Anticipating a once in a lifetime fall trip through Italy I decided to enroll in private Italian lessons. I have always enjoyed other cultures and languages and was very fortunate to have found Davide. Davide is an amazing human being and an extraordinary teacher. He’s a true professional yet always very patient and flexible. I truly benefited from his teaching method and pace and was amused by his sense of humor and charisma. He also taught me plenty of slang by personal request which was really entertaining and fun. After months of taking lessons with Davide, the day finally arrived. Once in Italy, I was able to put in use everything he taught me. From asking for directions to ordering at restaurants, I was able to communicate in Italian in every situation we encountered and enjoy the experience to the fullest.(by the way, wine definitely made my Italian much better). In many occasions, I got compliments by Italians on how good I spoke it. For instance, my Italian got us out of trouble one time when we forgot to validate our train tickets which normally would require a fine of 50 Euro. Thanks to my ability to communicate in Italian, we were able to explain how we did not know about it and got ourselves out of having to pay the fine. I highly recommend Davide, and I am honored to call him my teacher and also my friend.

In preparation for a trip to Italy my husband and I (both in our 60s) decided to take Italian lessons. We had never spoken a word of Italian beyond “ciao” and, as it turns out, we weren’t even pronouncing that properly. We looked for classes but couldn’t find any. Instead, we found Davide’s website and started taking lessons privately with him, twice a week. We are very glad it turned out that way. He tailors the lessons so that they focus on our specific goals – which are to be able to manage as tourists in Italy and to have basic conversations with the people we encounter there – and so that we move at a pace we are comfortable with. It has been a ton of fun. Davide is personable, patient, and has a great sense of humour. Although he is very well organized, he is quite prepared to adapt the lessons to our interests and questions. He is completely fluent and extremely knowledgeable about the language – and about Italian customs. And not only does he have a beautiful Italian accent, but he’s been able to teach us how to approximate it (sort of)! We have no hesitation in recommending Davide to anyone wanting to learn Italian – for whatever reason.

After returning from my fourth trip to beautiful Italy last May, I decided it was time to learn to speak Italian and be able to communicate with my Italian friends. Later that same month, I enrolled in the Scottsdale Community College and Davide was the instructor.  After the summer semester finished, I enrolled in private lessons with him because of his excellence in teaching.  He makes each class a joy to attend. He has a great sense of humor and a charming personality.  He is always patient with me even though I was a complete beginner who was learning from ground zero.  He continues to challenge me and truly desires for each of his students to learn this beautiful language which he so enthusiastically loves.  Davide knows how to teach and is very clear with his explanations and examples.  I do desire to sound like a native Italian speaker but have struggled with pronunciation which is one of the great assets of Davide who has a flawless pronunciation. With Davide’s critiques, my pronunciation has greatly improved.  I am now looking forward to my next visit to Italy to try out my Italian.  As a new language learner, I deeply thank Davide for his skillful teaching and infinite patience with me and I highly recommend him for anyone who has a desire to learn Italian. He is both a talented instructor and a wonderful person!

I’ve wanted to learn Italian for a number of years now. Two years ago I purchased Rosetta Stone. I used their program, but I wasn’t able to engage in a conversation. I decided to look for a private Italian teacher online. I hired a native speaker from Italy. She was very nice but seemed to lack the teaching skills necessary to explain the grammar to me. As a former teacher myself, I was able to recognize this. I was a bit discouraged, but I thought I’d try going the private tutor route once more as I did not want to take a class. I wanted private lessons.

I then found Davide’s information online. He seemed very qualified so I gave him a call, and we began meeting weekly for private lessons. It is very convenient for me as Davide comes to my home in Scottsdale. Davide is patient and helps keeps me accountable. Most of all he is a great teacher. He seems to know intuitively when I am struggling with an aspect of Italian grammar. He then explains it differently and by giving me more examples. It has been a year now, and I can speak Italian. My Italian isn’t perfect, but I can carry on a conversation in Italian. I’ve been to Italy with my family last summer, and we have met some distant relatives with whom we have established a great friendship. My trip made me realize how much I have learned. On a few occasions I was complimented for speaking Italian well. They were even impressed with my Italian grammar. This experience was a real confidence booster for me. While I have worked hard at my efforts to learn to speak Italian, I have to thank Davide for helping me achieve this goal.

I enthusiastically recommend Davide to anyone who wishes to learn Italian.

I’ve been teaching myself Italian for about a year before coming to Phoenix but wasn’t where I wanted to be. I searched for tutors that could help me further my learning when I stumbled across Davide.  I can’t say enough for what he has done for my Italian.  He is always pushing me to get better and I think of him as a coach.  He is patient and very knowledgeable but best of all has the ability to explain things that open your eyes when books cannot. I personally would recommend Davide to anyone who needs help at any level in Italian.

An Italian count, who is also a friend, challenged me to learn Italian in one year so that I could visit him at his 15th Century castle in northern Italy.  His friends and family were returning home the following September after their Ferragosto vacations, and he wanted my husband and me to meet everybody.  So, I took him on.

After I found Davide’s website, my search for an Italian tutor was over.  I was very impressed with his background and education.  I was also happy that his native language is Italian.  We met every week all year and, because of the fine instruction I received, my trip to Italy was a success!  I was able to carry on basic conversations and understood most of what was said.

I enjoyed studying with Davide and decided to continue with him when I returned home.  It’s now been 2 1/2 years since then.  My Italian improves a bit more with every lesson.  Davide is a wonderful teacher.  He makes the lessons fun and interesting.  I learn so much about Italian language and culture. Because my background is in foreign language, I enjoy going over grammar points and learning about all the different language dialects in Italy.  Davide is so knowledgeable and can talk about any topic that arises.  Our hour-long lessons just fly by!

Over the years, Davide and I have gotten to know each other pretty well and I consider him a friend.  He is a kind, compassionate man with a great sense of humor.  I would highly recommend Davide to anyone who wants to learn Italian for any reason.

I have had the pleasure of studying Italian conversation with Davide Valenti at Scottsdale Community College for two semesters. I am an Italian American, and am very happy that I grew up in an Italian household. Although my parents spoke Italian in our home, I did not learn the language as a child. It is my desire to become fluent in this beautiful language. I have now found the perfect teacher to help me reach my goal!

For the past three years I have studied Italian in the classroom, and have completed intermediate level college courses. My comprehension and writing skills continue to improve, but my ability to speak needs attention. I found that Davide’s conversation classes improved my ability to speak Italian, especially now that I have completed two classes. I have finished the curriculum that is currently offered at the community college level, but do not want to end my studies. I will start private tutoring with Davide very soon, and know that he will assist me in the further development of my speaking skills.

Davide combines grammar with conversation to ensure that his students speak Italian properly. Even in a classroom setting he gives all of his students as much personal attention as time allows. I know that I will receive this same type of personal attention with private lessons, plus the additional benefit of speaking Italian during the entire session.

My wife and I took an Italian class at Scottsdale Community College several years ago and always kept in contact with Davide. He was a great teacher at SCC and my wife has now hired him as an Italian tutor. He does an amazing job and her Italian is improving at an unbelievably fast rate. She watches Italian movies on Netflix and is teaching Italian to our young son. Many thanks to Davide for his inspiration and talent.

I have just finished my first set of lessons with Davide and would like to recommend him to everyone interested in learning Italian.  I am a retired German teacher and department chair with forty years of experience.  I have had the privilege of working with and observing many great foreign language teachers during my career, and Davide ranks among the best.  His knowledge of the language and his ability to teach it are excellent. If you are looking for an Italian learning experience that is both fun and rewarding, lessons with Davide are for you.