To be honest, my husband and I weren’t quite sure what to expect when we registered for Davide’s Italian 101 class…the prospect of learning a new language was a little daunting, especially with little knowledge or previous hands-on experience.

However, Davide’s intuitive teaching skills and classroom-style approach guided the entire class through each learning component in a structured yet comfortable manner. His humour and personal stories of being raised in an Italian family were both refreshing and informative, while his ability to lead us through the process of actually understanding the lesson, rather than simply memorizing it, was proficient.

Our interactions with the other students along with Davide’s contagious passion for the Italian language were so enjoyable that we were truly sorry when the classes came to an end.  Who knows…if we come back down again to AZ for another winter, maybe we will sign up for Italian 102…?

Thanks again Davide, for sharing a little bit of of the Italian culture with us.

Growing up in an Italian family, I have always been fascinated by the language and culture. After marrying an Italian man, I decided it was time to study the language to prepare for our annual trips to Italy and better communicate with my new family.

Luckily, I discovered Valenti Lingua when searching for Italian lessons in the Phoenix area. I have since completed three courses with Davide and would highly recommend him to anyone seeking a knowledgeable, authentic Italian teacher.

It is clear that Davide is passionate about his teaching and genuinely wants his students to learn and succeed. He makes the class more of an experience, rather than just a lesson, and incorporates events outside the classroom to encourage students to come together and learn.
I feel so much more prepared for my upcoming trip to Italy, and feel more confident speaking and understanding the language.

Whether you are new to the language like myself, or want a refresher, do not hesitate to try Davide’s class!

I was looking for a way to connect with my heritage. Many of my closest friends and relatives are fluent in Italian. I vowed one day that I would learn the language and have an ability to become part of the conversation. I spent months researching options for classes, seminars and web enabled learning sites but was not able to really find a learning style that fit my needs. That was until I stumbled upon the Valenti Lingua website. Davide Valenti responded back almost immediately. He explained his teaching methods. Additionally he told me about how he tries to further educate his students by embracing the Italian culture with meetings outside the classroom with many different levels of students to watch movies, get together for gelato, etc. I realized then that this was the class for me. Davide uses a very concise methodology for teaching his students that include written, spoken and visual learning ques. I also like the fact that Davide utilizes more than just a text book for homework. Through the usage of a teaching website, Yabla, students are assigned movies, music and even videos that deepen grammatical explanations. All of these learning streams allow students to excel at speaking and understanding the Italian language coupled with the culture. I have attended two classes with Davide (Italian 101 & 102) and several private lessons and can now hold basic conversations with friends and family. My confidence with learning Italian by Davide has prompted me to book our first trip to Italy in the Fall of 2017. I am excited to apply what I have learned!

Davide Valenti is an excellent instructor.  His manner is friendly and responsive, his knowledge of Italian culture and language, including grammar, is thorough, and his explanations are clear and concise.   In the course I had with him—Italian 102—we worked carefully with the exercises in Ciao, writing out assignments at home and then going over them in detail in class.  The course included occasional frills, such as movies and access through Yabla to television series in Italian.  The other students were also highly motivated, a tribute to his teaching skills as well.  I felt I learned a great deal in 10 weeks, and I am eager to enroll in another of his classes.

After a trip to Italy, my boyfriend and I promised ourselves that when we returned we’d be able to speak better Italian. We signed up for four semesters of Italian with Davide. It was a great decision! Davide struck a good balance between teaching and promoting group comradery. We both improved a lot, and we met other people with similar interests in Phoenix. We’ve just gotten back from a week in Rome and the lessons made all the difference! We were able to communicate with Italians over the phone, in the grocery store, and in restaurants. We felt much more in touch, and less like tourists. We really did learn from Davide. One night a week plus 30 minutes of homework a day is little work for the reward.

A couple of years ago I began my journey learning Italian. I started with Rosetta Stone and some other software that helped me get more interested. Then I started to take Italian classes at a community college. Only once I started taking Italian lessons with Davide Valenti I began to understand the language. Over two years with Davide I have gained confidence to speak Italian with Italian strangers who come into my restaurants and gained motivation to speak with strangers in Italy when I have travelled there. Last summer when I was in Florence I was befriended by my tour guide and a hotel employee which made my experience in Italy truly memorable. I now find myself dreaming in Italian thanks to Davide. He is quite professional and has several programs that have worked with my busy schedule. We have become great friends over the years.

If you are thinking about learning Italian, the greatest strides you can make is with this tutor. He is extremely knowledgeable in both English and Italian and can help you train your mind to embrace a new way of speaking, writing, and thinking.

My husband and I began Italian lessons with Davide Valenti in Fall 2015.  We are both Italian by heritage, and we are taking a trip to Italy in Summer 2016.  We thought it would be great to learn Italian for the trip and for fun!  This class is great for adults who are looking to learn a second language, travelers of all ages and students who may want to take Italian for foreign exchange classes or travel to Italy as part of their education.  Davide is an excellent instructor.  He has taught at the college level.  He teaches privately.  There are many ways you can work with Davide to learn Italian.  Davide makes it very fun because he is Italian.  He has lived and traveled in Italy, plus he understands the Italian culture.  This makes the class very practical and real for the student – he can always reference how the Italians say something or what is their tradition in the country or even regionally!

The class is held weekly.  Davide uses a college text book, so you are getting college material and teaching for a very reasonable rate (without the pressure of a college grade!).  He has a website for the class and he offers audio files for your use as well.  My husband and I own a business and we are very busy, but this easily fit into our schedule.  Davide really structures the material to meet a busy person’s schedule.  Another really great benefit of the class is that the students all get to know one another and everyone is so nice.  Many people are going to be traveling to Italy, so you can share stories and travel plans.  We highly recommend Davide’s classes – we hope you take advantage of these wonderful Italian lessons.

I have been a private student of Davide Valenti’s – Valenti Lingua – Italian language school for several months.  It is a pleasure to work with Davide because he is passionate about his teaching.  Davide is a skilled professor of Italian and greatly enjoys teaching.  My environment is a college level course, not a casual conversational class, but still retains an enjoyable atmosphere.  My course focus has been grammar and proper usage.  Italian has idiomatic quirks that can only be conveyed by a deep, natural understanding of the language.  This deep understanding is apparent in my teacher.  I feel my progress has been steady and thorough.  Since I do not have the advantage of complete language submersions, I have the best possible alternative and will be very educationally prepared for such submersion when my lifestyle allows.

I wish that I could study Italian from Prof. Valenti ogni giorno! Not only is he dedicated to the improvement of each and every student in his classes, he actually LOVES what he does and it shows! I have taken classes off and on over the years from Prof. Valenti and the only reason I didn’t take classes this summer is because of a schedule filled with too many commitments. He is articulate, funny, respectful of everyone’s individual learning style, and enthusiastic. Prof. Valenti, I’ll see you soon!

My husband and I travel to Italy almost every fall.  In October 2015 a close friend of mine told me that she had enrolled in an Italian language class, and, at her suggestion, I connected with Davide through Valenti Lingua.  I enrolled in his beginning Italian class and immediately became excited about finally learning the language that I had grown to love.  Davide’s classes are very structured and are designed for those who are serious about learning how to speak Italian.  There are no formal tests, but he does expect everyone to have studied the required material and to have done their best at completing the homework.  I have a foreign language teaching degree and I can tell you that Davide has both an excellent command of Italian and of grammar principles in general.  His classes are very entertaining and, in seven months, I feel I have learned a great deal from his teaching.  I just completed the first intermediate class and hope to continue when he resumes teaching the grammar classes in the fall.  If you are at all interested in learning to speak Italian and becoming acquainted with Italian culture, please don’t hesitate to consider taking a class from Davide.