Course Description

Intermediate Italian Conversation
Benvenuti! In this friendly and relaxed class, you’ll build confidence and fluency by engaging in lively Italian conversations with fellow students. Through speaking, reading, and listening activities, you’ll strengthen your vocabulary, improve pronunciation, and deepen your understanding of Italian culture and everyday expressions. Join us for a fun and supportive experience as we continue exploring the beauty of the Italian language together.

All students are encouraged to complete our Italian Knowledge Survey before registering to ensure placement in the correct class level—since everyone learns at a different pace.  You can also connect with our instructors to test your conversation ability before registering.  We want to make sure we can help you get registered for the correct level of our Italian courses. 

Classes will be taught by one of our experienced Italian instructors, Antonella Giannasca or Alessandra Brisotto, who will be assigned after registrations are complete.

Bio: Alessandra Brisotto was born and raised in Prato, near Florence, Italy. After completing her studies, she worked for a travel agency for 10 years. She then moved to Bergamo, 25 miles east of Milan, where she worked for a travel agency and an airline company, before moving to the United States with her husband Paolo. She lived in Tampa Bay, Florida, for 10 years, and moved to Atlanta in 2010. After working for Italiano Language Center in Sandy Springs, she joined OLLI at Emory in 2019, where she teaches Italian beginner and intermediate both in person and online. She is also teaching at Central Dekalb Senior Center in Decatur, as well as giving Italian lessons to private students of different levels. Alessandra has two children, 26-year-old Marta and 21-year-old Pietro, both bilingual. She spends every summer with them visiting the family in Italy.

BIO: Antonella Giannasca, I have been teaching Italian for 26 years since I moved to the States. I love my language and my culture. My great love is to be able to teach Italian to my students and share the love that I have with them. I was born and raised in Rome, Italy and I have been a Tour Director for many years, and I love to teach and prepare my students for their trips.