Student Reports: San Giovanni

Learn French
- France
- Guadeloupe
Learn Spanish
- Spain
- Latin America
Learn German
- Germany
- Austria
Learn Italian
- Italy
Learn Russian
- Russia
Learn Portuguese
- Portugal
Learn Japanese
- Japan
Learn Chinese
- China
Learn Greek
- Greece
Learn Arabic
- Morocco

Elizabeth / San Giovanni

One week, Italian Private Tuition Course (20 lessons) in April at our College in San Giovanni.
Elizabeth, a teacher in her 40's, with intermediate Italian abilities and wanted to consolidate her knowledge prior to taking an A'level exam in Italian, back in the UK.

“ I expected sustained practice of spoken Italian with Italian, insight into Italy and a feel for the culture and life of a typical Italian. More complex grammar, prepositions, verb tenses, subjunctives and proverbs etc. It was a special experience. A bit of a challenge on the first day but after that it was fantastic. All my expectations were met especially the insight into Italian life.
I thought the lessons were excellent, my teacher made me read a lot and think a lot. The homework I was given made me work hard and also provided challenging work. There was loads of oral work. Anna, my teacher was delightful and I couldn’t fault her.
The school was in a good location, in the town centre and everyone there was approachable. There were no problems at all.
There are no worst parts to my course but the best bits are speaking Italian, friendly host/hostess, excellent teaching and the insight into Italian life. I didn’t really meet other students; I wanted to speak with Italians so I tended not to socialise with the students. A trip to Chianti, wine tasting and a visit to a Chianti village cost 12 euros and was very interesting. Lessons were from 9am to 1.15pm this was ideal as it meant I could go out in the afternoons.
San Giovanni is a good destination and is on a main railway line between Firenze and Arezzo. It is possible to get a direct train to Rome (3hrs one way) frequent and cheap tickets (!) to Rome and Firenze. I felt safe in the town. The local people were fine; there were not a lot of tourists so there was mainly Italian people around. In the evenings I spent a lot of time with my hosts so that my Italian would improve. They were fantastic, both very friendly, the food was excellent, accommodation very Italian and comfortable. I was delighted with my hosts, they spoke a lot of Italian to me and corrected me when necessary and were extremely patient with me.
I thought CESA was very good; I had no problems at all. I would definitely recommend this course to other people. You will have a real insight into the culture of Italy. I would strongly recommend staying with a family and a private tutor if you want to improve your speaking and gain a real insight.”