I really enjoy teaching and my students enjoy learning Italian with me. I always prepare nice and well-planned lessons, with a clear programme and outcome and with variation in the type of activities, so my students never get bored! They appreciate my friendly approach, too: I am able to create a positive atmosphere and generate interests in the learners.

I have dealt many times with the language learning process so it is easy for me to empathize with the learners and foresee possible problems, linguistic and others. I have taught to learners of different nationalities, but mostly Bulgarians, Dutch, English, and Irish.

I have been teaching Italian (and English) as a foreign language over the past 4 years both face-to-face and online. I give online one-to-one or duo lessons to adults, young learners, and seniors. So far I have taught from level A1 to B1 and occasionally at a higher level. I have also designed an Italian beginners course from scratch, dealing with the placement test, the syllabus and the choice of the course book.

I have earned teaching qualifications from the University for Foreigners of Perugia as a teacher of Italian L2/LS (DILS PG - II level) and from the University of Cambridge as a teacher of English as a foreign language (CELTA). Also, I have attended several training courses and online training, such as "Introduction to Blended Learning" and "Teaching Primary Learners Communicatively" by Cambridge English Teacher; "Primary Essential" by British Council; "Maratona didattica", "Italian for beginners and advanced: hands-on workshop", "Global approach", "Teaching Italian to Migrants" by Alma Edizioni.

At the moment I live and work in the Netherlands as a freelance teacher of Italian. You can find me in the classrooms of Alfabeto and Italiamoci in Amsterdam and in Altra Italia in Haarlem.

My approach is communicative, aimed to guide the students in the learning process and to help them interact in real-life situations right from the start, beginners level included (I model the language to the right level for the students and I avoid using a vehicular language). Also, I help them develop the four language skills: speaking, writing, listening and reading. Parts of the language system (such as vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation) are important, too. I enjoy including anecdotes and aspects of the Italian culture. In my opinion, a good outcome of a lesson is a mix of fun, enjoyment, and efficiency. In order to achieve this balance, I thoroughly plan my lessons, both face-to-face and online.

In a typical live online lesson, I use the "sharing screen" option and an interactive whiteboard. The webcam is on...also because I use my hands a lot to explain the meanings of the words. The main material is usually a course book: I believe that is better to leave the task of selecting the right language to teach and the logical sequence to experts. My task is to choose the right book according to the level, the needs, the preferences of my students and to adapt every single lesson to them. I enjoy creating my own material to support or consolidate what's in the course books.