Scuola Insieme: Reviews of the School

"How is the weather today? It is nice," prompts an Italian professor.
"Com'e il tempo oggi? Fa bello," drones the class.

Most students who want to attend Stanford University's study-abroad program in Florence have to sit through three quarters worth of required Italian classes, imprisoned in tiny language lab cubicles endlessly repeating elaborate verb conjugations.

But Stanford senior Francesca Mattiussi-Seaman decided that there had to be a better way for others to learn her native tongue. In an effort to save some would-be Italian speakers from this ordeal, she established an intensive, four-week summer language program last year in her home-town of Grado, Italy.

"I wanted to create something for the students that would be perfect -- the perfect setting, the perfect school, the perfect everything," said Mattiussi-Seaman, a Comparative Literature major who said she has experienced her share of unsatisfying foreign language courses during her life.

Grado, a tiny island off the northeast coast of Italy, offers sandy beaches, museums, Roman ruins and a charming old town with a 1400-year-old church; Venice and the Alps are less than two hours away. But the most important aspect of Grado is that none of its inhabitants, other than Mattiussi-Seaman herself, speak English, thereby forcing students to become proficient in Italian quickly if they want to speak with anyone other than themselves.

Unlike most Italians, Mattiussi-Seaman explained that the inhabitants of Grado rarely see American tourists. On the day her students arrived, the entire island came to the church to catch a glimpse of the novel visitors.

"We were the famous visiting American tourists," laughed fifth year senior Matt Kratter, a graduate of the program. The isolation of the island is an advantage for those trying to learn the language quickly, Kratter emphasized, adding, "It really improved my Italian, just being immersed." Mattiussi-Seaman said she limits the program to four students per session in order to maximize their learning experience. She explained that direct interaction with natives is the best way for foreigners to learn how to get by in another country.

Each morning students convene in Mattiussi-Seaman's house where they are given a diversified curriculum of grammar, phonetics and listening comprehension, which may also periodically include learning a celebrated Italian aria, a poem or a song. Later she sends them into town with a real-world assignment as part of the homework, such as a trip to the grocery store, the train station, or a museum.

But not every assignment is easy. Like all teachers, Mattiussi-Seaman believes in the importance of grammar. Every afternoon, in a casual setting such as at a cafe or by the beach, she teaches them the technical details that underlie the conversations they have around town. Although she prides herself on the fact that her program "doesn't feel like a school," Mattiussi-Seaman claims that her students learn about 300 words a day.

"There is little memorization," she explains. It is mostly based on imitation." Within four weeks, her students learn enough Italian to successfully negotiate any basic conversation.

However, misunderstandings inevitably occur along the way. Kratter, who participated in the program with his father and brother last summer, remembers a trip to the local barber that ended unhappily for his brother, Mark. "There was this language barrier," Kratter said. The barber gave him what he thought was an American-style haircut, but it wasn't. We all laughed a lot."

Overall, Kratter describes the program as demanding but worthwhile. "It's very intense," he explained. "You can spend five, six, seven hours a day doing grammar exercises and memorizing poetry. Luckily, it doesn't just take place in the classroom."

If it's sunny, for instance, Mattiussi-Seaman said she often holds class outdoors, and in the evenings she takes her students to spots where they can absorb the local culture and entertainment, such as cafes, lectures on the beach, or to concerts and plays in the old town.

Designing and running a language program single-handedly has been exhausting but very rewarding, Mattiussi-Seaman said. "It has been an incredible experience," she claimed.

Note: Certain changes have been made to the school since this article appeared.

Scuola Insieme, LLC
Via Leopardi, 37
Grado (GO) 34073 Italia
tel. (39) 0431.876.311
fax (39) 0431.876.591 Scuola Insieme, LLC - USA Office
PO Box 808
Greencastle, IN 46135 USA
tel. (765) 653-1430
fax (765) 653-1431