In this post, we hear from Yagmur Adademir, another Business and Management student who did a year of IWLP Italian Stage 1 and then studied at Ca’ Foscari University in Venice. Like Darcey, she studied the English curriculum but was able to use her Italian in her daily life in the country.

I believe language plays a gatekeeping role in understanding a culture. Although English has become almost a globally known language, there are always some elements of culture that get lost in translation. I was dreaming about spending a year in Italy and participating in the Erasmus Programme ever since I started university, so I thought taking the IWLP Italian module would be helpful for my future. In Venice, I interacted with so many locals with whom I got to practice and develop my Italian. Taking an Italian module was a good starting point for me, as I was able to and motivated to have short conversations as soon as I arrived in Italy.

I first started taking Italian classes during covid, before I went away. Although everything was online, learning something new and interacting with new people from different courses was very enjoyable. Therefore, after returning from Venice, I decided to continue with IWLP Italian, and being present in the class made everything even better.

I felt nervous when I first chose the module – I was worried about my level of Italian. However, once I went to the class, I got over it since everyone was almost at the same level as me. The class environment is very collaborative, and I was inspired by other students’ motivation to learn Italian as well. Our lecturer encouraged us to ask questions and interact with other students in Italian. The portfolio assignment gave me chance to observe and reflect on my progress in Italian, as it required me to be up-to-date with the lectures and revise the materials consistently. Additionally, through the portfolio I have discovered many cultural elements that my home country, Cyprus, and Italy have in common. I’ve also learned that I have learned some stereotypes that have been attached to Italian culture were not true.

For me, my degree and my IWLP module go in hand in hand. I try to work for short periods of time for Italian, and studying it alongside my main degree is so refreshing. My main degree is based on theories and sometimes it gets a little bit overwhelming whereas learning Italian is more practical, interactive, and dynamic.

Unfortunately, I do not believe that I will be remembering or use most of the theoretical knowledge that I have learned at the university in my daily life. However, taking an IWLP module is sensible for both career and social life. It could help you make new friends, and meet new people not only in your university life but in the future as well. As a business student, I know many multinationals are looking for people who could speak at least more than one language. Therefore, it could create good opportunities in your career path. Next year I am planning to work and take a B1 course in Italy.

In this post, we hear from Darcey, a BSc Finance and Management student who took IWLP Italian Stage 1 in her first year before she did a year abroad at a university in Venice. Darcey did the English language curriculum at Ca’ Foscari University but, as she explains, learning Italian before she went really helped her make the most of living there – just like Yagmur, who has also written about her experience.

My course is a joint degree with Ca’ Foscari University and I decided to learn Italian as I thought it was important to have a basic understanding of the language before I went to Venice. Although my first year at university was very disrupted by the pandemic, my only in-person class was Italian with Ugo. It was great to be able to interact with people, and I felt this is a crucial part of learning a new language: being able to speak and practice.

The module layout was unlike any other I have taken whilst at university. We had weekly lessons with recommended exercises to do before the next session, but alongside this we had a portfolio. The portfolio not only allowed us to get familiar and confident with the fundamentals, but also gave us a chance to explore areas that interested us, for example discovering Italian music, media and culture. It also gave opportunity for self-reflection and evaluating and improving our own work as we improved our skills. I think getting advice from others and correcting my own mistakes significantly lowered the amount of errors I made in the future speaking to Italians. In my portfolio I mainly focused on scenarios I would come across in Venice, e.g. conversations in restaurants, supermarkets and so on.

I joined the course a few weeks late, so my initial reservations were around the skills of my peers. I haven’t been a beginner in a language since I was 14, and it really throws you back into the school-like experience, where you have no knowledge on the subject before you start. As I knew that I would be using what I learnt in my 2nd year in Venice for I was also nervous about the transition between class-learning to real life situations. Luckily I lived with an Italian in 1st year so I was able to talk to them, practicing in an informal setting really grew my confidence. Along with this, we had lots of chances to do speaking tasks with other students too.

I was able to use Italian a lot in Venice. As I got familiar with my surroundings, I found my favourite cafes and bars to go to and built relationships with locals, and they really encouraged me to speak Italian. I also had Italian friends who would test my skills and try to get me to communicate with them in Italian as much as possible, only correcting me when dramatically wrong, which really helped me build on what I had learnt in the course and gain confidence.

If you have the opportunity to take an IWLP module, do it. Even if you don’t think you will use the language day-to-day, breaking up your learning with someone more creative made my first year much more interesting and less repetitive. Also being able to communicate with others in a different language is cool and the best way to integrate yourself into a culture, even if it is just for holidays!