Native Italian speaker, Master's degree in Translation and Interpreting, offers Italian CONVERSATION lessons

Find out more about ELENA

• Did you grow up speaking this language? Or were you inspired by a trip abroad, an individual or a certain aspect of the culture?

  Yes, I had the fortune of being born in Italy and I grew up speaking Italian with all my family members and friends. As I grew older, I realized the importance and the beauty of sharing my language and my culture with others, it was an intangible heritage that people were very eager to learn more about! And what I liked most was the unexpected thing that happened after I shared something about my home country or language, which was that people, in return, started telling me about their own countries culture, traditions and much more, creating this exciting exchange that has always been one of the main reasons of why I love doing this.

• Can you name a living, historical or fictional character that you think is the emblematic representative of the language's culture?

  You know I’ll give you three that some people might not know about. As a museum and art lover, Artemisia Gentileschi’s story of incredible courage and talent has always fascinated me. Then we have Margherita Hack, a great Italian astrophysicist and science communicator who happens to share a birthday with me! Lastly, Paola Cortellesi who is an incredible actress, comedian, film director, screenwriter and producer, and I always recommend people watch her directorial debut film “There’s Still Tomorrow”.

• Is there a typical word, phrase, tradition or expression in the language that you particularly like?

  While growing up I sometimes heard my grandparents and parents speak in dialetto veneto, the dialect of the region I am from, and therefore a lot of expressions that I like derive from that. However, if I had to pick only one general thing, I guess it would be the relationship we have with food. I have memories of coming home from long trips and the first thing my dad used to ask me was “what do you want to eat when you come back”; I think it truly is a way in which we show our love and appreciation, and I also believe that food is the ultimate universal language.

• Why does speaking this language matter to you?

  It matters because through this language I am able to connect with people from all over the world, to share beloved traditions and to always learn something new. If people can discover new things, places, can travel and have the chance to experience the best my country has to offer then it is an honor to share my language with them.

• What is the main difficulty in learning this language and what can help the process of learning?

  I’ve seen a lot of people get scared by the grammar (which I’ll admit is not the easiest!) but the best way to get over that fear is to allow yourself the time to get used to it. That’s why I always like to recommend my students that they watch or listen to some Italian outside of class, whether it’s a podcast, a TV series, or a YouTube video, you’ll get used to the sounds (and the rules!) in no time. Then you won’t have to remember that “mano” is feminine even though it ends in -o, it’ll just come to you!

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your language learning or your days at school.

  I remember one time during German class in high school some of us (me included) were struggling to remember prepositions and our teacher put on this kid’s video with a song to help us memorize them. At first I laughed because in that moment I thought it was very silly, but then here I am 8 years later, and I still remember that song (and the prepositions!). Sometimes the more “unconventional” ways of learning can be really helpful!

• How has travel or a specific trip helped you to increase your skill and knowledge of the language?

  In high school when I was learning Spanish, I had the opportunity to go to Salamanca for a school trip and that was really helpful because we were finally taking the language outside of the classroom and using it in real time situations, from buying something at the shops or speaking with our host family. It really helped with building confidence and learning so many real-life terms or slang that books usually don’t teach you! I think travelling and speaking with native speakers are two of the best ways to improve fast and in a fun way.