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The Italian Language Foundation

Promoting and Supporting Italian Language Education

Teaching Italian to American Students in Italy

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Italian Translation

By Roberta Pennasilico

My AP Italian students come from a wide range of backgrounds. Some are fully American, others are Italian‑American, and many are students of other nationalities who have lived in Italy for several years or have been exposed to Italian language and culture through sports, Italian schools, or daily life. What they all have in common is that they are children of civilian or military personnel working for the Department of Defense in Naples, Italy. This diversity enriches classroom discussions and creates a vibrant learning environment.

I have been teaching AP Italian since 2012, and throughout these years I have seen how meaningful this course can be, especially in a place like Naples. One of the greatest advantages of teaching AP Italian here is that students are immersed in the reality of Italy. They can practice the language with Italian friends, engage with authentic media, and hear how Italians really speak in everyday situations. This exposure helps students move beyond classroom Italian and develop true communicative competence.

I am very excited about the new format of the AP Italian exam starting in 2026. I am always open to change and enjoy adapting my original lessons to align with the new expectations.  I am sure that the new format will keep being an effective way to evaluate students’ levels of performance in Advanced Italian.

Although my students generally attend college in the United States rather than in Italy, many continue studying Italian at the university level. The AP Italian exam often grants them college credit, and this achievement is a great source of pride and motivation for them.

Roberta Pennasilico teaches Italian at Naples Middle High School in Italy and has served as an AP reader and committee member. She is an author of textbooks and didactic articles, a member of AATI and ILF, an experienced workshop presenter on effective Italian teaching strategies, a former Middlebury Summer School instructor, and enjoys creating and sharing original lessons with colleagues in the United States.

 

From Albania to Italy: How Language Brought Me Closer to Family

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Italian Translation

By Angela Pepkolaj

My love for Italy and the Italian language began from a family trip when I was about 14  in Genova, Italy. My family and I still lived in Albania and we went to visit my aunt in Italy. I  couldn’t stop smiling. I was so excited. Our first few days there were incredible. We ate the best  food from different kinds of pasta to endless pizzas. There was a small pizza place near our  house that we used to eat from every other day. My uncle’s specialty dish was Carbonara pasta.  The creamy pasta stole everyone’ s heart and that’s where I knew I loved Italian culture.

It felt so  similar to Albanian culture, everyone getting together for meals, watching our favorite shows  together or cheering on the same soccer team or watching Formula Uno felt so warming. I mean,  we do the same in Albania but being able to do it with a different culture in a different country  was special. The food and the holidays brought us all together. I remember growing up and my  younger cousins couldn’t speak Albanian, only Italian. They would talk together and I  sometimes felt left out that I couldn’t understand them. Studying Italian at Brandeis has helped  me be closer to my Italian side of the family and now, we make annual trips to the Liguria and  Toscana regions and I am able to understand and speak for myself in a country that feels like a  second home.

Angela Pepkolaj is a student at Brandeis University and received the The Claire Gaudiani Memorial Fellowship

Dall’Albania all’Italia: come la lingua mi ha avvicinato alla famiglia

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English Translation

Di Angela Pepkolaj

Il mio amore per l’italia e la lingua italiana è iniziato da un viaggio di famiglia a Genova quando avevo circa 14 anni. Io e la mia famiglia abitavamo ancora in Albania e siamo partiti per l’Italia per andare a visitare mia zia. Non riuscivo a smettere di sorridere ero troppo entusiasta. I nostri primi giorni lì sono stati incredibili. Abbiamo mangiato il miglior cibo italiano dai svariati tipi di pasta alle pizze infinite.

C’era una piccola pizzeria vicino a casa nostra dove eravamo solito mangiare ogni tanto. La specialità di mio zio era la carbonara. La pasta cremosa rubó il cuore di tutti ed è stato da lì che ho capito di amare la cultura italiana. Mi é apparsa molto simile alla cultura albanese, riunirsi tutti per mangiare, per guardare insieme i nostri tv show preferiti o tifare insieme per la stessa squadra di calcio o vedere la formula uno mi è sembrato davvero accogliente. Facciamo lo stesso in Albania, ma è stato speciale riuscire a farlo con un’altra cultura e in un altro paese. Il cibo e le vacanze ci hanno riunito tutto insieme. Mi ricordo durante la mia crescita che i miei cugini più piccoli non sapevano parlare albanese, solo italiano. Loro potevano parlare insieme e io a volte mi sentivo esclusa perché non riuscivo a capirli. Studiare italiano a Brandeis mi ha aiutato ad essere più vicina al lato italiano della mia famiglia e ora  viaggiamo ogni anno nelle regioni della Liguria o della Toscana e io sono capace di capire e parlare in un paese che sembra essere una seconda casa.


Angela Pepkolaj è una studentessa della Brandeis University e ha ricevuto la Claire Gaudiani Memorial Fellowship.

Come studiare l’italiano ha cambiato la mia esperienza universitaria

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English Translation

Di Lilian Crawford

Studiare italiano è stata una delle parti più significative della mia esperienza all’università. Quando ho iniziato a studiare l’italiano, volevo solo soddisfare un requisito per il mio  major, ma ho trovato che mi piace molto questa lingua. I corsi che prima erano obblighi  sono diventati uno dei miei momenti preferiti della mia settimana e ho continuato a  seguire i corsi di italiano quando ho finito dei requisiti per il mio major. 

Durante il mio secondo anno all’università, il mio professore mi consigliò di mettere in  pratica le competenze che avevo imparato in classe per studiare all’estero a Roma per un  semestre. Sono molto grata che mi ha consigliato di andare in Italia perché è stata una  delle esperienze più belle della mia vita. 

Quando vivevo a Roma, ho capito meglio quanto la lingua è un dono e come unisce le  persone. Il mio italiano non era perfetto, ma ho scoperto che le persone volevano essere  mie amiche solo perché cercavo di parlare con loro nella loro lingua madre. Ho imparato  che parlare italiano o un’altra lingua non significa essere perfetto, ma avere intenzionalità  e desiderare di comunicare profondamente con gli altri.

 

Sarò sempre grata per tutte le esperienze che ho acquisito imparando l’italiano.

How Studying Italian Changed My College Experience

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Italian Translation

By Lilian Crawford

Studying Italian has been one of the most unexpectedly meaningful parts of my college  career. When I first enrolled in Italian, I was simply looking to fulfill a world language  requirement for my major, but I quickly fell in love with the language. The courses that were  once academic obligations became one of my favorite times of the week, and I continued  signing up for Italian classes even after finishing my major requirements. 

During my sophomore year, my professor recommended that I use the skills I learned in  the classroom to study abroad in Rome for a semester. I am so thankful that she pushed  me to travel to Italy because it was easily the best experience of my life. 

While I was living in Rome, I began to gain a deeper understanding of what a gift language is  and how it connects people. As I stumbled through my broken Italian, I found that people  were so quick to befriend me just because I tried to speak with them in their native tongue.  I learned that speaking Italian or any new language isn’t about perfection, but intentionality  and a desire to communicate deeply with others. 

I will always be grateful that the experience of learning Italian was part of my college years.

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Word of the Day

  • girare: to turn

    Part of speech: verb Example sentence:Per arrivare al museo deve girare a sinistra al prossimo semaforo. Sentence meaning: To get to the museum you have to turn left at the next stoplight.