Se fosse... a technique to make learning fun!

In order to grasp with ease and memorize the use of the subjunctive and conditional in hypothetical clauses, we often play an enjoyable game with students on image associations: “Se fosse”!
It requires two or more people.
One player thinks of a famous person, and the other players ask questions to determine who the student is thinking of, such as:
“se fosse un’automobile?” “se fosse un luogo?” “se fosse un abito?”
“Were it a car ... were it a place... were it a piece of clothing, what would it be?”

The first player must then answer the questions providing comparisons that would hint to guess the mysterious person: “sarebbe…”

After asking a few questions to guess the identity of the person, remembering the verb combination of imperfect subjunctive and present conditional will be just child’s play!

Book: Tiziano Scarpa, Stabat Mater

Tiziano Scarpa, Stabat Mater (Einaudi, 17 euros, pp.136).

The novel is the journal of Cecilia, an adolescent orphan in 18th Century Venice.
In her diary, the young girl addresses the mother she never met; she dialogues with death, and experiences the outside world, solely through the narrations of others.
Her gloomy view of existence changes significantly when she encounters a charismatic and challenging music teacher, Antonio Vivaldi. This is not a love story, but rather a novel of rebellion, which aims to suggest that in any moment in life one can change, grow and begin a new life!
The novel’s crystalline and at the same time, whirling style captures the reader to the last page.
“Stabat Mater” is a little (just in size) masterpiece to read all in one go!

The unexpected benefits: elective affinities

Teaching Italian to students who come from different parts of the world is for us a privilege as well as an enriching experience.
Those who travel abroad to learn a new language and a new culture have an exceptional mental openness and intellectual curiosity.
Thus, every month, faculty, staff and students, feel part of a cosmopolitan family that, in its precious differences, is united by common interests and passions. We have a fabulous time together, during the excursions and at meals, but above all in class. The funniest, most memorable, moments are always during role play activities, when students put themselves in someone else’s shoes and pretend to be a different person... sooner or later some of them we believe, will consider starting an acting career!

A movie review: “Pane e tulipani”...enjoy life!

This film is already a decade old (1999), yet it still holds its charm.

“Pane e Tulipani” by Silvio Soldini is the romantic story of a clumsy and undervalued housewife, Rosalba, superbly played by the talented Licia Maglietta, who finds a new life in Venice.
On the way back from a group trip to Paestum, Rosalba is “forgotten” by her family at an autogrill (highway restaurant) near Rome.

Mistreated by her husband for her clumsiness and generally burdened by all the preoccupations of a wife and mother, she decides to take advantage of the situation by taking a short trip to Venice, a city she has never seen.
In Venice, she meets intriguing and hilarious characters such as an Icelandic waiter who speaks in the style of Renaissance poetry and quotes from Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso; an unhappy and lonely masseuse; a plumber/detective; and an anarchical florist.

Her brief sojourn continues and is not temporary any more. Because of the characters she meets, Rosalba manages to change her life and embrace her flaws as her peculiar, charming qualities.

If you haven’t watched it yet, you had better do it soon.

With its lighthearted, yet profoundly optimistic message, “Pane e tulipani” will surely give you a new joy of life.