Italian Language
I have been a teacher for nearly a decade: in Europe, in China, and in the United States. At Princeton, I have taught in the departments of History, East Asian Studies, and Comparative Literature. But nothing gives me the pleasure of my mother tongue, Italian.
Teaching
My language teaching began in 2016, at Peking University 北京大学, where I was appointed assistente al lettore (assistant language instructor), teaching both historical and modern Italian to undergraduate students. Aside from the stock-in-trade of Italian language instruction (food culture, high fashion, etc.), I found cinema an especially precious resource.
In 2020 and 2021 I was the official voice of the AP Italian exams in the United States. I have kept teaching to this day to this day, both in person and online, with students of all ages and backgrounds.
As for how I teach: I don't lecture much. I learned the most, as a student, from teachers who asked me questions I couldn't easily answer and then gave me the tools to work them out — and that is what I try to recreate. Having studied across Italy, England, China, and the United States, I know how disorienting, and how productive, it is to meet a way of thinking that doesn't map onto your own. With a language, that means sinking your teeth in real-life texts as soon as possible. I am an easy grader but a thorough one: my feedback is specific and practical.
What I teach
- University exams (language and literature)
- Italian language certifications: CILS, CELI, PLIDA, CERTIT, AIL, and so forth
- AP exams (US)
- A Levels (UK)
- General high-school electives
From level A1 to C2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) — from absolute beginners to advanced learners, that is.
Should your needs exceed the standard proficiency tests — or if you would simply like to swerve from the trodden path — know that I'm a voracious reader, and that it warms my heart to read literature with students.