Teaching Statament

Teaching Italian

Learning English was such a challenge for me that when I began teaching Italian I resolved to make it as easy as possible for my students. I researched many approaches to foreign language teaching, with particular focus on how people learn. I wanted to make the process easy and fun for my students, and I believe I succeeded. At the Award Ceremony for Teaching Excellency at the New School, the [ex] President said, "Among the many letters of recommendation we received one says, "Caterina makes learning Italian as easy as drinking a glass of water."

When teaching I have 3 goals in mind:

Make it easy
Make it fun
Make it effective

I want my students to acquire the language (not just verb conjugations) and be able to communicate meaningfully. My classes are very interactive and I deeply care about their progress.

Here are some comments from my students' evaluations this past semester:

"I love your class because it’s so much fun."
"I enjoy the class because the activities we do are always a surprise."
"Your class is a pleasure and it’s the highlight of my week."
"Every Wednesday I rush to your class after work because I LOVE IT!"
"Thank you for everything. I hope I will remember what I learned in your class throughout my life." (from College student)
"I am amazed at how much I can say after only a semester."