Italian lessons

www.linguaitaliana.nl

An interview with Yvette Genefaas: could you introduce yourself?

I am Yvette Genefaas, I am an Italian teacher and I provide courses and private lessons through my language institute, Lingua Italiana. I usually teach Italian to the Dutch, but sometimes I also teach Italians Dutch. The Dutch learn another language relatively easily. I teach the large group training sessions here at VTA Blixems on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings. These are groups of between 10 and 20 students. I teach smaller groups at my home, on Palingstraat near Hoogstraat.

What is your background?

I lived in Italy with my parents and later studied Italian in the Netherlands; that was a good choice. I have been an Italian teacher my entire working life. I have also been teaching these lessons here for a very long time.

How are the lessons structured?

The lessons have different levels. Every year I start a new beginners' group, and such a group usually continues for years afterwards, on the same day and time. A Dutch person can learn to speak fluent Italian in 6 to 7 years of 25 lessons of 1.5 hours per week. After the first 2 years, they become conversation classes.

How do beginners fare?

Beginner participants generally have little to no knowledge of Italian. There is no entry requirement, but it is nice that Dutch people have often already learned other languages ​​at school, such as English and French; that helps.

Do you also pay attention to matters other than language?

There is also a lot of culture in my lessons. If you want to communicate well with Italians, you also need to know their culture, their norms and values, and their eating habits. I pay a lot of attention to that.

What makes it possible for you to keep teaching these lessons for so long?

The fun part of teaching is the contact with the participants; I also involve them in the lessons as much as possible. We conclude a course with a dinner, sometimes at my home. Because every individual is different, every lesson is different too. I often create new teaching material based on current events. I also send out a monthly Italian newsletter about culture, to which several people contribute. It really is a community. That way, I continue to enjoy it so much.