I wanted to thank you for the Italian Film class. It was a fun way of improving my language skills. The homework and discussions that followed each film were very effective at increasing understanding of the spoken language, and acquiring new vocabulary and expressions. It’s also nice to learn while sitting on a couch sipping coffee!

We love to visit Italy, and after a couple of trips we realized that to fully enjoy our travel we needed to understand and speak the language. We just finished the basic Italian language course taught by Davide Valenti and have already registered for his next course. Davide is an excellent instructor with an extensive knowledge of grammar and teaching methods of both English and Italian. His classes are interesting and enjoyable, providing a combination of student interaction and self-study. The pace of the course, including homework assignments, is designed for working adults. Davide is personable, attentive to students’ needs and makes everyone feel comfortable. Whatever your skill level, Davide can help you improve, understand and enjoy more of the Italian language.  We highly recommend Mr. Valenti to anyone wishing to learn or improve their Italian language skills.

I really enjoyed Davide’s Italian Film class. As a beginner, I was worried that I would not be able to follow the films and discussions, but the extra handouts that Davide provided and the English subtitles allowed me to get a lot out of the class and my Italian is really improving.  There was a mix of film watching, discussions with classmates led by Davide, and plenty of breaks for food and espresso – I was surprised with how much info on everyday Italian life was included in the class. Highly recommended!

I first discovered Davide and Valenti Lingua on the web when I was in Italy two years ago.  At that time, Davide didn’t offer a class in Scottsdale.  I completed a semester of Italian at Scottsdale Community College. I began taking lessons with Davide last year. Davide is an excellent teacher. He’s very helpful and explains concepts well. I like the fact that the students in his class really want to learn Italian. The class is structured with time spent on grammar, reviewing homework, speaking some Italian, and culture. Davide being a native speaker is able to explain the idiosyncracies. He is patient but keeps us moving forward. Davide always answers questions while keeping us on track. I think that’s because he is prepared and we are prepared. Upon completion of the class, I continued with private lessons and will continue studying in Davide’s Scottsdale classes. Thanks to Davide, I will be able to communicate when I return to Italy.

If you would like to learn Italian, no matter if you are a beginner, a serious student, want to learn more about Italian culture, or would just like to brush up on your skills, I would highly recommend Davide.  I have taken several classes from him: beginning, intermediate, and Italian film classes, and all have been rewarding, fun, and definitely improved my speaking, comprehension, and love of the Italian language.  Davide has a great teaching style—he is warm, friendly, gears his classes to be interactive, and is very responsive to the needs of the class, as well as each student.  As a teacher myself, I have great admiration and respect for Davide as a teacher.  He uses a wide variety of techniques to help students learn:  speaking and interacting with other students, reading, vocabulary, film, class discussion, listening and comprehension, and writing.  He is always looking for fun techniques and interesting materials to use to teach Italian.  Davide provides a positive and supportive learning environment in his classes—he is very good at helping you learn through your mistakes, and is always encouraging.

I always understood more Italian than I spoke, and one of my goals in taking Davide’s class was to improve my speaking skills.  Davide’s class really helped me come out of my shell, and each class I conversed more and more with my fellow students and Davide.   In fact, one of my favorite things about Davide’s classes is that you make new friends that you can speak Italian with!  I have greatly improved my skills in Italian with Davide, and I am sure you will too!

In preparation for an upcoming trip to Italy, I decided to look for a beginner’s Italian class. I was so pleased when I found Valenti Lingua online.  My initial goal was to learn some key phrases, vocabulary and basic grammar.  I am currently taking my third class with Davide.  In just six months, I have learned more than I ever expected.

While Davide has high expectations for his students, the class is very low pressure and not too rigorous. Weekly homework assignments help to keep his students accountable and moving through the material at a comfortable pace. He has an excellent command of Italian grammar and has an ability to teach it in a way that is easily understood.  As an experienced instructor, he is aware of common mistakes and will often point them out and offer tips for success as he is presenting the material.

Davide’s passion for the Italian language and culture is evident in his teaching. Learning Italian has been fun and challenging. Without a doubt, I feel better prepared for my trip to Italy.  I would recommend Valenti Lingua to anyone interested in learning Italian!

I grew up speaking Italian but since moving away from my parents and living in AZ for the better part of 15 years my Italian had gotten “rusty”.  So when I was planning my parents 50th wedding anniversary party back East I wanted to brush up on my Italian so I could converse with family back home with ease.  I took individual lessons with Davide and he brought me up to speed very quickly.  He was able to assess my skill level quickly and able to tailor lessons to my ability and challenge me as well.  I would definitely take lessons with him again and wholeheartedly recommend him to anyone who would like to learn Italian.

People who are bi- or multi-lingual have always been a source of fascination to me, of admiration, and yes, of envy.  Some years ago I vowed to learn another language before I leave this earth, or at least to give it my best effort.  One of the greatest payoffs for learning languages is that people who know two or more ways of saying everything have a much higher chance of avoiding Alzheimers than those who don’t.

I chose Italian because of its beautiful musical sound and because I was eager to know what the singers were saying, but I had never taken a language course of any kind until I found myself, somewhat bewilderedly, in Davide’s advanced Italian class.  All of my fellow students had either heard the language in their childhood homes, or taken college courses, or started with the basics under Davide’s tutelage.  Some had even majored in Italian.

In short, my classmates were much further advanced than I, who had no background in the language at all, aside from meager attempts at self-teaching. Certainly I felt inadequate, but any negative emotion was of my own making, because I was never scolded for my many mistakes or belittled in any way. Davide has patience to spare, and I would wholeheartedly endorse his classes and teaching skill, with one caveat. Studying Italian can become addictive, and although we know that there are far worse addictions, be prepared to put aside that latest novel, Netflix, Twitter and Facebook.  Your “spare” time will become study time, and you will love it.

A classmate remarked to me, “You have to have a passion for it.”  Passion for the language was never in short supply for me, and it’s something you will soon share when you become one of Davide’s studenti.

I had been studying Italian on my own for a year or so and had hit a wall. Davide’s small group private classes have been perfect! Anyone who loves all things Italian and wishes to pursue learning the language should sign up for these classes. The small group allows us to practice speaking and listening to Italian as well as learn more advanced grammar. Davide is a very good instructor; he is well prepared, structures the classes, and he has a unique ability to explain the grammar to make it understandable.