Madrelingua

I took an intermediate language course for one week. While I thought the teachers were excellent, I was not as satisfied with the curriculum. We spent the week learning a verb tense which is not widely used in spoken Italian, which was less useful to me as a student interested in conversation skills. Furthermore, an hour each day was spent in a cafe. Although I understand the goal was to encourage conversation, the cafe was very loud (full of other students, a lot of noise from the coffee machines) and it was therefore difficult to converse. Finally, a cooking class through the school was quite interesting, but the promised recipes were never emailed.

Una esperienza fantastica! Kathy ed io abbiamo avuto 3 settimane a Bologna alla Madrelingua. Tutte gli insegnanti erano molto disponibili e competenti.

Madrelingua school has wonderful, professional teachers and staff, who are both fun and highly experienced.All instructions were in Italian, which is the only way to teach the new language, in my opinion, the full immersion. We had 2 hours of the grammar , than a coffee break in the nearby cafe shop, and another 1 hr 20 min of the conversational practice with 2nd teacher. Very effective model, I wish I had a longer vacation. The after class activities are great way to visit Bologna and meet local people.T hank you!

I had a mixed experience. Madrelingua is in a beautiful historic building, most of the teachers are excellent, and I really like Nuovo Espresso, the textbook series they use, and continue to study with it at home. The afternoon activities from Monday to Thursday were fun, and some were truly unique and memorable, like the tortellini-making class and a taxi tour with a driver passionate about sharing the off-the-beaten-path side of his native Bologna.Unfortunately, I had a bad experience with one of the teachers when I was moved from the lower to upper intermediate class on my second day. I was taken aback and increasingly uncomfortable with her angry tone and critical and sarcastic comments directed at me. I'm not sure what I did to provoke her, but other students told me, Either she likes you or she hates you

NEW REVIEW: Just completed 3wks (20hrs per/wk in-person). Another very satisfying experience. As indicated in my original review, one's time at Madrelingua will be impacted by: the management of the school, the quality/teaching style of the instructors, and the engagement of other students in your sessions. (Previous review was based on 6wks of classes a year ago)Administration: The school appears to have moved into post-pandemic mode, with a robust number of students, from various locales, with a mix of skill levels. Stefi creates a friendly and welcoming environment. I appreciated the regular check-ins (to me and others) to ensure that student needs were being met. (e.g. if we felt we were placed in the correct class). Improvements need to be made regarding the acoustics in the school, as classrooms are adjacent to one another, and noise travels between the rooms, making it difficult at times to hear what’s being said in your own classroom. Additionally, having all the classes descend upon one establishment for the 'pausa', when indoors, creates a sometimes untenable situation for listening to fellow students.Instructors: The approach of teaching with strictly the Italian language has +/-. That’s an important consideration when choosing the right school for you. Angela, an excellent instructor, was the most firm in not drawing upon another language that the students might know (English/French/Spanish/etc.) to help move the lesson along, and expedite their understanding of new words/concepts. This can be frustrating for some people. Giulia was more flexible in this, which in my view is a plus. Her topic selection for grammar can appear scattered, but she is adept at drawing out students’ own experiences to make the learning more relevant, and quite frequently incorporates stories from her own life. I had Francesco for a week of conversation sessions. These were a major highlight. His clear speaking style, enthusiastic personality, and the physicality he brings to learning in the classroom make him an outstanding new addition to the teaching staff. I was not alone in this assessment. Hopefully soon, Francesco will be a full-time instructor.Classmates: In many ways, the most significant factor for learning is a “wild card”: The other students in your class. After all, it is their level of enthusiasm, language skills, speaking volume, class participation, and commitment to gaining skills that impacts the learning environment. Having just one outlier in the group can slow down the class, and create frustration for instructor and fellow students alike. I experienced this for part of my 3 weeks, and the room dynamic improved significantly when students were more aligned in their skills and participation levels. (The school is amenable to reassign students, so don't be afraid to ask if you feel you need a change.)

My third time at Madrelingua and each time has been a fantastic experience. The organisation is faultless, all the teachers are extremely professional, encouraging and friendly and the mix of students of different nationalities and ages works so well. Returning each year is like a family reunion. I can recommend without hesitation.

I’ve just come back from my 4th trip to Madrelingua Bologna. Like many others, I return again and again because the teachers are exceptional. They make you feel welcome from the minute you arrive and the atmosphere at the school is really great! They take care to put you in a group that suits your ability, so that you’re challenged but never feel that the work is too difficult. The teaching is extremely clear and there is a good mix of grammar and informal day to day conversation. When I returned to my Italian classes in the UK my teacher couldn’t believe how much I’d improved! But the key point is that the teachers make the lessons really fun, with lots of different activities, jokes and funny stories. If you do a course at Madrelingua Bologna, as well as massively improving your Italian you’ll spend a lot of time laughing! It has to be the most fun Italian language school out there.

I spent one week at Madrelingua in an A2ish level class. The teachers are absolutely superb. I came in with knowledge from a couple of years of self study (apps, text books etc) but I left able to have conversations and feeling like I accomplished so much in such a short time.For me, I listened carefully, did my homework and pushed my limits to have conversations only in Italian by finding other ways to explain what I wanted to say and learning new words. The miracle for me was when I walked around Bologna and actually understood the words to a random Italian song I downloaded but had never heard before.I had a reasonable amount of vocabulary and basic grammar but could not speak. I came out graded at B1 and now I'm having conversations with family.A usual day starts at 09:30 with your teacher and class mates - perhaps you’ll chat about a topic or five, a piece of grammar or go through the homework from the day before.At 11:30 a number of classes all head to a cafe where we chat and usually sit with our next teacher for the day - ordering food and coffee, talking about future plans, things you did in the past or just about life in general. Returning with this teacher the participants of the classes can change a bit and this is great because you get to meet more people. This class was quite conversational with scenarios.At 13:30, after 4 hours of study there’s time for a break and then 2 hours are available with a tutor for personal study from 14:00 to 16:00.I know I still have a way to go but I can say hand on heart that I was truly sad to finish after just a week. I know I'll return when I have time (as I live and work in London).I was concerned that I wouldn’t understand what was going on around me. However, the teachers adjust their speed and vocabulary depending on the class and topic. I was amazed by how good they were. Absolutely brilliant. Not only that but I found myself constantly laughing. When you can start to understand jokes it can really help to improve the experience of a new language.If you want to improve your Italian - I cannot recommend Madrelingua enough! The team are just brilliant!A HUGE thanks to my wonderful teachers Giulia, Angela & Francesco and to our afternoo tutor Alessia.

Come principiante della lingua italiana, ho potuto imparare molto in sole due settimane, grazie agli ottimi insegnanti di Madrelingua. Con pazienza e soprattutto umorismo mi hanno dato una buona base per continuare. Gerard Pieters, Amsterdam

I came to Madrelingua not knowing what to expect and was absolutely blown away by the engaging, fun and very motivating learning environment here. I found the 4 hours/day went by very quickly and there were many great after-class activities organised and often joined in by the teachers. Madrelingua absolutely go above and beyond to make sure every student has an awesome time in Bologna, as well as leaning heaps. I can't recommend them enough! Grazie mille!!