ABOUT US
Andrea Quarantotto
My name is Andrea Quarantotto (Andrea in Italian is a man’s name).
I was born in Bologna and have always lived here.
I graduated from The University of Bologna with a degree in languages, and ever since those university days I have taught Italian to foreigners, first at Dante Alighieri, and later at other schools.
From 1973 until 2000, while working for a large company, I continued to teach on my own time. In 2000 I left that company and decided that the time had come to begin teaching Italian in “my own way”, in my home.
From this idea was born bolognalingua, a small association of teachers specializing in individual courses for those who want to learn Italian in a natural way, outside the bounds of a traditional language school.
I love teaching this way and I devote most of my time to it.
Although students do not live in my house, I organize almost everything for their stay in Bologna –accommodations, excursions to other cities as part of the learning experience, and naturally, courses tailored to each student’s needs.
Studying a foreign language abroad is an absorbing, complex experience.
It involves not only mastering new words, but also gaining a deeper understanding of the culture in which the language is rooted.
To achieve this goal I devote all my enthusiasm, my skill at communication, and a sense of humor which makes for a relaxed study environment.
Students appreciate these characteristics, and so I look for them in my collaborators as well. We are all university graduates, fluent in at least one foreign language.
We are particularly careful to use from the start a direct method, based on communicative stimuli, which emphasizes the use of current spoken Italian.
Anna Maria
My name is Anna Maria. I come from Veneto but Bologna has been my adoptive town since when I attended university.
I've always worked as a teacher, covering various kinds of teaching positions. I've been working for "bolognalingua" for the past few years.
I consider teaching as another way of learning, a passion, a stimulating challenge that is always present in every different situation of my life.
My university education ( philosophical-arts ), the knowledge of two foreign languages (French and English), my interest in arts along with a passion for traveling and curiosity about cultures other than mine, all this was fulfilled by teaching Italian to foreign students!
Transmitting the love for the Italian language and culture is one of the main aspects which renew my enthusiasm for this job and my pleasure in doing it.
Planning custom-made lessons, tailored according to the needs and interests of students is a way to practise and enrich my teaching experience. In my lessons I try to involve the student by alternating activities that let him/her make progress in all language skills. Flexibility and accuracy merge to meet the final goals that have been set together with the student at the beginning of the course.
Thanks to Andrea Quarantotto, "bolognalingua" has been and still is to me a special occasion to experiment varied methods of learning with students contagiously fond of our language and culture, students strongly motivated to become more and more confident with the language, people with an outstanding cultural and human sensibility. Their satisfaction is a precious reward for my efforts as a professional teacher.