Si, oui, hai, dui!

I study Italian and Spanish at Bennington and it’s worked out quite well for me. Language classes aren’t just about learning vocabulary and grammar (which is, of course, important), but are founded in  cultural contexts. For example, the Italian class I’m in right now focuses on the different regions of Italy, and my Spanish class is about metafiction and authorship in literature. Not only is this approach beneficial in terms of learning a language and trying to understand its people, but the angle of a class facilitates discussion, and thus enhances speaking and listening skills. It also helps make studying multiple languages easier to handle, because you grow to associate languages with their respective cultures. You should check out the curriculum.

I started out in intro level Italian and have worked my way up since then. Classes tend to get smaller as you advance - I’m in an Italian class with only 3 other students right now, and there are 4 others in my Spanish class. Barbara, the Italian professor, is from Italy (Naples), and she is a great teacher. We study Italian from various approaches - history, literature, poetry, film, etc. This term, for example, we’ve read some poems by Petrarch, watched “The Bicycle Thief,” and watched some of Oriana Fallaci’s legendary interviews. I learn a lot, and it’s fun, which is what it’s all about.

Hope this helps! Saluti!

~ Holly