Italian & Cooking

I had a total of 15 lessons: 10 in the morning, where we were two participants, and 5 lessons of individual teaching in the afternoon. It was good teaching that suited my level.

I was well prepared thanks to the 4 week online course at Babbel. Therefore I was very pleased to be placed in the class at the higher level out of the two classes. The other participant and I were at roughly the same level, and the teachers were good at giving us the challenges we needed.

The individual teaching in the afternoon was a really good opportunity to work with precisely what I needed.
One of the teachers was absolutely fantastic and educational, the other was also good, whereas the third was a bit more routine.

All in all I was very satisfied with the course. Even though it only lasted a week, I actually felt able to communicate more freely in Italian when I went out on my own.

I was generally satisfied with the home stay. The family was friendly, but busy and not particularly interested in talking to me. But it was ok.

I I had a very decent accommodation in a resident's apartment, 20-25 minutes walk from the institute, through the city centre.
After the morning welcome , the first day, we were divided into classes of different levels ( 3 to 5 students per class)

All the teachers were kind, patient, stimulating and attentive.
I did appreciate the activities which were proposed during the first week, but there were less activities for the second week...

I liked the level of the courses. I found that it allowed me to make good progress in two weeks. I wish I had stayed longer.
I don't have any negative criticism.

The teachers were very experienced and well trained in their area of expertise. The more I think about it, the more I appreciate their expertise. In particular, Armando had a sense of humor but was also serious in his expectations of the students. I must say that I would have liked to have focused more on speaking in the passage prossimo, which is more within my comfort zone and we did begin each day with that by speaking about what we did the previous day in our free time. However, he also introduced additional verb tenses which I was less familiar with and therefore had to work a little harder with respect to studying after class and I was expecting a more relaxed vacation type experience. This was like taking a college course which is fine because this is the only way to make progress in learning the language.

I my free time I was able to do all of the things that I had hoped to do. My accommodations at the Palazzo Marziale were outstanding (I have stayed there several years ago) and the entire staff was friendly, spoke English fluently and made me feel at home.
I short, my trip could not have been better. I only wish that the flight from NY to Rome was not so long.