Archives for 2017

Next week sees the beginning of our annual ‘best discount of the year’ promotion on Italian courses in Bologna.

There’ll be full details on Monday.

But I won’t be giving too much away if I say that it’s basically the same promotion we do every year at this time.

You get the chance to lock in a generous discount on your 2018 Italian course.

The prmotion covers group Italian courses of any length, and you don’t even have to decide when exactly, or for how long, you plan to study!

All that is needed to save €€€ on your course is to pay the special (discounted) deposit.

From Monday December 18th, I’ll be writing articles like this one each day until the offer ends on Christmas Day.

We’ll cover topics related to learning Italian and how to go about studying in Italy.

Along with regular reminders to take advantage of the discount promotion

But wait!

What if you’re not interested?

Perhaps you’ve given up learning Italian?

Or maybe you know you won’t be able to get to Italy in 2018?

No problem.

You have two options:

1.) Put a check against ALL the emails you receive from me between now and Dec. 25th. Then choose the ‘mark as read’ button in your inbox. Click it and they’re gone. Problem solved.

2.) Or, for a more permanent solution, look for the ‘unsubscribe’ link which you’ll find at the bottom of every email I send. Click that, then select the ‘unsubscribe’ option.

A presto!

Madrelingua Italian Language School | Bologna | Italian Courses | Prices | FAQ | Contact Us

It’s now six months since Madrelingua Italian School moved to our beautiful new premises, right in the historic center of Bologna, at Via Altabella, 11 Bologna.

Via Altabella is that little street that starts from Via Indipendenza and runs down the right-hand side of the Cathedral of San Pietro (where the Christmas market now is) as far as Via Oberdan.

You might be able to make out the cathedral (and the little tent thingy with the entrance to the Christmas market) in the photo.

I took that one last night. Aren’t the Christmas lights impressive???

I love the way that they’re identical and perfectly aligned all the way from Piazza Maggiore at the top end of the street, to the junction where the station is, down at the bottom.

Anyway, for the whole six months at our new address, we’ve been meaning to organise ‘un aperitivo di benvenuto’ (a welcome drink) to show everyone the new school!

But you know how it is when you move home…

For months afterwards, nothing works.

You have piles of unopened boxes everywhere, with goodness knows what inside.

And with all the disruption, it’s hard just to get your day-to-day tasks done.

There’s certainly no time to think about celebrating!

However, now, finally, we’re ready to raise a glass (or two) to brindare / toast the successful move and the many happy years we hope to spend in the new place.

And of course, all our friends, students, former students, and hopefully future students, are invited!

Take note, then, of the date and the time, in bold below.

I’ll do it in Italian, so you can practice your reading!

Venerdì 15 dicembre, dalle 18.00 in poi

Presso la scuola Madrelingua (primo piano, scala B)

Via Altabella, 11 – 40126, Bologna

Yes, I know. You’re probably in Australia, or some place a long way from where I’m typing this.

But isn’t it nice to be invited anyway??

And wherever you are, we’ll be thinking of you as we open the prosecco on the evening of the 15th!

P.S.

People have been asking about our annual promotion.

Rest assured, it’ll happen, just like every year!

From Monday 18th of December until midnight on the 25th you’ll be able to save a princely sum on your 2018 Italian course.

Of course, I’ll be emailing regularly during that period, so as to make sure that no one misses out.

A presto, allora!

Visit a language school website and the list of choices can seem overwhelming.

Italian with cooking, or fashion?

Italian for opera singers?

Business Italian?

Special classes for older students?

How about Italian with cooking and fashion for elderly opera singers who run their own business?

At Madrelingua, Italian language school in Bologna, we don’t offer any of those.

Sorry.

We do, however, have a variety of popular, effective Italian-course options for you to choose from.

We find those meet most people’s needs…

So, let’s do a quick rundown of our Italian courses, starting from the least-intensive (the slowest) and ending with the most-demanding (the fastest!)

Individual Italian lessons

These can either be in our school, or online. Either way, you could do just an hour or so a week, should you so wish. There’s no minimum, and we offer absolute flexibility in terms of lesson timing and contents. It’s your lesson, so the teachers’ role is to meet your needs and preferences.

Find out more: Individual Italian lessons | Online Italian lessons | Contact us

Italian evening classes

Individual lessons are all very well, but if you’d like to make friends, and do more hours at a lower cost, a group is what you need!

For anyone living or working in Bologna, and who has two free evenings a week, our Italian evening courses start soon. They’re organised in three-week modules. Do four of those to complete an entire level by Christmas. Carry on in 2018 and you could be two whole levels better by the start of the summer!

Find out more: Italian evening classes | Contact us

20-hour-a-week Italian class

If you want to make more rapid progress with your Italian, you’ll need to free up some time and take lessons each day. Our 20-hour-a-week course means studying each morning, leaving the afternoons free for homework, practice with our tutor, or social activities, speaking Italian with new friends from around the world!

Find out more: 20-hour-a-week Italian course | Contact us

30-hour-a-week Italian class

For real language-learning fanatics, or for those who are in a desperate rush, our most intensive Italian course option comprises classes in both the mornings and the afternoons. I hesitate to recommend this one, as people find it very tiring, but it’s there if the need arises!

Find out more: 30-hour-a-week Italian course | Contact us

Find genuine, un-edited student reviews here.

Contact Stefania with your questions, or for more information.

Or just drop by the school to say ‘Ciao’ and take a look around.

(We’re closed on Friday afternoons.)

If you’ll be working or studying in Bologna this fall, you might be interested to know that the dates are now up for our Italian evening classes.

Taking two evening lessons per week is a great way to improve your Italian, while making new friends to practice with!

But what about if you’re not in Bologna?

Never say never!

Take a look at our Italian courses page to find out more about standard or intensive Italian courses, or personalised individual lessons.

And if you really, really can’t get away from home, the family, the career, or all three?

Well, there’s always the option of online Italian lessons!

Try the one-to-one experience, via Skype, from the comfort of your home or office!

For more information about learning Italian at, or with, Madrelingua Italian Language School:

Bologna | Italian Courses | Prices | FAQ | How To Book | Contact Us

If you’ve studied Italian at Madrelingua at some point in the past, you’ll know it can be a struggle to keep up the Italian you’ve learnt.

Once you’re home again, back to the normal routine, your interest in Italian may end up taking second place to life’s other demands…

Ditto for anyone planning to come and learn with us this year.

You’ll not want to invest your time studying Italian, only to have your new skills start to fade away once your course is finished.

One solution is to develop the habit of reading in Italian!

Even just a few minutes a day with an Italian text can make a massive difference in the medium/long term, by keeping the language ‘alive’ in your head.

Reading helps consolidate the grammar and vocabulary you’ve studied, while giving you the chance to develop what you know further.

And if you choose the right KIND of text, it can be almost effortless.

That said, many people lack confidence reading in Italian, and so just don’t do it, thus missing out on the benefits.

Well, here’s something that might help get you started!

A week ago some new FREE ebooks were added to the Italian, French, Spanish and German departments at EasyReaders.Org.

In the Italian section they have a simplified ‘easy reader’ that’s IDEAL for beginners or those who have never read anything in Italian before.

It even has online audio, so you can work on your listening skills!

There’s also an Italian/English ‘parallel text’, which means that you get an original Italian story (written by the sister of one of our former teachers, incidentally) along with an English translation.

In a parallel text each line is numbered, so you can compare the Italian with the English translation.

This is perfect for those who like to analyse the structure of the language.

Also for anyone who just hates looking up new words in a dictionary!

Both ‘easy reader’ and ‘parallel text’, as I said, are completely free.

There’s absolutely no charge or obligation, and you don’t have to input payment details, or other sensitive information.

Just your name and email.

The process of downloading these free ebooks is very, very simple.

I’ve included full instructions below, if you’d like to give it a go.

And do, please, mention these free ebooks to anyone you know who might be interested in learning Italian (or French, Spanish or German) so that they can get reading, too!

How to get your free ebooks

1. Visit EasyReaders.Org and select the language category or categories that interest you:

• Italian https://easyreaders.org/product-category/italian/
• French https://easyreaders.org/product-category/french/
• Spanish https://easyreaders.org/product-category/spanish/
• German https://easyreaders.org/product-category/german/

2. Normally the ebooks at the top left of the page are the free ones. There should be a ‘SALE’ flash…

For example, in the Italian department there are two:

https://easyreaders.org/product/il-ristorante/ (this is a beginner-level easy reader – very short and simple, with audio!)

and

https://easyreaders.org/product/italianenglish-parallel-text-la-sorpresa-a1/ (this is an Italian/English parallel text, no audio but you get a translation so you can compare the two versions.)

3. Click on the ebook cover images in the shop to find out more.

If you want to download one or both, click the ‘Add to cart’ button.

4. If you want ALL of the free ebooks (French, Spanish and German too), that’s seven in total.

Find them, click the cover images, then the ‘add to cart’ button, repeating until you have the lot!

There’s no need to do seven separate orders for each one.

5. Next, view your shopping cart:

https://easyreaders.org/cart/

(or there’s a dark blue button at the top right of the screen that’ll take you right there…)

6. In the cart, SCROLL DOWN until you see the ‘Proceed to checkout’ button, which is large and orange so it’s hard to miss. Click it.

7. Once you reach the checkout page, the only obligatory fields are ‘Name’, ‘Surname’ and ‘Email’. The rest is optional.

8. If you plan to return occasionally, to see what’s new, I’d suggest checking the ‘create an account’ button, which you’ll find right below the ‘Phone’ section in the form.

That’ll save your information so you’d be able to log in and get your downloads were you to lose the email with the download links (about which, more below.)

9. Filled in the form? Now scroll down and look for the big orange button with ‘Place order’ on it.

Assuming you’ve only selected the free ebooks, there’s no payment stage.

If you’re also buying something, you’ll see payment options such as Paypal and Amazon.

10. What if you’ve selected something, then changed your mind?

No worries! Just go back to the cart https://easyreaders.org/cart/ and click the RED X next to the product you no longer desire.

That’ll delete it.

Then repeat from stage 6, above.

11. Where were we? Oh yes, no. 9. We were in the checkout and clicking on the big orange ‘Place order’ button.

12. Having clicked that one, you’ll be shown the next page and see the message:

“Thank you. Your order has been received.”

13. At which point check your email account for an email from EasyReaders.Org.

The subject line will be something like:

Your EasyReaders order from August 24, 2017 is complete

14. It’s THAT email which contains your download link (or links.)

There’ll be a download link for each of the free products.

Any paid for ebooks are sent separately, but the free ones are automatic.

15. Click the download link in the email you received.

The .pdf file containing the ebook should download to your device.

Repeat that process for each link/ebook.

Normally the downloads will be saved in your ‘Downloads’ file.

(If you don’t know where that is, ask a teenager!)

15. IMPORTANT: The download link is valid for three downloads only and expires after seven days.

Which means you should save a copy of the .pdf some place where you’ll be able to find it when you want to study or revise.

Once you’ve got your free ebooks, read them, and had time to form an opinion, why not give something back, by leaving a review?

There are instructions on how to do this here:

https://easyreaders.org/how-to-review-easy-readers-and-parallel-texts/

Reviews need to be left on the correct ‘product page’, which you can find by visiting the shop and using the ‘search’ box.

For example, here are the links for the two free Italian ebooks.

Click them to read what others have written and to add your own comments:

https://easyreaders.org/product/il-ristorante/#reviews (the easy reader)

https://easyreaders.org/product/italianenglish-parallel-text-la-sorpresa-a1/#reviews (the parallel text)

If you find any of this difficult, just write to the guys at the online shop and ask for help.

Also, please help them spread the word…

Maybe you’re a teacher, and could tell your students?

Or perhaps you attend an Italian class, and think the others in the group would be interested?

You may even have kids or grandkids studying a modern European language. Let’s try and get them reading!

Here are the links to all four language categories, again:

Italian https://easyreaders.org/product-category/italian/

French https://easyreaders.org/product-category/french/

Spanish https://easyreaders.org/product-category/spanish/

German https://easyreaders.org/product-category/german/

Lots of you have been asking what the new Madrelingua school premises look like.

Apologies for not having got to this earlier, but it’s been a busy time!

Below are some pics for you, with captions.

If they don’t show up on your smartphone or tablet, click here to read this article and see the photos on the school’s website.

And of course, you’re more than welcome anytime.

Just drop in to see us and have a look around!

The new address is Via Altabella, 11, Bologna.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s it for today.

Hope to see you all soon in Bologna!

School website | Contact us

Via San Giorgio is an attractive street in the center of Bologna.

It features some of the city’s characteristic porticoes, various historical buildings, and of course, one of Bologna’s best Italian language schools!

But it’s very quiet.

Little traffic and few people pass by.

And so, in a few weeks, we’ll be waving farewell to our home of the last twelve years.

We’ll miss it, but the new place will be better.

We’ll be a few minutes walk closer to Piazza Maggiore, at Via Altabella, 11 (behind the Apple store!)

The new school building looks out onto the rear of Bologna Cathedral.

And it’s just a few metres from one of Bologna’s less famous but tallest towers, the twelfth century Torre degli Azzoguidi.

Inside, the classrooms have painted ceilings – one of them being reminiscent of a renaissance lady’s boudoir!

There’s also modern air-conditioning, which we will all appreciate during the hotter summer months.

Can’t wait to show you the photos, once we’re safely moved in!

Look out for those in a month or so, when we have everything prettied up.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

We’re moving on May 30th. From June 1st we will no longer have the keys to the ‘old’ school building.

Courses beginning in June will therefore take place in the ‘new’ building.

So if you’re one of our many returning students, and find yourself walking the familiar route to Via San Giorgio, do a double take and head back over to Via Indipendenza.

Turn right, up towards Piazza Maggiore, then left by the cathedral (opposite Zara, if shopping is your thing than churches.)

We’ll see you there!