Silvia

Silvia is a exceptionally talented and effective teacher. I have been taking classes with her for months, and I have enjoyed every second. She is always well-prepared, in high spirits, and dedicated to helping me improve my Italian. As a professor myself, I can say without a doubt that Silvia is one of the best language teachers I've met in my professional life. I highly recommend her classes. If you take Silvia's classes, you will be inspired by her professionalism, her deep knowledge of the Italian language and culture, and her incredible sense of humor, which creates a wonderful learning environment for students at any level.

Silvia is a fantastic teacher whose defining qualities are (1) preparation and (2) relentless positivity. As to the former, she clearly puts a lot of forethought into each lesson, and you always know that the lesson plan will be ready to go at the commencement of each session. There is no awkwardness, no pregnant pauses waiting for what's next, no wondering how the 60 minutes will be filled...none of that. Silvia keeps each lesson moving along in a way that always hits the sweet spot--nothing ever seems either too rushed or too protracted. Silvia's positivity infuses each session, and you can tell that she is truly invested in her students' success. She is honestly, legitimately pleased when you get something right; similarly, she is able to correct mistakes in a way that feels totally comfortable...not intrusive, not disruptive, and not confidence-reducing. Indeed, after each lesson is finished, I feel more linguistically competent and confident than I did before the lesson began.

Silvia has a very structured/objective based, yet highly adaptable approach to teaching, which has been extremely effective. We work together through a great course, which I have found very useful with respect to building a good vocabulary and understanding of Italian grammar. However, we often break off from this on focus on specific areas of the italian language which may be falling behind. In my case this is generally spoken/conversational Italian since my first languages are Spanish and English. Sometimes thinking in three languages at the same time could be overwhelming. She is super patient and has manner of delivery which I have found to be very re-assuring but also challenging when required. I'm not the most confident language learner, she takes this into account and pushes just enough without being overbearing. I'd say she is capable of teaching Italian to any level/objective. Whether your aim is basic travel communication or fluency.

Not a second is wasted in each lesson with Silvia. She has the ability to pin point a language weakness and immediately she retrieves an exercise to improve one’s understanding of a proplemg. Her database of Italian grammar exercises seems limitless. The lesson time goes by quickly because she gives you no time to not focus. Silvia speaks English with perfection and with no accent.

Silvia is an excellent and engaging teacher. She is excellent at teaching Italian grammar and vocabulary. I highly recommend her.

I had a great trial lesson with Silvia and look forward to working with her more. She’s friendly, knowledgeable, confident and organized.