31. Lingua-It: (12) Verona

I chose to study at Lingua-It in Verona, Northern Italy, because the city is less than an hour from Venice, and close to Padua, Mantua, and Vicenza. It is also an hour away from Lago di Garda, the touted scenic beauty, and in the heart – or near the heart –of the Valpolicella and Soave vineyards.

Verona is a city full of Roman ruins, with a Roman arena at one of its two major piazzas, Piazza Bra. The city has done an excellent job in preserving the ruins, often under glass, which you can see as you walk along the streets or in piazzas. Then there are the straight streets engineered and built by the Romans.

Verona has been described as a “smaller Florence,” and the similarity holds in terms of having a river divide the city into two parts, but it lacks the calibre of paintings one can find at the Pitti or Uffizi palaces. Verona’s collection of paintings is located at the Castello Vecchio and there are some very interesting pieces. But don’t take my word for it since I’m no expert! Apparently, what Verona does have is some excellent Gothic and Roman churches. I must confess that I would not have visited them if two friends who are art historians had not visited me and taken me on a tour of the churches. Unlike Perugia, one has to pay to visit them. If you do visit Verona, I strongly recommend that you spend a day visiting San Zeno, the Doumo, and Santa Anastasia. A good guidebook will list the others that one should visit.

If you are so inclined, you can also visit the home and “tomb” of Juliet of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ fame. I am surprised the city fathers have not hired someone to carve her name on the “tomb”. Still, I can recommend visiting the house where her tomb is located, not for the tomb but for the other artefacts displayed at that location. As for her “house,” well, I didn’t bother . . ..

Do remember to buy a Verona Card. Unlike Perugia, where your card is good for a whole year, in Verona it is good for three days. You can buy cards that last longer but they cost too much. This difference in availability sums up for me the difference between Perugia, a university city of culture, and Verona, a city of commerce. If you are thinking of visiting the sites on a weekend, remember that most of them are closed on Mondays. So do your touring on Friday to Sunday.

What struck me about Verona is its cleanliness and orderliness. It appears as if the sweepers are out ensuring that the city remains clean at all times. In the old city at least, I did not see needles or spaced out junkies and, in fact, the city seems to be a very safe place. I have since heard that there are some bad areas in the outskirts, but then, what city does not have these afflictions? Even the number of hawkers in Verona are few, unlike Perugia, which abounds with hawkers and, I’m told, now (2007) with druggies.

Perhaps one reason for this sense of law and order in Verona is that the municipal government is right of centre. The police are always around the corner to ensure that common sense reigns. When at 5 p.m. the city turns into one large cocktail party as people take to the cafes and bars to have their aperitif, you won’t see drunks or any such stupidity.

Historically, Verona is very much a Northern European city, having been for many years part of the Austrian Empire. Then, of course, there was the less than savoury flirtation with Fascism and Hitler’s jackbooted boys. The proximity to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and its historical connections result in Verona becoming the playland for tourists from these countries. In September the place was crawling with Germans, and probably, at other times too. Of course, the city responds with signs in German and waiters and clerks who will speak to you if not in German then in the international language of commerce -- English. In practical terms what this means for someone trying to practise the language is that Verona may not be the best choice. However, walk away from the tourist centres like Piazza Bra, Piazza Erbe, or the Duomo and you can find restaurants where they will speak Italian to you. But hide your dictionary!

30 Lingua-It: (11) (Verona) vs. Leonardo da Vinci (Siena)

I attended Leonardo da Vinci two years ago [2005], and many things may have changed since then. I am not including the Università per Stranieri, Perugia, in this comparison because I do not recommend that you attend that school unless you are a masochist! (See blogs 4 - 6, 9,10). However, there are two private schools in Perugia, but I know nothing about them. There is also another school in Verona, named IDEA Verona. I know nothing about this school, except that I did not pursue my enquiry any further when they replied to my questions with stock answers. For all I know, it may be an excellent school.


Size
Lingua-It: Small [approx 30] when I attended
Leonardo da Vinci: Larger, numbers unknown to me but certainly more than 30 when I attended

Year Founded
Lingua-It: 2002
Leonardo da Vinci: 1977


Membership
Lingua-It: Member of Italian Language and Culture schools
Leonardo da Vinci: Member of Italian Language and Culture schools

NOTE: The following is strictly hearsay: that Leonardo da Vinci is old enough to have achieved the government licence, which was then discontinued. Whatever is to replace the licence has not as yet been issued. Hence many other schools, especially the newer ones, lack this licence.


Teaching Philosophy
Lingua-It: No set text book. Emphasis on spoken language based on grammatical subject of the lesson
Leonardo da Vinci: Grammar, established, in-house textbook

Location
Lingua-It: Verona, Veneto, Northern Italy; 1 hour from Venice. Felt very safe. Met a Veronese who was an excellent host. Enjoyed talking to the hosts at the Cafè Tubino
Leonardo da Vinci: Siena, Tuscany. 2 hours from Florence. Felt very safe but Sienese are notorious for being self contained

Common Room /Meeting Place
Lingua-It: Not really, but has a small hall with internet and 4 computers. One minute to local café and bars
Leonardo da Vinci: No Common Room. Does have a terrace where people can meet during class breaks.


Extracurricular
Lingua-It: (Free) weekly walking tours of sites in Verona and weekly showing of films
[Pay] weekly guided tours outside Verona
[Pay] biweekly guided tours of other cities

Leonardo da Vinci: (Free) weekly walking tours of sites in Siena, gallery tours.
(Free) lectures on cooking, contradas, pronunciation
[Pay] weekly motor excursions to other cities but not with a guide

Highlights
Lingua-It: Visit to Vicenza and exhibition of paleochristian art with art historian
Aperitifs at bar

Leonardo da Vinci: Dinner at a farmhouse. Workshop in pronunciation

Bright ideas
Lingua-It: list of restaurants, etc
Leonardo da Vinci: Dinner and workshop – see “highlights”

Weakness:
Lingua-It: cooking classes never materialised
Leonardo da Vinci: nowhere for students to meet [2005]

Strength
Lingua-It: Small, friendly and everyday Italian stressed
Leonardo da Vinci: Only Italian spoken by instructors [2005]. Well established in its ways

Cost
Lingua-It: 630 [2007]
Leonardo da Vinci: 670 [approx.] [2008]


Which School to Choose?
That depends on what you want. If your Italian is fairly advanced, that is, you have covered the grammar (or most of it) I would recommend Lingua-It. You’ll probably go through the grammar again, but this time with an eye on what is important for speaking. If you know little to no grammar and would like a more regimented classroom approach, I recommend Scuola Leonardo.

If you want to be immersed entirely in Italian, that is, where the teachers speak only Italian, I recommend Scuola Leonardo. Of course things might have changed in two years, but I hope not. On the other hand, If you are not fussy about being entirely immersed in Italian, then Lingua-It is your school.

As far as cities go, both are beautiful cities and both inner cities are safe (as “safe” can be). Verona has a right-of-centre government, which, I assume, would be strong on law and order. Siena, on the other hand, has an in-built mechanism – the contradas – to control the young. Frankly, I prefer Perugia to both despite its growing drug problem, because it is a cultural Mecca.

At Siena (2005) you could still try out your Italian with waiters, taxi drivers, clerks, unlike Verona where everyone wants to speak English (or German).

From Verona you can easily visit Venice, Padua, Mantua, and other North Italian cities. From Siena you are not far from Florence and all the other Tuscan towns. However, both Venice and Tuscany are crawling with tourists!

29 Lingua-It: (10) Awarding of Diplomas

In my “General Assessment” (Blog 20) of Lingua-It, I mentioned as rather over-enthusiastic the practice of awarding “diplomas” accompanied by fulsome praise to anyone who had attended for however long or brief a period. The students don’t have to sit a test, nor do they have to finish the course. So someone who attends for a week is given a round of warm applause and a certificate, as is one who attends two weeks, three weeks, and so on. Everyone -- students and teachers-- gathers together. The instructors make or listen to speeches and everyone applauds each student receiving a diploma. I am reminded too much of cruise ship personnel who exude cheerfulness as they cheer off one set of disembarking passengers while cheerfully welcoming the next set!

I also think of evening classes, subtitled “Study with a Friend,” sponsored by the school board of my city, where at the end of a course one is given a diploma stating that one has attended the course! As befitting the diploma’s true value, namely that it signifies nothing beyond attendance -- these “diplomas” are handed out without any enthusiastic celebration. At Scuola Leonardo, Siena, they don’t indulge in any such make-believe diplomas, because there is a government sponsored examine one can sit when one has reached the necessary level.

Maybe I am too much of a Puritan (or just a grouch). Perhaps some people like to receive a “diploma” however ersatz it might be, or perhaps they need it to take to work to validate their absence. So if you are comfortable with the practice, don’t mind my objection. Frankly, I think the present system undermines any aura of seriousness to which Lingua-It can lay claim. If need be, the school could proffer letters of incompletion stating that the student has completed so many weeks of the course and inviting that student back to finish it at a later date. Those who have finished a course could receive a “diploma” for that level -- provided that the level of that student has been assessed. This can be done by in-class reviews of work rather than any heavy-duty tests. I think such an approach would give legitimacy to a happy and friendly event that could carry some significance but sans the frenetic “cheerfulness”.

28. Lingua-It: (9) Cooking Classes and Other Social Activities

Lingua-It’s advertisement claims to offer “a range of Cultural Courses, Laboratories and guided Tours that, in conjunction with language classes, expose students to all facets of Italian life, language and culture.” Well, maybe. During my four-week stay there were no cooking classes (a touted option), no wine and cooking “laboratory,” and not even a lecture on Veronese cooking. Apparently, the cooking option was a one-evening affair -- a cook and eat activity for which they could not get the necessary number of students when the time came. Perhaps the price was too high. I think the cost would have been about 60 Euros. I found it all very disappointing. Perhaps if the school had arranged a dinner without the cooking lesson there might have been takers. Besides, for a school that advertises its friendliness, I was surprised that it did not sponsor an event that epitomises social togetherness – a dinner. Yet, Lingua-It’s on-line brochure states, “In conjunction with, but independent of, the cooking course, LINGUA IT organises outings to typical restaurants in the Verona area” [Lingua-It’s emphasis]. No such outings occurred in the four weeks of the course I attended. At Scuola Leonardo,Siena, the school arranged a dinner at a farm that was a memorable experience. Although Scuola Leonardo at Siena did not offer a cooking course (2005), they did hold a free lecture on Tuscan cooking, which was most enlightening.

It seems to me that Lingua-It is doing itself (and their students) a disservice by its exaggerated advertisement. For example, under “Wine and Cooking” it states, “LINGUA IT organises cooking courses for those who want to master the great traditions and techniques of Italian gastronomy or those who simply want to satisfy their taste buds. The classes, conducted by qualified teachers, are held in the afternoons or evenings in a fully equipped but welcoming environment.” The advertisement continues, “Each lesson ends with a convivial lunch or dinner in which participants can savour the delights of the dishes prepared, accompanying them with the most befitting and delicate wines of the region.” In reading this advertisement I was left with the impression that I would be signing up for a weekly cooking course. In fact, it was only for one evening but, as indicated above, it did not materialise. If the summer programme differs from the autumn one in having weekly classes, the advertisement does not make this distinction clear.

It seems that the school’s advertisement on the web offers a lot more than it delivers. If classes are dependent on the number of students signing up, that should be made very clear to prospective students. If I were cynical, I would suggest that the school is guilty of making the right gesture to get the credit, rather than trying to make the advertised activity a successful reality. In other words, more advertising than substance. On a more charitable note, one could argue that the young school is still trying to find its rhythm, and like youth, it has a tendency to rush into promises of projects that are sometimes unrealisable. As my yoga instructor would say, “less is best”.

27. Lingua-It: (8) Paid Extra-Curricular Activities

Paid Tour of Countryside
At Lingua-It there would be a weekly paid tour such as a visit to the annual rice festival; a cantina to taste Soave wine; or an artigiano [hand crafted] grappa or olive oil production. Often these also included a guided tour of a place of interest such as a church. The fee was usually about 20-25 Euros [$30 –35]. Not surprisingly, the most popular was the wine tasting! I think these tours were (and are) good value, because without a car, local knowledge, and connections the students could not have arranged such visits. I also believe that, if run properly, all extracurricular activities contribute towards our learning the language, because we get an opportunity to converse with native speakers. These can be the welcoming “host” or they could be our instructors who lead the tours.

It’s amazing how few Italians one meets socially while attending a school in Italy. In Siena I met no one outside of my host family. In Perugia I had several wonderful conversations with people who chatted with me in the streets. And in Verona I was fortunate enough to have met two gentlemen, one a Veronese, who was most hospitable, and the other was a gentleman from Torino. I still communicate with both. In the ideal world, we would be so engrossed in social activities involving local Italians that we would unconsciously develop a fluency in the language. In other words, our mind would have assimilated the language so that it became second nature to think in Italian. In the real world, we rely on tours, visits, and lectures sponsored by the school we are attending. Hence my reason for attending everything and anything. Besides, against the cost of travelling to Italy, school fees, accommodation, and food, the price of the tours is a mere drop in the bucket.

Paid Visit to Another City
Every other Saturday there would be a major excursion, usually costing about 40 to 45 Euros [$60 – 65]. The first trip was to Vicenza and an exhibition of paleochristian art; the second was to Venice and an exhibition of Islamic-Christian art; and the third was to Mantua, which I had to miss. The guided tours of art and Roman archaeology were excellent because they were led by Enrico, who is an art historian. Certainly, his guided tour of the paleo-Christian exhibition in Vicenza – in fact the whole tour -- was a wonderful, educational experience.

I enjoyed these tours and was quite prepared to pay the price. I did not have to deal with Italian train schedules, tickets, etc., and had the company of a knowledgeable guide. Not all guides are equal, and two years ago I caught out my commercial “guide” in Florence fabricating a story, which she acknowledged when I asked her on the quiet. I noticed the same tendency here as at the Scuola Leonardo, namely a preponderance of “mature” students because of the cost. In 2005, the median price at Leonardo was 30 Euros per excursion, and many of the younger students thought that they could do better on their own. I suspect the same held true at Lingua-It, or perhaps they preferred the discotheques!

The problem for me was the occasional speaking of English by the guides. (See blog 25 “Guided Tours of City Site” for my discussion on the subject of speaking one’s mother tongue or English.) I was told that the reason for the English was that since the students paid for the tour they might feel short-changed if they could not understand the guide. At Leonardo we did not have an official guide -- one has to have a licence in Italy -- but we had a driver. Fortunately, [or unfortunately if you are of that mind] he could only speak Italian, and so at least our excursions were also an opportunity to converse in Italian with him.

26. Lingua It: (7) Free Extra-Curricular Activities (Cont.)

Film
Each week at Lingua-It there would be a free showing of a film with subtitles. These ranged from old black and white to modern-day classics, and Christian would introduce them with a short preface. The idea of showing a film is excellent, because it can function as a learning tool. Yet, for the three times that I attended, there were so few students that one could count them on one hand and still have fingers left over. Interesting enough, the Università per Stranieri, Perugia [but see my warning about attending this school in blogs 4 - 6, 9,10!] also showed films on Thursdays and Fridays, and they were packed.

Perhaps the films should be made part of the lessons leading up to the showing. If the purpose of showing the film is for more than just entertainment, then there certainly needs to be some sort of integrated response. For a school that prides itself in teaching everyday Italian, it would seem to me that these films would be a good source of such language. Scuola Leonardo did not show films [2005], but they offered other free activities that were interesting and geared to enhance our knowledge of Tuscany and our understanding of Italian. We had a lecture on the contradas followed by a visit to a contrada; we had a lecture on Tuscan food; and for the pièce de resistance we had an afternoon with a drama teacher who made us act out the different sounds of the language! We laughed a lot and we learnt a lot from these extracurricular activities.

25. Lingua It: (6) Free Extra-Curricular Activities

Guided Tours of City Site
Each week, Lingua-It offered a free guided tour of some facet of Verona such as “Roman Verona,” street murals, or a Roman church. The tour guide was generally Enrico whose speciality is art history. The tours were highly informative and at the end we would adjourn to a bar at Piazza Erbe for the customary Veronese happy hour. At Scuola Leonardo we were also taken on guided tours (but, alas, no happy hour followed!) Both schools deserve full marks for their guided tours of their respective city, but I noticed one --at least to me-- major difference. At Siena, the guide/instructor spoke only Italian – slowly, carefully, and if someone did not understand she would repeat it perhaps a different way. I am certain there were beginners of Italian in the groups, but Italian was the medium. After all, these excursions were also seen as part of the educative experience. With Lingua-It, explanations were occasionally sprinkled with English for those whose Italian was still too rudimentary. I think we have here two schools of thought, and frankly, I plunk for the Scuola Leonardo’s approach.

So what’s wrong with having one’s mother tongue [in this case English] spoken occasionally or hearing it during one’s stay? Anyone who has taught a Second Language to adults, or studied one, knows that the biggest problem students normally have is to speak the language. Sure, part of the problem is our reluctance to make fools of ourselves (or perception of such), but the major part is that we tend to translate from our native tongue into Italian (or whatever language we are trying to speak). We have yet to reach that stage where we can think in the new language. When, or if, we do reach that stage, we become a true polyglot and can switch easily from one language to another.

Unfortunately, most of us who study Italian in our home country don’t spend more than 6 to 10 hours a week with the language, and often less unless we happen to be majoring in Italian at university. And even then the students are encouraged if not required to spend time in Italy. The rationale for the visit is to acquire this ease through a total immersion. Those who spend a long enough time in the country, for example, a year living, hanging out, studying, -- just mixing with Italians -- will acquire or go a long way to acquire this ease. For those of us who come for four or five weeks, nothing but total immersion will help us. Hearing or speaking our native tongue makes it too easy to slide back into thinking in it. Even hearing another language other than Italian can have the same effect. You know that’s happening when you hear Italian with German or English syntax!

It is not easy forcing oneself; after all the lowest energy level is always the most comfortable, and so it is so much easier to speak our mother tongue, but that is not why we attend school in Italy. If the truth be known, there are excellent teachers of Italian in Canada, the USA, Australia, etc. These teachers are usually native Italians, educated at Italian universities with as much to offer as the best in Italy. What they can’t offer, nor the school they teach at, is the total immersion in Italian for the duration of the course.