54 –Selecting ARCA as My School of Choice
In describing my search for the “right” school, that is, the school that would best suit my current needs, I am hoping that you will extract something to help you in your choice. Bear in mind that a school that suited you when you were first learning Italian just may not be what you want now at a more advanced level.
Twice I had used the web site it-schools.com to find a school and each time I had been satisfied, but the other times when I didn’t use this site I had been disappointed. I was even reluctant to return to Italy after my experience at Scudit. So when I decided to try again, I went back to the it-schools.com web site. I had decided that I wanted to study at Bologna because it was famous for its university and its cuisine. Moreover, I didn’t want to go south of Rome, and Venice was too touristy. Also, from Bologna I could reach many interesting cities in a short time.
From it-schools.com I found several schools and wrote to them, explaining that I was looking for a school that emphasises conversation. I also suggested that they peruse my blog if they want to understand what I was seeking. All came back with their stock replies – you can recognise this because they don’t answer your questions! Two schools did make reference to my blog – ARCA and another one.
I had also asked the members of my Meetup Italian Conversation group for recommendations, and someone had recommended Cultura Italiana because she had studied there. Normally this should have been a green light, but what is good for the goose may not be good for the gander. I wrote to Cultura Italiana, and it replied that if I wanted conversation I should take their individual lessons. In short, they weren’t interested, and so I dropped them. My rule is that I avoid schools that don’t go beyond their stock response. I decided to focus on ARCA because it was prepared to engage in a dialogue and it was in Bologna.
After my experience at Scudit I had decided that I would not decide until I had explored all avenues and could feel tolerably satisfied that I would find what I wanted. I asked for references and they gave me the name of a fellow Canadian student who had studied there. She gave the school a glowing recommendation and explained what they had done. Normally I would have been satisfied, but I still had reservations. After all, she was a senior university student studying Italian and probably had a level way beyond mine. If you are an advanced student most schools won’t throw grammar at you but, I hope, conversation. And I didn’t think I could classify myself as an advanced student. Based on class tests I took at ARCA I would be classified as an Advanced Intermediate [2B].
I had many exchanges of email with Serena who runs the administration, and I am grateful for her patience. Following a conversation with her on Skype we agreed that I should speak to Michael Cotton the Director of the school. We spoke for over an hour, and I discovered that he was English and that ARCA had originally been a school that taught English to Italians. I believe you can get a good feel for the school by talking to the Administration. Besides, if they are prepared to speak to you for over an hour on Skype it shows that they care. Compare this to Cultura Italiana’s response! Michael sensed that I was still uncertain so he suggested that I speak to one of the teachers, which he arranged.
I spoke to Mauro for an hour and a half on Skype, and I asked him to give me an example of a typical lesson, which he did. At that point I felt comfortable that if I went to ARCA I would receive the type of teaching I wanted, namely one that emphasised conversation. In short, I would find the type of lesson where the student played an active role rather than one where the student sat passively and the teacher poured into him volumes of grammatical rubric.
So I recommend that you choose your city or area, and use it-schools.com to find the schools. Next contact them, first by email, and then when you have narrowed down your choice speak to the people running the schools. But first make sure that you know what kind of school you want. As I have been stressing, Italian-run language schools stress grammar sometimes at the price of conversation. The best of these, like Leonardo at Siena also have a reserved time for conversation. But for me, at my intermediate level, I wanted and want the emphasis to be placed on conversation, which is what ARCA gave me.
In my next blog I will discuss Bologna.
Twice I had used the web site it-schools.com to find a school and each time I had been satisfied, but the other times when I didn’t use this site I had been disappointed. I was even reluctant to return to Italy after my experience at Scudit. So when I decided to try again, I went back to the it-schools.com web site. I had decided that I wanted to study at Bologna because it was famous for its university and its cuisine. Moreover, I didn’t want to go south of Rome, and Venice was too touristy. Also, from Bologna I could reach many interesting cities in a short time.
From it-schools.com I found several schools and wrote to them, explaining that I was looking for a school that emphasises conversation. I also suggested that they peruse my blog if they want to understand what I was seeking. All came back with their stock replies – you can recognise this because they don’t answer your questions! Two schools did make reference to my blog – ARCA and another one.
I had also asked the members of my Meetup Italian Conversation group for recommendations, and someone had recommended Cultura Italiana because she had studied there. Normally this should have been a green light, but what is good for the goose may not be good for the gander. I wrote to Cultura Italiana, and it replied that if I wanted conversation I should take their individual lessons. In short, they weren’t interested, and so I dropped them. My rule is that I avoid schools that don’t go beyond their stock response. I decided to focus on ARCA because it was prepared to engage in a dialogue and it was in Bologna.
After my experience at Scudit I had decided that I would not decide until I had explored all avenues and could feel tolerably satisfied that I would find what I wanted. I asked for references and they gave me the name of a fellow Canadian student who had studied there. She gave the school a glowing recommendation and explained what they had done. Normally I would have been satisfied, but I still had reservations. After all, she was a senior university student studying Italian and probably had a level way beyond mine. If you are an advanced student most schools won’t throw grammar at you but, I hope, conversation. And I didn’t think I could classify myself as an advanced student. Based on class tests I took at ARCA I would be classified as an Advanced Intermediate [2B].
I had many exchanges of email with Serena who runs the administration, and I am grateful for her patience. Following a conversation with her on Skype we agreed that I should speak to Michael Cotton the Director of the school. We spoke for over an hour, and I discovered that he was English and that ARCA had originally been a school that taught English to Italians. I believe you can get a good feel for the school by talking to the Administration. Besides, if they are prepared to speak to you for over an hour on Skype it shows that they care. Compare this to Cultura Italiana’s response! Michael sensed that I was still uncertain so he suggested that I speak to one of the teachers, which he arranged.
I spoke to Mauro for an hour and a half on Skype, and I asked him to give me an example of a typical lesson, which he did. At that point I felt comfortable that if I went to ARCA I would receive the type of teaching I wanted, namely one that emphasised conversation. In short, I would find the type of lesson where the student played an active role rather than one where the student sat passively and the teacher poured into him volumes of grammatical rubric.
So I recommend that you choose your city or area, and use it-schools.com to find the schools. Next contact them, first by email, and then when you have narrowed down your choice speak to the people running the schools. But first make sure that you know what kind of school you want. As I have been stressing, Italian-run language schools stress grammar sometimes at the price of conversation. The best of these, like Leonardo at Siena also have a reserved time for conversation. But for me, at my intermediate level, I wanted and want the emphasis to be placed on conversation, which is what ARCA gave me.
In my next blog I will discuss Bologna.
posted by Toby1939 at 11:46 AM
<< Home