Dear Italian Language Students,
The commitment of all of us at the Dante Alighieri Society of Washington’s Italian Language Program is to bring you one step closer to Italy with our Italian language lessons. That commitment couldn’t be stronger in this trying time, when unfortunately we must engage in social distancing that separates us from our Italian friends and each other.
For those students whose passion for the Italian language and all things Italian cannot and will not be stopped, we will be offering classes Spring Quarter, but are switching from in-person to online lessons. Although we know that an online classroom is not the same as an in-person lesson, all the teachers of the Italian Program are determined to do everything they can to make this new learning experience as exciting, inspiring, educative, fun and effective as our lessons have always been.
We will keep a close eye on the rapid evolution of the situation and adjust accordingly. We will continue to look into ways to improve our language classes throughout the quarter and into the future. The following is a description of how we anticipate the upcoming Spring Quarter classes will be conducted:
Students will interact with their instructor and peers through the video conferencing Zoom platform. The Zoom platform allows real time interactions between the students and the instructor. Instructors will present in real time the grammatical structures and vocabulary listed in the syllabus with the support of Zoom Whiteboard among other tools. Just as for in-person classes, students will be able to ask questions and interact with each other. Follow up exercises will be provided – some during the online connection and others to be completed offline. During each lesson, instructors will provide opportunities for conversation as a class and in groups with the aid of images, guided interviews and other aids.
At the beginning of each online session, the teacher will share the content of the lesson with the students. The duration of the live portion of each online lesson may vary from 60 to 90 minutes. Shorter online sessions will include additional offline activities for the remaining class period.
As always, we welcome your feedback. It is a vital factor in delivering the best learning experience possible. We look forward to hearing your opinions and recommendations for improvements.
Thank you for continuing to share your passion for the Italian language and the country we all love, especially during this challenging time.
Giuseppe Tassone
Language Program Director
tassone@danteseattle.org
Gabriella Vagnoli was born in Pisa, Tuscany, home of the famous Leaning Tower. She grew up in a multicultural family thanks to her Brazilian mom and remembers teaching Italian for the first time as a child to her Brazilian cousins. She obtained a Laurea in English and Spanish Language and Literature at the Università degli Studi di Pisa and during her college years spent a year in the University of Reading, UK, studying mainly the works of Shakespeare. After obtaining a Certificate as a Teacher of Italian (DITALS II) at the Università per Stranieri di Siena, she has taught in a full immersion school in Florence, a children's full immersion program in Chicago and a Community College in Illinois.
Tiziana was born and raised in Sardinia, a beautiful Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea. She has always been passionate about foreign languages and cultures, and studied French and German at the Scuola Superiore Interpreti e Traduttori in Milan, where she obtained her first Foreign Languages and Interpreter BA degree. She then pursued her MA in English and German Language and Literature at IULM, one of the most prestigious universities in Milan, Italy for Language and Communication studies.
Nicla is a native of Napoli, Italy. She has a Laurea in Materie Letterarie (degree in humanities) and a Laurea in Pedagogia (degree in Education) from the Università degli Studi di Cassino. She earned her M.A in Italian and her PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Washington. She has published articles and book chapters on gender and theater as well as politics and religion in Counter-Reformation Italy and in the last years, has been teaching Italian literature, language, and culture in different institutions. In addition to teaching in our program, Nicla is authorized to cover the role of esaminatrice and intervistatrice in our PLIDA Examination Board.