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Paola
Lesson Categories
Language Fluency
| Italian | Native |
|---|---|
| English | Fluent |
| Japanese | Fluent |
| Spanish | Just a few words |
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Paola Tutor Profile
Ciao!
My name is Paola and I'm a certified Italian language teacher for adult learners. I'm also a translator and work in 3 languages (Italian, English, and Japanese).
[IMPORTANT!] September 23rd, 2024 - Due to the recent increase in my currently active students, I may no longer be able to guarantee 1 or more Skype lessons per week to new students. Therefore, if we've never studied together, you should send individual lesson requests. Should you request a lesson pack anyway, I may have to decline it. I set the maximum number of students who can request the lesson pack to 20 people. Should someone withdraw, there will be a free slot for you, so I'll get back to you.
I'm very sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding!※You may request offline services such as proofreading (both individual and 8-lesson pack) and voice recording.
About me
I'm Calabrian (South Italy), I studied in Rome and Osaka, and now I live in stunningly beautiful Tuscany with my special one. ♡
[The cat you see in my pictures is Maki. Unfortunately, she died in October 2023, but we will never forget her!]
As a teacher, I'm doing my best to offer creative and fun lessons!
My hobbies are: watching movies and TV series, playing games of all kinds (video games, board games, riddles, etc), nature and ecologism, animals (especially cats!), decluttering, hiking and climbing mountains, and traveling.
I dislike: katakana, all forms of discrimination, phone calls
Favorite quote: "Sbagliando si impara" (you learn by your mistakes)
LGBT+ Friendly♪
★If you want to know me better, follow me on Instagram ♡
@paola.italianogram
The Italian I write in my posts is natural, correct, and easy to understand. I also share my everyday life and travels in Italy.
It is a great way to stay in touch with the Italian language daily and in a different context from the lesson!
My lessons
I love languages. Studying them, translating them, and, of course, teaching them!
At university, in addition to languages, I've studied linguistics, historical linguistics, and language pedagogy. Then, I also took a master's degree in Italian language teaching (DITALS level II) where I learned modern language teaching (and learning!) methods.
I always try to keep up-to-date by joining webinars, conventions, and all sorts of events for Italian language teachers (that is also a great way to fight the so-called "freelancer's loneliness"!).
Let's study together! I'll teach you Italian, but not the way a schoolteacher would. I prefer to define myself as a tutor because I don't know everything and I'm not above you: think of me as a friend on the same level as you, who will share their knowledge and support you in your active learning. It's fair to say that it is not "me teaching you", but rather "you learning with my help"!
You should also know that the ultimate goal of our lessons is NOT to guess the correct answer on a test but to learn how to understand and make yourself understood, in other words, how to communicate in Italian. No tests, no grades, all my questions, and exercises are nothing but part of the learning process, so relax and don't be afraid to make mistakes. On the contrary, if you want to learn something, you MUST make mistakes! :)
So remember this: fear and shame are not welcome around here.
My specialty is teaching Italian to native English or Japanese speakers. I've studied your language (I still am), I know how it works and I know what you're going through right now! :)
This will come in handy during the first lessons, but you'll see we'll be able to speak only Italian in no time!
Lastly, my forte is the variety of original materials and customized lesson plans I have created and will create for you.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Preferences and advice: (please note that this is my full-time job and I'm also working as a translator)
- Please, show up on time for each lesson, and possibly make sure you're ready (for example, prepare your materials, go to a silent environment where you are alone, check your internet connection, etc). I will send a message before calling you to ensure you're all set.
- In case of a no-show or short-notice cancellation (less than 24 hours before the lesson time), as stated by my cancellation policy, I will take 100% of the points or the coupon for various reasons I'm sure you will comprehend. (i.e. other students could not request lessons during the time you booked, I canceled my other plans for you, I prepared a lesson just for you - which takes 2 to 3 hours of my time and believe me, a lot of creativity and effort, etc).
- If you have any specific ideas or requests please do not hesitate to tell me before any lesson! I will do my best to fulfill your wishes! Also, if you are new, I would appreciate it if you could send a brief self-introduction along with your first lesson request!
- As soon as possible, let's try to communicate in Italian only (with Cafetalk messages too)! First of all, most of the time the teacher is the only person you get to practice with, so it'd be such a waste to talk to me in English or Japanese! Plus, there's another big reason: in order to become fluent, we need listening and speaking Italian to become a habit. If you speak Italian mixed with your mother tongue with your teacher, you'll get used to this hybrid language and won't be able to communicate with someone who doesn't know your native language! I always say that repetition is the key, but if you repeat weird and incomprehensible language over and over again, that will be counter-productive and the more time passes, the harder it'll be to fix that. So let's do our best to stick to Italian, shall we? ♡
- It is literally impossible to learn a language with only 1 or 2 lessons a week. You must study alone as well! Memorizing the new verbs (and their conjugation) and terms will be more than enough! Think of it as a sport: you must train every day to get better, right? ^_^
- Do not study the lesson beforehand. My teaching style is all about revision, so rather than taking a peek at the next lesson's material and spoiling all the fun, focus on reviewing the expressions and grammar rules we studied in the previous one. It works so much better, trust me! ;)
- I am terribly sorry, but for safety reasons, you are not allowed to record my lessons. I don't perform well knowing that everything I say is being recorded, as well as knowing that my student owns a file he could alter and/or share with third parties. You should make an effort to listen to me during the lesson, not afterward ;)
Thank you for your comprehension!
- I don't work on weekends (classic Italian, right?), so I won't be able to give lessons on Saturday and Sunday. Although, I always reply to emails and, if I'm free, I can also work on no-Skype lesson requests (correction & vocal recording).
- Every month I'm offering special lessons! Cafetalk often hosts seasonal campaigns regarding social and cultural topics, and I keenly join them by providing special lessons featuring a slide show in which I talk about these topics entirely in Italian. First of all, they're a great alternative to the usual grammar and conversation lessons, as this time we have a specific theme, a lot of new vocabulary and you actually forget you're studying! it's more like a TED talk all for yourself! Check out this month's special in the lesson list below↓.♡
- Do leave feedback, please! Even if it's not a 5-star rating, I really need to know your opinion in order to improve myself, thanks!
♥ Thank you for reading all this, I'm really looking forward to studying with you! Ciao! ♥
Featured Interview
Q. Hi Paola, please introduce yourself! A. Hi! I’m 28 years old and I’m an Italian with a little bit of Japan in my heart! I work with languages – both teaching and translating, and it feels amazing! I’m trilingual at the moment (Italian, English and Japanese) but I’m trying to learn Spanish in my spare time, which is very important to me, since it’s my mother’s native language. If I had to descr...
This tutor's cancellation policy
Before request is confirmed (fixed)
- Cancellation possible at any time without charge.
After request is confirmed (fixed)
- Less than 24hours before lesson start time.→ 100% of price charged.
- No-Show→ 100% of price charged.
Lessons by this tutor
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Pack of 4 Italian Lessons in 1 Month!
Save up and distribute your Italian lessons as you please! :)50min X 4 10,000PPack of 4 -
8 Italian Lessons in 1 Month!
Recommended plan: 4 grammar lessons + 4 conversation lessons, alternated! Let's study Italian twice a week and save up❤50min X 8 16,000PPack of 8 -
Il Mio Diario in Italiano✎ 1 month of writing practice!
30-Day Challenge in Italian! Perfect for self-taught students★0min X 8 8,000PPack of 8 -
Chiacchieriamo! Italian Free Conversation
Let's talk about anything in Italian! :) [+Feedback included+]50min 2,500P -
Learn Italian language & culture through movies!
Let's watch together and analyze the dialogues of an Italian movie or TV show, and learn a lot of useful expressions and information on Italian culture! ^_^ (recommended for intermediate/advanced learners!)50min 2,800P -
Let's listen to an Italian song together♪
Either you pick one or I will ^_^ ★Self-contained lesson!50min 2,800P -
Chiacchieriamo! Italian free talk (short ver.)
Let's talk about anything in Italian! :) [+Feedback included+]25min 1,800P -
Chattiamo in italiano! (text only)
Free talk for the shy... and for those who prefer to write!50min 1,500P -
Italian text correction/proofreading!✎
Correction + detailed explanations & comments, in no time!0min 2,000P -
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Italian Voice Recording♪
I record my voice reading a text in Italian (of your choice) [Perfect Diction!]0min 1,000P -
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Feedback from students
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Casual Fun Easy to talk to -
Fun Casual Easy to talk to
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Fun Friendly Easy to talk to
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Fun Easy to talk to Enthusiastic
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