on where they come from. The Hispanic students, for example, learn much faster. It also depends on the time that each student spends studying and reviewing the lessons learned.
8- What are your best memories about TLC?
My best memories with TLC are from the first two years when the meetings were in person and not online.
9- How do you accommodate different students from multiple cultures/countries/languages in your sessions?
It is not hard to accommodate different students from different countries. The important thing is to give everyone their space – to talk about their culture, language, etc. – and to give them time to understand the Italian language. During each lesson, I noticed that students like to talk about their personal life, so this is key to stimulating them into having a conversation in Italian and learning the language easily.
Do you want to practice Italian with Olimpia?
You can join Olympia’s Italian conversation group by registering here. Our new term will start after our summer break in September 2022, meanwhile you can start you Italian learning journey with Earworms Rapid Italian.
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