Irene

I continue to appreciate Irene's patience, support and encouragement as I learn. It can take repetition for me when learning new concepts, and she is always willing to allow time during the lesson to refresh previous concepts as needed. It's also a process for me to learn to be patient and understanding with myself. Her patience and understanding help in this regard. If I get discouraged with my progress, she's quick to point out areas where I'm doing well and help with areas that need more review. Her explanations of language concepts are such that I can understand them. She takes the time to find lessons and homework that are directly applicable to what I need. She is great to work with and I look forward to my weekly lessons with her.

It has to be said: Irene is an exceptionally gifted instructor. She is highly attentive to what students want to achieve, to what they might need in order to reach their goals, and also to what might be hindering them, psychologically or otherwise. She has a deep curiosity about what goes on inside the head/brain of the L2 learner -- a curiosity that has led her to explore the relevant neuroscientific findings. This same passion for discovery is reflected in the joy she demonstrates when, together, she and her students uncover underlying motivations or discover strategies and tricks for understanding more deeply the structures of the language. Always full of encouragement, always down to earth and approachable, Irene is a top-notch facilitator of Italian language-learning.

Irene is a wonderful Italian tutor! She is patient, caring, and seems genuinely invested in helping me to prove my Italian. In fact, in the few lessons I’ve already had, I feel that my pronunciation and fluidity in speaking are starting to improve. She strikes a great balance between having structured lessons in which we complete exercise focused on listening comprehension, grammar and other areas while also having a conversation in which I’m able to practice my Italian and receive feedback and corrections. I highly recommend Irene and look forward to continuing to work with her!

I appreciate Irene taking the time to find materials that will best illustrate the topic we are learning. I also appreciate that she wants to incorporate subjects of personal interest to me to help facilitate learning. She takes time to explain topics to ensure they are understood. We can review a topic as many times as needed or desired. I appreciate her commitment to helping me improve my Italian language learning.

Irene is very thorough when covering topics to make sure that they are understood. She pays attention to details such as pronunciation when distinguishing verb tenses that at times sound similar to one another. She always teaches at my pace and asks if I need to spend more time with a concept before moving on. She encourages me if I become frustrated and does whatever necessary to help me achieve my learning goals. I would definitely recommend her to anyone that I knew that was trying to learn Italian. I enjoy my lessons with Irene.

I appreciate Irene's willingness to make suggestions for our lessons but also take input from me. I'm glad that we can revisit concepts that we've already covered to refresh them and apply them, and also continue to cover new ground. Her patience and encouragement are always deeply appreciated. She also provides helpful materials to help facilitate learning. She is fun to talk to and to work with, and is helping me tremendously with my progress in learning Italian.