Before taking this class, I was entirely new to the Italian language. I had, however, taken a number of other language courses mostly in German and a little in Spanish, which helped me with this course. My short-term goal with taking this Italian course was to acquire an ability to read texts in Italian, so that I would be able to use the skill for my research projects in history—especially as I study modern European history. My long-term goal is to achieve fluency in multiple European languages like German and Italian and become a more proficient history teacher at the secondary school, community college, or university level.
I liked Professoressa Harinder’s class as she got us involved in learning and practicing Italian from the very beginning. She has also been helping us use the language whenever possible. Her grading was very timely and helped me correct my mistakes early on and improve my understanding of the mechanics of the language. We talked about a number of topics related to our daily lives, especially things to know when we are visiting or living in Italy. We discussed about vocabulary and grammar related to introducing ourselves, food, leisure-time activities, vacation and sightseeing, and using the past tense. The caffé culturale activities helped us cover key cultural concepts in Italy like greeting with a kiss, drinking espresso in Italian bars, spending time at the piazza, taking long vacations to rejuvenate, etc.
Class activities that were very helpful included the use of powerpoints to go over the key concepts, the collaborative work involving classmates, and the frequent writing exercises on the white boards to learn and correct our mistakes. The learning environment was very welcoming and everyone was willing to help each other out, despite many people having to miss the last couple of weeks of classes owing to the coronavirus problem. Outside of class, the best approaches that worked for me were reading through the textbook multiple times, doing all the workbook exercises, and taking the time to do the written and spoken activities online. Unfortunately, this term I didn’t have much time to attend the conversation groups, but I hope to do so in the coming terms.
I’m now able to confidently express myself in Italian in many daily life situations. I am able to read intermediate-level news articles in Italian and listen to slow conversations with a little help from the dictionary. In my future Italian classes, I especially hope to keep working on my reading ability and make myself proficient in reading philosophical and literary texts in Italian.