Italophilia is pleased to welcome Elena Arezio from the Italian Language Vacations. If you’re looking to study Italian in Italy, Elena offers language vacations in the Northern town of Bergamo. Her home-stay option in a language school that is almost a decade old is very enticing and authentic!! Let’s chat with her to find out more about the school and Bergamo.
Italian Language Vacations in Bergamo
Homestay in Bergamo
Welcome Elena, tell us how and when did Italian Language Vacations start??
Ciao all! Thanks for having me Ishita.
About me…Well I started teaching Italian in a school in Milan long ago, after graduating. I then started taught foreign languages in Italian schools so that I could have a part-time job which was a way to go back to my first “love”- teaching Italian to foreigners.
Approximately 8 years ago, I started organizing Italian Language Vacations as my area offers so many different activities a student can do, even while learning Italian.
I realized that most of my students could benefit from learning through “experiencing the language”. So according to their interests, I began to organize excursions they could be interested in, to focus on the conversational Italian at their own pace, of course.
Students who love music, are interested in visiting Donizetti Museum and his house as the Opera composer was born in Bergamo; or Cremona (the town of Stradivari) only 1 hour from Bergamo.
Students interested in art are spoilt for choice here: Brescia, Milano, Mantova, Verona; Monza, Pavia…So many places to visit!
Other students are interested in natural environment, so the lakes can be the right place for them, and the mountains around both Bergamo and Lake Como too. The Italian Language Vacation offers homestay in Bergamo and Como and gives you the opportunity to improve your language skills by studying with books but especially by interacting with Italians, to my family, my friends, my neighbors….. Also going shopping, listening to guides, having aperitivo or a dinner out. It helps so much!
Sunset near Como
Italian Language Vacations is a full-immersion experience.
Wow that’s amazing!! I’d love to visit your Language School. But is Bergamo challenging for a language retreat/school??
Yes, it is! Bergamo has become challenging now but it is a lovely medieval town, rich in history and is off the beaten track. Students looks for this kind of experience, so that they can be immersed in the real Italian life….. American and Australian students love Lake Como and as I offer a possibility to spend a week in Corenno Plinio (Lake Como). Meanwhile, European students have an easy access flying directly into Bergamo from most of the big European cities. Bergamo might be challenging but it is getting popular too!!
Duomo di Bergamo
I see…Can you list 10 important Italian colloquial words for an Italian language learner??
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Magari: I wish/Perhaps
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Che barba!: how boring!
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Ti va un caffè?: Would you like a coffee?
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Acqua in bocca! : Your mouth shut!
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In bocca al lupo!: good luck!
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Non vedo l’ora! : Can’t wait!
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Non c’entra! : That’s irrelevant
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Cotto a puntino : well cooked
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Avere un diavolo per capello : be enraged
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Piove a catinelle : It rains cats and dogs
Breakfast in Bergamo
Thank you, love them all! What handy tips would you give to readers who are learning Italian??
- Listen to the radio and watch lots of Italian movies.
- Find conversational groups in your town so that its easier to start conversing from Day 1.
- Write a diary daily in Italian.
- Come to Italy when you can… I’ll be happy to host you in my Language school and explore Como and Bergamo together 🙂
Elena from Italian Language Vacations
8 Comments
Image Earth Travel
May 26, 2019 at 5:53 pmHi Ishita, nominated your cool blog in the Mystery Blogger Award, hope you can participate. 🙂 https://imageearthtravel.com/2019/05/26/mystery-blogger-award/
Italophilia
May 27, 2019 at 6:37 pmYou as so kind! I just checked. Thanks again
Kathryn Occhipinti
May 19, 2019 at 6:05 pmChe bello! Yet another beautiful city in the northern lake region of Italy. Stresa on Lago Maggiore has been my favorite city and my focus in the past. Would love to learn more about Bergamo. Maybe next year… Non vedo l’ora!
Italophilia
May 20, 2019 at 7:40 amI’ve never been there. Thanks for sharing xx
Arielle
May 19, 2019 at 1:38 pmI absolutely loved the whole 12 hours I spent in Bergamo. This program sounds like an absolute dream to get to know the area better!
Italophilia
May 20, 2019 at 7:37 amHow lovely those must have been! Best part is the city’s connectivity.. and yes, Seriously a dream. Xx
KareninCalabria
May 19, 2019 at 12:22 amBeautiful place to learn any language! I haven’t ever been to Bergamo, but it seems to me that a town not overflowing with tourists would be the opposite of challenging for the language student. Everybody goes to Florence where you hear a ton of English on the street. A location off the general tourist radar is a much better choice.
Italophilia
May 20, 2019 at 7:36 amI would love to explore Bergamo. It seems so surreal- città alta e bassa with that old line to take to the top. Exactly! It’s much easier to learn in such places