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.
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.
posted by Toby1939 at 10:17 PM
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