Italiancork

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.
R. ha avuto H1 in Italiano... è contentissima!

Have you made your Italian New Year's Resolutions yet? Only 4 places left! Andiamo!

Siamo pronti! We'll start reading in Italian with our kids very soon, but only a few places available! Andiamo!

Reading Group (Gruppo Lettura) This class is aimed at those children or tweens (6-11 years of age) who have a little bit of Italian and that understand Italian. It is not a large class, but more like Private Tuition designed to learn how to read in Italian and Italian grammar fundations.  Your children will be invited to our fir...

New Classes for Italian Junior Cert and Leaving Cert Preparation! Very limited availability!

Study Group (Gruppo Studio) I have been preparing students for their Italian Leaving Certificate for 11 years and it is very rewarding to see that all of them got very high marks and their ‘first choice’ study.  Unfortunately or fortunately, the demand is higher than the time I have in my hands. This is one of the reasons...

If you are interested in your child attending Italian classes in a peer group during the school year 2022/2023 let me know.
I am putting together a small group of students who already speak and understand Italian. They don't need to be accurate or fluent, but they have to understand and be able to ask for explanations in Italian (the explanation can be given in English if necessary).
The aim of the class is to work on Italian grammar (starting from the foundations), writing and reading in Italian. This is being done to give students a good foundation in Italian that will be valuable for them if they wish to take the Junior or Leaving cert or visit, live or work in Italy at some point where being able to read and write in Italian (not just speak and listen) is crucial.

Classes will be carried out by myself (I am a qualified Italian teacher, with a masters degree in education and am certified with the Irish Teaching Council and fully garda vetted).
Topics will be approached in visual, interactive and practical ways through presentations, role playing and songs (whenever possible), but students will have to work and do some homework to consolidate what they learn between classes. We will also be using a Grammar school book. Classes will be held in person in our classroom in Blackrock.

Please let me know if you are interested as soon as possible and let me know which weekdays/times would suit (we will do our best to accommodate). These classes will be held once a week and lessons are an hour long. As I mentioned above, these classes are aimed at a small group of students and not a full sized class.

I prepare students for Italian in the Junior Cert and Leaving Cert several afternoons a week, while after 6 pm I have online classes for adults. So I will do my best to accommodate people's availability requests but as my availability is limited and each of you may have different availability, I cannot guarantee everyone can be accomodated

If some of them are asking about their children who don't have the requirement to take part in this group

I know some of your children/teens had attended Piccolitalia's classes in the past and some of you have been asking about them. At the moment I am working with very small groups of children and That seems to be working very well. Let me know if you are interested and I might be able to put you in contact with other parents who have children with the same level of Italian to create a small group (time permitting).
If you need more info [email protected] or 087 9588375

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 colourful language for fun, 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 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. 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.

Therefore, I would recommend that you book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment www.italiancork.com/italian-beginners-italiancork

It's time to book for our holidays... it's time to speak Italian!!
È ora di prenotare le nostre vacanze... È ora di parlare ITALIANO😁

A Few Places left!

Il Presepio – Italian traditional nativity scene Ecco qui il nostro presepio! Here is our presepio and this year, we really worked very hard! You probably already know about the Italian Christmas tradition called Presepio or Presepe. It is the nativity scene that we build at Christmas' time all over Italy. The first Presepio was ‘invented’ by ...

Ecco qui il nostro presepio! Here is our presepio and this year, we really worked very hard!

You probably already know about the Italian Christmas tradition called Presepio or Presepe. It is the nativity scene that we build at Christmas’ time all over Italy. The first Presepio was ‘invented’ by San Francesco d’Assisi and it was a ‘Living Presepio’ (using actual people). In 1223 he gathered a few people in Greggio (a rural village in Umbria) and they reenacted the ‘nativity scene’. San Francesco celebrated mass on the makeshift altar by the manger.

Nowadays, we do have living presepio/presepe in Italy, especially in small villages (they are called ‘borgo’ or ‘borgo medievale’ as they are usually of mediaeval origin), but in most houses we build our own presepio with figurines, houses and all the possible items to recreate the nativity scene. Usually, our figurines and a few other pieces, such as the grotto, come from our great grandparents or even older ancestors. But, tradition demands that every year something new must appear and give a ‘boost’ or a new ‘shine’ to the nativity scene of the previous year.

Allora, here is my challenge for you. Ecco (here) last year’s presepio.

tradition Italian Beginners
And at the top of the page is the new one… could you tell me what’s new?

This wonderful Italian tradition is also spreading through Ireland. In fact, you can admire a beautiful presepio in Saint Peter’s and Paul’s church and the other one in Galway!

And here is a first year presepio from my mother in law’s house: she worked very hard with my nephews Dave, Peter and even Jacob helped with the stained glass church window!

Allora, what are you waiting for? You better start now, you better work hard, and let me know if you need any help with it;-)

Buongiorno,

If you are interested, or if you have a friend or a relative interested in learning this beautiful and musical language for your next holiday or for fun, we are starting a New Beginners Online Class on the 9th of August.

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 relaxed environment are the key to their success. In fact, students speak Italian from their first day of class and we have a lot of fun, fantastico!
You can learn and have fun from everywhere in the world from the comfort of your favourite couch!

Full course description:
Fancy learning Italian? Whether you are planning a trip to Italy or you have decided to learn this beautiful, musical and colourful language for fun, 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, book a 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.

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.
Therefore, I would recommend that you book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment

Details:
Beginning August 9th
Monday from 6.30 – 8.30 pm (Irish time)
Online classes (ZOOM)
10 lesson course: €130

Prontissimi!! Andiamo!!

Italian Beginners Online starting on August 9th 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 ho...

We are starting on Tuesday and we will start talking Italian IMMEDIAtamente! Allora, andiamo!

Italian Beginners, Starting on April 20th

Andiamo, here all the INFO www.italiancork.com/italian-beginners-italiancork/