49 ARCA: A Typical Lesson

Although we had up to eight or nine students in the class, we rarely had more than five or six, for most had been attending for almost a year, and many had developed a life outside the classroom – Bologna has many student bars! In fact, in my class I was the only “new” student. I had signed up for the four-week course that started in September.

Although our instructor had a pre-determined grammatical content that she brought to the class, for example the futuro, condizionale, etc. she started by asking if there was something we wanted to practise. Someone had asked for the congiuntivo and so we worked on it. She gave us a sheet that explained its major guidelines, that is, what we would need for general use in conversation, and not an exhaustive treatise on the congiuntivo. I learnt very quickly that I had overstudied my grammar because for the past years I had studied on my own from a Grammar Review Handbook for university. What I needed for communication was a lot less than what I had studied.

We would do a set of exercises from handouts, and then she broke us into groups for discussion with the goal of using the congiuntivo [or whatever the grammatical subject we were studying]. Homework would be to complete the drills, which were reviewed the next day.

We read articles, which we had to explain, and this was followed by mini debates, where she encouraged us to use the congiuntivo [or whatever grammatical subject we were studying]. However, it was never forced on us. For example, we may discuss without using the congiuntivo. She might rephrase what we said, or she may add something to the debate, in which she would use the congiuntivo. And as we got accustomed to hearing the congiuntivo used, some of us began using it. If we misused it, as I did, she corrected me. The best analogy I can give for her approach is that of shaping a figure from plaster: no major wrenches, but just gentle contouring – adding the use of the congiuntivo where we found it comfortable to use. These exercises and discussions were repeated over the week and beyond. What this approach does is gently ease us into using the grammatical point until it became second nature – at least for some of us.

The pausa [coffee break] took place between 11 to 12 in the morning. The entire school adjourned to the predetermined coffee bar on the piazza Santo Stefano where we all sat around little tables, and of course, chatted in Italian. To a superficial onlooker, this long pause might appear as a waste of time, but on closer observation one would notice that the instructors always mixed with the students and generally distributed themselves about the group. Anyone who was left out either from apprehension or timidity would be soon roped into conversation with one of the teachers. This would also ensure that Italian was generally spoken and thus the long coffee break was transmuted into an hour of casual conversation with no pressure on the speaker.

After the pausa we returned to class where we continued where we left off, or sometimes on Fridays we played a word game where one person on a team had to explain a word without using it – a practical way to improve one’s vocabulary.

In my next blog I will discuss whether ARCA is the right school for you.