Archives for 2018

The Christmas/New Year festivities are less than two weeks away!

But even that can seem like a long time if you’re waiting for Santa to come down the chimney with a jute sack over his shoulder…

So, to keep you busy, we’ve scheduled our ‘2019 Italian Course Offer’ for next week!

You’ll be able to save 20% on group Italian courses at our school in Bologna.

Study for as little as a week, or as long as a year, at a fantastic discount!

You don’t even have to decide WHEN in 2019.

This is a busy period, after all.

Watch out on Monday for more details about the offer…

In the meantime, takes a look at these articles about learning Italian.

For instance:

‘Why can’t I understand spoken Italian?’

and if you have time…

‘Ever wished for the super power of learning languages?’

There’s even…

Will an Italian course make me richer and more attractive?’

You’ll find more like this on our ‘best articles’ page.

Plus, Madrelingua also has a FAQ.

Suppose reading’s not your thing?

No worries!

Whatever you want to know about Italian courses in Bologna in 2019, just ask Stefi!

Ready to answer your questions!!

Just a quick announcement to all current, former and perhaps future Madrelingua students – our annual 20% discount promotion is coming soon!

The 2019 Italian Course Offer will begin on Monday 17th of December 2018, and end at midnight on Christmas Day, which is the following Tuesday.

During that week or so, you’ll be able to save a full 20% on group Italian courses OF ANY LENGTH at our school in Bologna.

A lot of our regulars pay a small deposit during the annual December offer, then decide later when to do their course.

That way, there’s no need at all for you to spend time making definite plans during this busy period before Christmas, while we still get an idea of how many people are interested and can get on with planning our staffing needs, and so on

Anyway, there’ll be full details of the promotion in ten days’ time.

In the meantime, I want to alert anyone who is NO LONGER INTERESTED IN LEARNING ITALIAN that now would be the ideal time to unsubscribe from our email list, so ensuring that you won’t be bothered in future.

Articles that we publish on the school website (like this one) are emailed out automatically. But there will always be an ‘unsubscribe’ link, either at the top or the bottom, or both.

To remove your email from the list, just click that link and follow the simple instructions. It should take just seconds.

But if you ARE STILL INTERESTED?

Remember, the offer doesn’t begin until Dec. 17th, so don’t go booking your course immediately or you’ll miss the discount…

Instead, you could check out the Italian courses page on the website, look at course prices (remember to mentally deduct 20%), read the FAQ and, if you questions are not answered there, contact us.

My wife, Stefi, will be happy to respond to your email, talk to you on the phone, or welcome you if you decide to come by the school to take a look around and ask your questions in person.

One final thing.

What if you KNOW YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO DO A COURSE IN 2019 but still want to learn or improve your Italian?

Some of the school staff and teachers also work on other projects that might interest you.

For example, EasyItalianNews.com, which offers FREE audio + transcript ‘easy’ news broadcasts three times a week.

And of course there’s OnlineItalianClub.com, which features thousands of pages of FREE exercises and practice material, plus articles about learning Italian.

You could even take some Italian lessons online, without ever leaving the comfort of your home or office!

Bene, that’s everything, I think.

Buona giornata, allora.

P.S.

Don’t forget, if you’d rather not hear about the December promotion, look for the ‘Unsubscribe’ link, at the top or bottom of any email you receive from us.

Are you attending an evening class in Italian?

Perhaps you’re planning to visit Italy and study intensively for a few weeks, or months?

Or maybe you take online Italian lessons via Skype?

Whatever.

But did you know, you’ll get more out of your classes, course or online lessons if you can boost your comprehension skills (reading texts & listening) before you begin?

Picture this – it’s the first day of your course, or your first online lesson, and the teacher is speaking Italian.

Perhaps you haven’t listened to much Italian recently, in which case you might not feel prepared, which is a shame…

Here’s an alternative scenario – it’s the first day of your course, or your first online lesson, and the teacher is speaking Italian.

But you’re cool with that, because you pratice listening in Italian often.

You know you won’t understand everything, but you’re confident you can pick out key words and phrases.

Experience has taught you that you don’t need to understand everything that’s said.

Also that if you relax and listen, you can usually get the gist of it.

Thank goodness for all those hours of practice you did…

So how exactly can you build those vital listening/reading comprehension skills before you start your classes or lessons?

And isn’t that what the course is for, anyway?

Well it is…  Certainly!

But you’ll make a lot better progress, and feel a lot happier, if you do some preparation before you start.

For instance, have you seen the new ‘Easy Italian News’ website?

It’s absolutely free to use.

You get simplified news stories and an audio to listen to.

There are new editions each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Fill in the form in the top left-hand corner of their website and each edition will be emailed to you, for FREE, as soon as it is published!

Listen regularly and, within a few weeks or months, you’ll be sure to notice the difference in your comprehension level!

Today’s edition is here: https://easyitaliannews.com/easyitaliannews-com-20-settembre-2018/

And/or find out more about Madrelingua Italian courses:

Italian courses in Italy | Italian evening classes | Italian lessons online

Compare your options here.

Buono studio!

If you’ll be working or studying in Bologna this coming academic year, you might be interested to know that the dates for our Italian evening classes are now live on the school website.

Attending two evening lessons per week is a fantastic way to improve your Italian without taking time off from your job or university course, while making new friends to practice with!

But what if you’re not in Bologna?

Then check out our Italian courses page to find out more about standard or intensive Italian courses, or personalised individual lessons.

And for those who definitely won’t be able to come to Italy in 2018-19?

Well, there’s always the option of learning online!

Try an online lesson, or lessons, one-to-one with one of our team of experienced Italian teachers, thanks to the magic of Skype video calling!

To find out more about learning Italian at, or with, Madrelingua Italian Language School, follow these links:

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

Following May’s news that renowned guidebook-publisher Lonely Planet selected Emilia Romagna to top its 2018 list of the best places to visit in Europe (see this article), today’s online newspaper ‘The Guardian’ has an article about our region of Italy.

A road trip down the ancient Via Emilia in central Italy offers a chance to taste delicacies like prosciutto, parmesan and balsamic in their place of origin

The writer begins:

Emilia-Romagna is often overlooked by visitors, and that’s a shame because its many smaller cities are an absolute treat. And for those who enjoy building their trips around a narrative thread, there’s the Via Emilia, an ancient Roman road that connected Piacenza in the north to Rimini on the Adriatic coast

He goes on to describe some of the pleasures of these ‘many smaller cities’ – Piacenza, Parma, Modena, Bologna and finally Rimini, on the Adriatic coast.

The article is rather-oddly titled ‘All roads lead to Romagna’.

They don’t, and in any case the only ‘Romagnola’ city mentioned is Rimini, all the others being in the Emilia part of the region.

That said, Rimini IS certainly worth a visit, as is Ravenna, which is famous for its mosaics.

If I’ve lost you with all these place names, check out this illustration to see how the cities are spaced out along the Via Emilia, which runs north-west to south-east, following the northern edge of the Appenine mountain range.

The article’s comments are also worth a look (I always read the comments!) as is the same newspaper’s Bologna City Guide and this article, which summarises readers’ tips on what to do in Emilia Romagna.

One of the comments on the article mentions that it’s better to take the train rather than drive… I would totally concur.

Trains are cheap and frequent, whereas driving into medieval cities is risky – cameras spot even unwitting traffic violations and fines are sure to follow. Parking can be scarce, too!

Which reminds me, years back I wrote an article on the topic: 6 (cheap) day-trips from Bologna by train

Do ‘All roads lead to Romagna’, then?

Absolutely not.

In Emilia-Romagna, all roads lead to the state capital, its largest and most centrally-located city, BOLOGNA.

So whether we’re talking roads or, better, railway lines, that makes it the best-possible home base for any Italian course cum holiday planned for this part of Italy!

P.S.

Madrelingua is open ALL SUMMER and has air-conditioning in each classroom! It’s never too late to book your course:

Italian courses in Bologna | Contact us | Learning Italian

OK, so we admit it, Bologna doesn’t have the best climate in Italy.

It’s cold and humid in the winter, and hot and humid in the summer.

Spring and autumn are lovely, but spring is nearly over, and autumn is not for a good bit, yet.

Weather isn’t everything, though.

As we reported recently, Lonely Planet has chosen Emilia Romagna to top its list of 2018 travel destinations in Europe, a great honour, we think.

And the regional capital of Emilia Romagna is, you guessed it, Bologna.

A beautiful medieval city which is also one of the world’s gastronomic capitals, plus a fantastic Italian school (read our reviews).

What more could you want?

But the weather…?

Not to worry.

Since moving to our new premises this time last year, Madrelingua Italian language school has AIR-CONDITIONING IN ALL CLASSROOMS, as well as in the communal areas of the school!

So you can book your summer Italian course safe in the knowledge that, if it gets hot and sticky, there’s an air-conditioning remote control at hand!

For more information about studying Italian in Bologna this summer, follow these links:

Italian courses | Prices | The school | Bologna | How to book | FAQ

Or contact us for a personal reply to your questions!

It’s official!

Renowned guidebook-publisher Lonely Planet has released its ‘2018 Best in Europe’ list of essential travel destinations.

And guess which Italian region tops the list?

Emilia Romagna of course.

“The case is strong” they write, that it’s “the best place to eat in Italy“.

They continue: “new attractions like Bologna’s FICO (the world’s largest culinary theme park), Ferrara’s National Museum of Italian Judaism and Shoah, and Rimini’s restored Cinema Fulgor, which will soon feature a museum about legendary film-maker Federico Fellini, nourish the mind as well.”

Read the whole article in English and/or in Italian.

What was that?

You’re not so hot at reading in Italian?

Funny you should mention that…

Italian courses | The School | Contact Us

P.S.

You’re receiving this email because you filled out the form on the school website or because you asked for information about our Italian courses.

The above counts as ‘information about Italian courses’, so hopefully that’s OK with you.

But if not, do please take a second and click the ‘unsubscribe’ link which you’ll find either at the top or bottom of this article.

That just takes seconds to do and once unsubscribed you won’t be bothered again.

Well, ALMOST to Madrelingua. Just down the street, anyway.

But I’m sure she would, were she ever to feel the need to improve her Italian…

The ‘Blessed Virgin’ in question is an icon, normally kept in the Sanctuary of San Luca, which is that landmark church you can see on the top of a nearby hill, visible from many miles away as you approach Bologna on the ‘autostrada’.

Each year there’s a procession to bring the icon down the hill to the cathedral of San Pietro in the center of the city.

She stays in the cathedral for a week, and is then carried back up the hill in another procession.

Why?

The story goes that back in 1433 the spring weather was unusually bad, so much so that there was a risk to the harvest, and thus of starvation for Bologna’s poorer inhabitants.

The city fathers decided to pray to the Blessed Virgin for a break (in the weather), and amazingly the downpour stopped!

This miracle is celebrated each year with the processions, from sanctury to cathedral and back again.

The Virgin arrived in town on Saturday evening, which I personally would have thought was ill-advised…

She can be admired all week at the cathedral, on Via Indipendenza.

And in Via Altabella, the street that runs down the right-hand side of the cathedral, there’s a festive market to celebrate.

It’s a long time until Christmas, so best stock up on candy-coated nuts while you can.

One of our teachers was worried that new students arriving at the school this morning wouldn’t be able to find us easily, as the market stalls make the building’s entrance hard to spot.

If that’s you, that is to say if you’re wandering around the historic center of the city cursing Google Maps, then don’t despair!

Via Altabella is the street that runs parallel with Via Rizzoli, Bologna’s sort-of main street, the one with the famous ‘two towers’ at one end and Italy’s biggest piazza at the other.

Go down the alley next to the Apple Store, and you’ll find it easily enough.

We’re at number 11, just to the left of the bookstall, opposite the artisan cheese-maker, between the cathedral bell tower and the much uglier oblong tower.

Catch you later, then!

School website | Bologna and the B.V.

Just a quick reminder for anyone in the Bologna area who might be interested in improving their Italian.

The Italian evening classes begin next week.

We’ve got two groups so far, a lower one (A1/A2) which will run each Monday and Wednesday at 18.00, and a higher one (B1/B2) at the same time on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

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

Join us, if you can, on Monday 19th or Tuesday 20th of February!

What if you’re a long way from Bologna?

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

Or why not try some online Italian lessons?

For more information:

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