PRIVATE COURSE -15 lessons

I have been studying Italian through Duolingo for the past 5 years. I had a 2 week immersion opportunity in Rome back in 2023, but as I continue to advance (slowly!) in my discovering of Italian I wanted a more focused option so I chose the “Private course”
Option at the Academia Italiana in Salerno, and it was everything I was hoping for, and then more!!!

Andreina’s teaching style was the perfect combination of demanding instruction in different areas of the language and more relaxed conversation in Italian. My language skills truly improved, even during the short two-week period. This experience inspired me to continue studying independently at home. 8-10 students in class is ideal for individual attention and lively conversation.

The Accadenia building was nicely located, extremely clean and well suited for both studying and activities after lectures. The tours guided by Margherita were truly in a class of their own. Getting to know the city, the medieval Salerno, and… wow!

I had a really nice room close to Accademia and pedestrian area. Only problem was that is was quite humid in the appartment and there was a slight smell of mold especially in the bathroom. It might help to clean up the airconditioning properly. I loved to hop on "Traghetto per..." on my free time.

Housing and food was fantastic.
Since this was a holiday week there was not as many activities offered. But the previous week had good activities.
Location was good. I loved popping over to the park for sunshine and smell the trees.
My first week where nothing was said in my native language was horrible. The introductory meeting between classes the first day was totally beyond what I could understand. The only thing I did understand is "multo importante". If something is important enough to spend 1/2 hour on then it should be communicated in our native language. A handout in English would of been much better received.
The second week where english was used when I could not understand the italian explanation helped a great deal.
I have a poor education in English so do not even know what an article or preposition is in English. Therefore I can not grasp it in Italian without more explanation.

The closing ceremony before Easter was very bad with each class presenting something. It felt like kindergarten. Additionally the recognition of staff should of been done in a staff meeting not in the presents of the whole student body. I refused to attend my second week closing ceremony. I used my certificate of attendance to write a note on.

I would rather instead of certificates provide pens and paper in the classroom better yet a small note book for each student.

I wish public libraries would of been open. On rainy days when I didn't want to go home to be in my room I had no where to go after school closed. I could go to a cafe but never felt that I could study there or take up a table for three hours.

I would recommend your school to someone who had already taken italian class in their home town then needed lots of opportunity to speak and listen. I would never recommend your school to a beginner such as I was even though my second week was better.

I Had great time this week, my teacher, Rackel was both super professional and kind.
I'm happy I chose with private lessons and I'll defiantly come back for more lessons in the future.

Great gift for myself!
:)

The school location is just fantastic next to lungomare. It was easy to walk there from the train station.

Salerno is beautiful, rich in culture , practical and safe.
The school was great with its charm. I stayed mostly in the new part ( next building), which is more modern, I did not have to ring the bell to enter ( which could be annoying ), and I did not have to bump my hear on the very low main door.
The chairs are not really comfortable but the classes were short.

I did not enjoy my first week. I found the class was not focusing on teaching us what we really needed to communicate with Italians.It was a lot of grammar and not enough teaching on the 'every day Italian ". I did mention it the my teacher Selene. I also was not lucky as on my first Friday test, we did it too late to corrected it. It was very frustrating to not know what were my mean mistakes and work on it on the weekend. As I came back to my Italian family the day ( first Friday of the course ) I was not feeling more comfortable to speak.
On my second week, I had to study a lot more by myself with my own material , to be able to learn what I wanted. My teacher , Selene ( still as my class did not change teacher ) did more conversations but the structure was still messy. Lucky I did few activities with the school that week.

Everything change on my 3rd week , when we changed teacher . Federica methods of teaching were excellent and interesting. Every questions turned to practical answer. I wrote my notes in my book in 1 class than 2 weeks of classes.
She was really spot on the teach us the grammar with practical Italian.

Overall I will definitely came back, as I still need to learn more.

it was optimal combination or learning and travelling for me, study till lunch and have free time was really enjoyable. I like the city itself and it was easy to travel through Amalfi coast from it. School location near sea and historic center is also very convenient. My group was very fun, people nice and interesting; I like the books and the method of studying.
What was maybe not very good for me - that my room wasn't closing, and it was quite noisy sometimes at night.

I chose to stay with a family and was very pleased I did. My room was spacious and comfortable and the family were friendly and accommodating- even meeting me from the train station on my arrival the evening before the lessons started. The apartment was in the Centro Storico and only 5 mins from the school which was easy to find on my first morning.
The assessment on the first morning of lessons was well organised yet casual and stress-free. Initially the class allocation didn't suit everyone in my class but by the second day following a few switches we were all of a similar ability and lessons went well from there. There were only 7 of us in the class which was perfect. My teacher was excellent, allowing time for everyone to practise the spoken language as well as working on grammar and vocabulary every morning. He was also funny and friendly and I never felt embarrassed or uncomfortable when (predictably) I made mistakes!
Each afternoon the school organised activities giving further chances to practice talking with others- ranging from presentations on food and drink to a quiz, as well as excursions to local historical sites. On the first afternoon we had a walking tour of Salerno to orientate us as well as giving some historical background of the town. This activities meant there were lots of chances to mix with students form other classes and by the end of the week I felt I had made some good friends!
Overall, the school surpassed my expectations and I am already planning to return!

I liked the location of both the school and the residence, I also liked the activities that were offered. I believe the meals could be improved, specially breakfast and dinner. The teachers were very nice. The classes were very good.

Accademia Italiana Salerno is a very professional well run school. My two weeks just flew past, very enjoyable. I liked our daily classes and also very much enjoyed the afternoon outings and events. Very organized and fun.

The classes were small which was conducive to each one of us having the time to advance our knowledge of the language.
We chose to stay in a B&B, Casa Maya, on Via Arce, which was wonderful and located within easy walking distance from the school. The building was beautiful, though at times the classrooms were very hot due to the weather, and not using the A/C.
I had two instructors, Lica and Renato, who were both very patient and knowledgeable. The activities were varied and wonderful. Salerno is a beautiful location to further your studies of Italian.

Lovely hostess who was friendly like a mum. We loved Concetta! Classes are boring but activities funny and interesting. Location is perfect at the city center. City safe and complete next to the beach.
Even though I didn’t like the classes everything was super good. But the program need to add Italian teenagers to interact with foreign teen. So that they can become friends and can practice and learn Italian language otherwise kids speak English each other too much.

All in all, it was an amazing experience. The classes were good, we were around 7 people in one class. The teachers were helpful and nice, the differences in our Italian knowledge was not a problem at all, I think we all felt comfortable. The location of the school is amazing, close to the see and in the historical centre. The facilities were good the only thing I did not like that much is the loud streets next to the building, because of the warm the windows were always open, and we had to wear the masks all the time, so sometimes it was hard to hear each other. I chose to live with a host family. If I would have to choose again I would apply for an apartment or a shared flat as I did not have much contact with the family and I was not allowed to use the kitchen. The family was really loud so sometimes it was a bit uncomfortable.

The athmospher of the classes was different depended on the student's personality who was open-minded who was not because our teacher was very friendly, calm and l felt myself almost in a family especially during the second week when new students arrived. I would realise this experience again. The activities were colorful and interesting, there are so many facilities ( cities, landscapes, sites, beaches) in the region. If l would have been more 2 weeks, lt would have been great! I'm satisfied with the housing, too. It was original and nice, the host mom was helpful.
At Accademia Italiana they took the security rules of covid19 seriously. I can say l liked everything.

Good school, great material, some good , some excellent teachers, extremely expensive course though, can’t believe how much just one week cost...

I had one teacher for my language classes, Anna. She was excellent in her knowledge and in they way she treated people. She seems to be a truly talented person who dramatizes situations well. She seems extremely capable in English and also in adapting her use of Italian to the levels of her students. I would also mention that there were 10 students in the class, of varying abilities. So the challenge before a language teacher would be considerable.

The cultural activities were excellent and also very well done, insofar as I attended them. These included Castello Arecchi, Giardina Minerva, City Tour, and Cetara. In each of these the guides from A.I. were excellent in both their historical and cultural knowledge and in their ability interact with a sample of students of diverse backgrounds. In these events, the students who attended, were generally not my classmates.

I WAS VERY SATISFIED WITH MY LANGUAGE COURSE AT THE INSTITUT ACCADEMIA ITALIANA. THE LANGUAGE TEACHER OF MY CLASS MR. RICCARDO WAS EXCELLENT. HOWEVER, AT THE BEGINNING OF FEBRUARY THERE WERE VERY FEW STUDENTS. THERE WERE ONLY THREE OF US IN MY CLASS, SO THERE WERE ONLY THREE HOURS OF LESSONS PER DAY. THE STUDENTS IN MY CLASS WERE MY AGE - ALL OVER 60 YEARS OLD. I WAS SATISFIED WITH THE EXCURSIONS ON OFFER. THE STAFF IN THE SECRETARIAT WAS FRIENDLY AND COMPETENT.
THE ACCOMMODATION I HAD PREVIOUSLY BOOKED MYSELF - I WAS STAYING AT THE IL RETICOLO IN SALERNO - AND WAS VERY SATISFIED WITH IT.

I had a very good experience with Accademia Italiana, which is placed in the old town of Salerno close to the sea. We were few students in each class (January), and the teachers were committed and competent.

Super location in Salerno and kind staff. The hours were good. Food was excellent. Great for people.

Ich mochte sehr wie alle an der Schule sich um das Wohlergehen der Studenten gekümmert haben und sich auch für Fragen, wie wo der Bus fährt oder wo man einen Adapter kaufen kann..., Zeit genommen haben. Mich hat auch beeindruckt wie geduldig sie mit komplizierteren Mitstudenten umgingen, bei denen ich längst die Nerven verloren hätte(vorallem außerhalb des Unterrichts). Die Lehrer könnten öfter eingreifen, wenn sie merken, dass jemand über oder unterfordert ist und diesen auf einen möglichen Klassenwechsel ansprechen(betraf nicht mich). Was die einrichung betrifft kann ich nicht klagen. Das Internet hat gut funktioniert und es standen etliche Computer zur freien Benutzung zur Verfügung. Ich finde, da se auchmit ner Bibliothek werben sollten sie mehr auswah an ganz einfacher italienischer Literatur bieten. Ich hätte mich zum beispiel gefreut typische Kindergeschichten zu lesen.

I loved the location. The beach was amazing. The class was also fun but serious enough that we would learn. At first I hated the bungalow because I thought it was small, but I thought it was nice and cozy by the second day.

Honestly there is nothing to complain about. The school staff was very nice and helpful. My teacher, Pina, was great and patient. The location of my flat could not have been better as I lived 3 minutes from school and I had a big supermarket downstairs. Also my landlord, Ms. Alfonsina Rizzo, was a great person and she was really helpful. I participated in many additional classes and I really enjoyed them. I improved my language skills and I met fantastic people. Even the sun was shining all the time. I felt secure and when I had a question there was always someone in school willing to help me. Thank you for everything!

In some cases I learned a lot from the classes that I had not known from my studies in Australia, and in other cases the revision of what I already had learned was very helpful. I had difficulty with one particular subject, but the teacher spent some of her private time in order to help me understand, for which I was most grateful.

The teachers were all delightful, good teachers and so well presented, immaculate in their dress, hair and general appearance.

The location was ideal for me as it was only 10 minutes walk from my accommodation, which in itself was excellent, if a little noisy, being in a very crowded area of the old city.

I enjoyed the activities organised by the school, both cultural seminars and excursions to various locations in the area.

I cannot say that there was anything that I did not like.