Italian Conversation
Group name: Italian language
Group leader: Paul Fletcher
Group level: beginner to intermediate
Fridays 11:00 to 13:00
Activities: Speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in Italian through a mixture of methods including: reading Italian texts; listening to Italian songs and TV shows; contextualised conversations; written exercises in both Italian and English; and good old-fashioned grammar. The aim is to have a diverse session that develops all four language skills and brings an insight in Italian culture.
The group is led by Paul Fletcher, former HMI (Education) and language specialist and teacher. We are a group of nine members with excellent attendance rates. The group began in March 2020 and, after a brief pause during the first lockdown, since July 2020, the group has met remotely by Zoom. The vast majority of group members were beginners and they have made very good progress and are now able to conduct basic conversations in Italian and write simple short sentences. They are now able to understand basic spoken and written Italian from internet-based resources, including films, game shows, cookery programmes, slow Italian sites, railway announcements and timetables and songs
Members enjoy using the interactive materials designed by the course leader, which provide helpful prompts to encourage them to produce well-structured sentences and to respond to each other in gap-filling and similar activities. One comment, typical of many of the group members: ‘Thank you for an interesting class today. It was challenging to be having conversations, but your topics and course work are always stimulating with plenty of guidance…’. Group members benefit greatly from the social aspects of learning and many have found the group very supportive during lockdown. New group members have joined throughout the year and they have been carefully paired with members of a similar level so that all members are included in the learning.