The Roman Teacher

$50/hour

estimated price

Zip code

Student age

Literacy goals

Current reading level

It’s free, with no obligation to book

Introduction: Ciao! I am an Italian (born and raised in Rome!) teacher and a sound/video artist. I have been teaching Italian for the past eleven years, both privately and at institutions like the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago. I have an advanced degree in Foreign Languages and Literatures from the Università Roma Tre in Rome. For beginners I like using structured lessons. I work with the wonderful e-book Dieci (Alma Edizioni) and the online platform Blinklearning. During the first few lessons I will make sure you have the tools to pronounce and identify all the sounds of the Italian language. This step is essential! And it will make everything easier afterwards. When I teach Italian I avoid all the things that I hated as a language student. We will use real songs, real literature, do real conversation and storytelling. When you are engaging all your senses it is easier to keep your mind relaxed and learn. I will customize my materials to your interests, needs and desired pace. And because you are learning from a native Italian you will also learn about Italian culture and history. You will absorb a way of thinking, not just grammar rules. I live between the US, Italy and the Netherlands. Because of the pandemic I am currently based in the Netherlands so I can only offer online lessons!

Overview

Hired 9 times

Serves Chicago, IL

Background checked

1 employee

14 years in business

Payment methods

This pro accepts payments via PayPal and Zelle.

Social media

Facebook

Featured Projects

8 photos

Reviews

Customers rated this pro highly for work quality, value, and responsiveness.

Exceptional 5.0

7 reviews

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Read reviews that mention:

Sydney M.

Mar 27, 2019

Working with this teacher has improved my Italian language skills tremendously. She has extensive knowledge of the origin of the Italian vocabulary, grammatical rules and sentence structure. She developes lessons that are both practical and interesting. I highly recommend you contacting her if you are interested in learning to speak Italian. Whether you are a beginner or very advanced, she can accommodate your level of knowledge and assess your needs.

Angel M.

Mar 22, 2021

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Hired on Thumbtack

All I can say is....WHERES HER VACCINE?! SHES PHENOMENAL! SHES WORTH EVERY EURO AND SHOULD CHARGE DOUBLE! BUT....I'm poor so I appreciate it even more. If I could I'd give her quadruple the amount PER HOUR!

Details: 26 - 44 years old • No experience • Full fluency • No experience • No experience • Full literacy • 60 minutes • I travel to the italian tutor • Phone or internet (no in-person meeting)

The Roman Teacher's reply

haha thank youfor your kind words, Angel :) I finally got my vaccine. Only health workers and people teaching in the school system got vaccinated right away, here (I'm currently in the Netherlands). And I'm only teaching privately right now.

Italian Lessons

Witold v.

Jan 19, 2021

I've been studying Italian with Valentina for nearly two years, and have progressed from knowing absolutely zero to comfortably watching Italian shows with subtitles and being able to easily travel and make light conversation all over Italy. Working with Valentina has been a great experience. She is a fun and flexible teacher who offers a wide variety of tools, ranging from songs and videos to textbooks and apps. Over the course of two years, we've covered a tremendous amount of Italian history, politics and popular culture during our classes. We even practiced a little Roman dialect. Because of her musical background, Valentina has a knack for the sound of a language, which has been really helpful to improve my pronunciation and make myself easily understood. Your ability to learn a language will depend mostly on how much time you put into it, but with Valentina, you can be sure to have a range of engaging material to work with, as well as a committed teacher that you can rely on to help you progress to your desired level.

The Roman Teacher's reply

Thank you Witold! It's great to have you as my student.

Johnny H.

Jul 1, 2019

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Hired on Thumbtack

I'm looking forward to my first lesson with her. She was very professional in her responses.

Details: 26 - 44 years old • No experience • Full fluency • No experience • No experience • Full literacy • 60 minutes • I travel to the italian tutor • The italian tutor travels to me • Phone or internet (no in-person meeting)

Italian Lessons

Thumbtack Customer

Oct 4, 2018

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From Facebook

Classes in institutes suck. They are expensive, boring and infested with normies. If you want 2 meet an academically certified teacher who will expose u to real Italian culture and not some contrived institutional version of it, def get in touch w/ Valentina!

Credentials

Background Check

Valentina Vella

FAQs

What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
If you pay in advance for a 10-lesson package you will receive a discount! The package will only be refunded if canceled within ten days from the first lesson and the lessons already taught will be billed at the full rate of $50/h.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I am a native Italian speaker. I grew up in Rome. I studied French, Latin and Ancient Greek in high school. I studied Foreign Languages and Literatures in Rome (Università di Roma Tre) and I have been teaching Italian in language schools (La Scuola Italiana del Greenwich Village in New York and the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago) and privately since 2010. Also, I am currently learning Dutch so I am keenly aware of how difficult it is to learn a language from scratch!
How did you get started doing this type of work?
I've always been interested in languages and foreign cultures and my university studies reflect that. Teaching my language to foreigners has always come natural to me, and I started doing it more regularly when I moved to the US.

The Roman Teacher

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