I studied Italian with Davide while a Sophomore and Junior in high school (Brophy Prep). I like languages, having studied Spanish in grade school and French all four years of high school. Studying with Davide is the ideal method of learning the language. Although I met with him for only two hours a week, instead of five hours a week for high school French, and although I studied with him for only little more than a year, instead of four years of French, my Italian is better than my French (my SAT score in Italian Junior year was 740).

I went to Italy by myself for a month the summer between my Junior and Senior years to study Italian further at a school in Verona, and was able to communicate with no difficulty, often being mistaken for an Italian. Davide was an excellent teacher, and the sessions with him were a lot of fun. And the one-on-one experience was a nice contrast to the class room teaching of high school.

I began meeting with Davide four years ago for private Italian lessons after completing two years of Italian at Scottsdale Community College. I study Italian because it provides me with a challenge unrelated to my everyday job of practicing law. It forces me to utilize parts of my brain that otherwise would become stagnate. Working one on one with Davide requires me to truly learn the language. Unlike in a classroom setting, there is no other student you can hide behind nor can you pray that you won’t be called on in class because you are the class.

What I especially enjoy about my weekly Italian lessons is that I have no special skill with languages. Every session compels me to study long and hard and I always feel a sense of accomplishment when I avoid making a total fool of myself.

Davide is an extremely skilled teacher and I especially appreciate that Davide grew up speaking Italian and therefore speaks it naturally. I intend on studying with Davide until I become completely fluent in Italian.