Internship
“The basic Italian language is easy to learn and to pick up in a few days if you are being taught by Tiziana and her team. At first, I thought the Italian language was difficult but the first time we began to learn it, I found it easy” - Refugee Student
Our Students
We worked virtually with a variety of students across several countries in Africa to teach Italian at an A1-A2 level (based upon the CEFR Language Levels)
Students in our program were selected as part of a UNHCR scholarship to support refugee education in Italy. Post-internship, our students went on to arrive in Italy and study at a variety of universities in Rome, Palermo, etc.
Course Topics
Within our internship timeframe, we focused on four main categories of language learning within the A1-A2 levels: vocabulary, grammar, verbs, and culture. Within each class session, we discussed new material both in English and Italian and then completed group practice activities. Following the class session, TA sessions were held to discuss any confusion or misunderstanding of materials and for continued practices.
Learning Through Teaching
Teaching students goes far beyond the material presented during a class. In order to be holistic educators, we actively promoted the use of teacher talk and trauma-informed teaching within our lessons.
Going Forward
Based upon a post-course survey, we learned the following information for the future. Student feedback on this program is essential to its successful continuation, and we value the ideas and suggestions of students who went through the program in Summer 2022.
Hear From Our Learners!
In response to how students felt about this course & its applications:
"The course was helpful because it will help me a lot when I will be in Italy, and also it can assist me everywhere in this world... it will help me a lot in Italy and in this world because I can meet different nationalities in this world including Italian and chat with them...I learnt a lot from this lesson and it will help me abroad."
"Learning and studying the Italian language will highly put me ahead of other fellow African professionals who don't know the language when a position is vacant and it requires someone who knows the Italian language"
In response to how students felt about provided resources:
"In general all course materials were useful because they were clear with necessary information to understand the Italian language. For instance, we had homework shared via Google folder and we had access to reading materials to explore before we start doing the homework"
"The materials are all very useful because it's provided simple way for learning, how to read, write, pronounce and grammars"
In response to student perceptions of Professor Serafini:
"she is an experienced teacher, and she loves students and she wanted us to learn Italian basics. Also, I really appreciated her professionalism because she come on time, she gave homework, and she made follow up on students knowing where they are coming from, their names, and background. so that was amazing and wonderful to be part of her students, etc"
"Professor Serafini was the best teacher I have ever seen! I like the methods she used to explain the course content. She was the best"
"I really like her way of teaching. She was explaining the course materials in an easy way. She knows how to teach the language"
In response to student perceptions of TA's:
"The team was courageous and were teaching in a friendly. The flawless communication of the team encourages everyone to feel focused on the course"
"All TAs were able to explain and make me understand the lessons that were prepared. They were also flexible to respond to all questions that students asked during classes"