Ciao a tutti e benvenuti sul mio canale, Il Maestro.
You are here because you have
either decided to learn Italian or
have been doing it already without making enough progress.
So, here are some of my best tips for taking your learning further.
Avoid CROWDED group classes like you would avoid people affected by some plague.
Why? Dumb question.
First of all, you are not livestock. No matter
how good you are at learning languages,
sharing the class with 15, 20 or 30 people will dangerously
hinder your progress.
This will happen especially if you are a beginner, as this is the time
where you will lay the foundations of your Italian.
Trust me: don't waste your time and money
waiting 20-30 mins before it will be your turn to read out a sentence or answer
a question, never mind about practising a dialogue out loud.
Ragiona, ca**o, ragiona, ca**o.
Secondly, sad but true, those teachers are not paid for preparation and administration time
they simply cannot afford to reply in a timely manner
your emails or meeting requests for free.
Thirdly, you will not bond as easily with other students,
who by the way may learn at different speeds than you.
Therefore, do not expect individual treatment if you fall behind for some reason.
There is a schedule to follow, and teachers cannot repeat a lesson
every time one of the 30 students in the class misses a lesson
Last but not least, some institutions hire teachers randomly.
Are you sure the Italian tutor is not actually Slovenian or a former pizza maker?
Unbelievable? Oh, well...
Make sure your Italian teacher has a clear
criminal record, is a native speaker or speaks like a native, is qualified and is experienced.
Would you entrust your dentist's mate with removing your wisdom tooth? If the answer
is NO, then apply the same concepts to hiring your Italian tutor.
Before you sign up for the course, do your checks:
criminal record, CVs, and certificates and qualifications regarding
teacher's profession and skills.
Which ones?
Look first for higher qualifications
such as BA or Masters and PhD in Italian and not in Biology or Engineering.
If they don't have those, check if they possess at least certifications to teach Italian to foreigners.
You need to make sure there is a linear path in their studies (e.g. moving into teaching
from industry is generally something that makes me alert).
Continuing development in
tutors careers (e.g. publications, courses, interests, activities) is, on the other hand,
a good indicator of passion, professionalism, expertise.
Unless, unless, unless you want to give £20/h to Maria, Italian bartender and "teach
is my hobby".
She can tutor "with any kind of homework and subject".
"What are you waiting for to improve your languagessss skills?"
Siamo a cavallo [We are in business].
Why not this one then? Claudia is a finance
student and is Italian.
Siamo a cavallo.
This one, Francesco.
General Manager, focusing on MBA, certification in Finance, Hospitality, Chinese Mandarin .
Siamo a cavallo.
Found it.
Programmer engineer, freelance photographer.
Perfect!
Siamo a cavallo.
Ah, Giovanni, Giovanni, Giovanni
bachelorssss in Economics, masters in International affairs
Fantastico. Dai, proviamo.
Maybe I need an English native speaker, who can explain this
Found it. Found it.
This guy teaches Italian and works for the NHS.
Maestro, it's no time to die.
Cristina teaches Italian and is a fashion editor.
Well, in that case...
Make sure there is chemistry between you and your tutor.
Nooo, I'm not talking about sex.
If your teacher puts their watch or phone on the table, run, run, run. If you two never
go off on a tangent having a good laugh during the lesson, never do something unexpected;
if there isn't a good buzz and you don't make friends along the way THERE IS NO SPARK.
Ditch that language provider that treats you
like a lamb heading to the slaughterhouse, and find a tutor who does NOT rip you off.
It's not just about money, it's about time, passion, energy and a dream.
There is a high risk of quitting Italian at an early stage,
not because you were not good enough, but
because the service you paid for and the entire experience was not personalised.
How do I find a good honest qualified tutor?
Do not let your tutor trap you in a never-ending
1-to-1 experience.
Good tutors encourage students to join one of their group classes at some point.
Against their financial interests.
If your tutors do not have classes, they may
have just started teaching, or they teach Italian as a side-job, they are not good enough
to handle a group, or they are lying to you to empty your wallet.
If your Italian tutor does not offer anything else but standard, only from the book courses,
then your learning experience will be very limited.
In addition to my 1-on-1 lessons and group classes
I offer Italian language-themed workshops on cooking, grammar, slang, cinema, music
and more (check this out www.ilmaestro.net).
It's fun and it's a duty.
Good tutors make students forget for a couple of hours that they are not actually in Italy.
Ok, that was a lie.
I live in England, life is hard.
Dal Maestro tutto, mi raccomando: studiate!