Italiano With Jodina

Buona sera studenti!

Ecco il vostro aggiornamento settimanale della classe. (Here’s your weekly class update.) Complimenti a tutti coloro che hanno fatto i compiti di classe! (Thumbs up to all those who did the oustide-of-class assignments!)

Read on for a class recap, homework/ new ways to use Italian in between classes, and important announcements.

What we studied/practiced:

Announcements:

• Wine ok in class — Anyone wishing to  bring and drink wine during class may do so — per regulations of the Carlsbad Community and Rec Centers. (No corkage fee! 😉 )
• SD Italian Film Festival Going Hot & Heavy: Every day 10/31 – 11/7 (last day of fest) there will be a different Italian film. Curtain time: 7pm. Cost: $$Free, donations suggested. Where:  Balboa Park. It is an excellent opportunity to enjoy Italian cinema in a beautiful venue! More details click here.
• Wine Tasting @ Witch Creek Winery. Anyone interested in this as a ‘field trip’ for our class? Located near class in Carlsbad, the fee is $20 per person ($25 with cheese & salami). This includes the glass and a tasting/presentation of 8 different wines (Italian varietal grapes, of course!) Consider it and let me know next class.
• CD Player Needed: During the Wednesday Escondido class, my CD player died an untimely death :(. If anyone has, or knows of someone who has, an unused CD player in need of adoption, please let me know. Grazie!
• Hands-on Italian Cooking Tutorial. We have a kitchen! Giovanna has generously offered to hold the cooking class at her place. Grazie! Stay tuned for more info.

The Complete Italian Grammar is IMHO (in my humble opinion) the best Italian grammar book I’ve come across. Part of the ‘Practice Makes Perfect Series’ from McGraw Hill publishers.

While I know not everyone is a grammar geek like me, sometimes students DO want some type of book to use as a reference for increasing their knowledge and understanding of Italian grammar. Complete Italian Grammar is a user-friendly text that I have used with students, that can also be used for self-study and reference. Set up in an ‘explanation + example + practical exercises to complete’ format, the book is easy to follow, pleasant to use, and includes verb charts and an answer key.

And at $12.95 it’s ‘un vero affare’ (a real bargain). Purchase it at major booksellers or online. Complete Italian Grammar by Marcel Danesi, McGraw Hill. ISBN # 978-0-07-160367-6. Click here for a link to Google search results for this book.

This is good stuff — Listen to free streaming music with Radio Italy Live NY out of Manhattan. Complete with Italian radio commercials, in real time. Listen on your computer while you work, or on your iPhone anywhere.

Almost like being there!

Click here: RadioItalyLive

Salve!

Ecco la frase idiomatica della settimana = Here’s your weekly Italian Idiom, brought to you by Italiano With Jodina:

“Tutto fumo niente arrosto.”

Literally, this means ‘all smoke, no roast’, and would be used pretty much the same way in English we say “all smoke and mirrors”.

Buon giorno e complimenti a tutti per il vostro entusiasmo (your enthusiasm)!!! Our class is un grande piacere!
And now, here’s your weekly update…

What we studied/practiced:

Announcements:

• CD Player Needed: During class last nite, my CD player died an untimely death :(. If anyone has, or knows of someone who has, an unused CD player in need of adoption, please let me know. Grazie!
• Hands-on Italian Cooking Tutorial. We have a kitchen! Pamela has generously offered to hold the cooking class at her place. Grazie! Stay tuned for more info.
• Next Italian Film is this Thursday, 10/22, 7pm, $$Free, suggested donation (presented by San Diego Italian Film Festival) in Balboa Park. Several of us went to the film last week — It is an excellent opportnity to soak up some Italian culture! More details click here.

Ciao ragazzi!

Complimenti per il vostro lavoro duro e progresso! (Good job on your hard work and progress!)

What we studied/practiced:

Announcements:

• Wine Tasting @ Witch Creek Winery. Anyone interested in this as a ‘field trip’ for our class? Located near class in Carlsbad, the fee is $20 per person ($25 with cheese & salami). This includes the glass and a tasting/presentation of 8 different wines (Italian varietal grapes, of course!) Consider it and let me know next class.
• CD Player Needed: During the Wednesday Escondido class, my CD player died an untimely death :(. If anyone has, or knows of someone who has, an unused CD player in need of adoption, please let me know. Grazie!
• Hands-on Italian Cooking Tutorial. We have a kitchen! Giovanna has generously offered to hold the cooking class at her place. Grazie! Stay tuned for more info.
• Next Italian Film is this Thursday, 10/22, 7pm, $$Free, suggested donation (presented by San Diego Italian Film Festival) in Balboa Park. Several of us went to the film last week — It is an excellent opportnity to soak up some Italian culture! More details click here.

Salve!

The Sinatra satellite radio stations offer an ‘eccellente’ way to get your old-school Italian-American music fix — tunes guaranteed to put you in a good mood!

On Sirius, it’s channel 75, “Siriusly Sinatra“, and on XM, it’s channel 73, also called “Siriusly Sinatra”.

If you like the old Italian-American songs and yesteryear performers, such as  Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Connie Francis, and more, be sure to check out these stations.

Click this Link to Sirius, and this link to XM.

Grazie to my student Elena for this tuneful tip!

Buon giorno a tutti!

What a fantastico gruppo di studenti! It was great to see and meet everyone last nite!  Our series of Italian Conversation and Culture classes is off to an excellent start! I am looking forward to molto divertimento  (lots of fun) together.  Thank you all for being brave and just jumping into speaking Italian with both feet–con tutti e due i piedi!

Following each class, I will do an update recapping important class details, announcements, and outside-of-class activities (not homework, fun stuff!!!).

What we studied/practiced/spoke about:

• Italian words and phrases for Greetings, Introductions & ‘niceties’
• Italian language, Q+As, for Mingling and Small Talk
• Listened  to the Italian song “Un Bacio a Mezzanotte”

Outside-of-Class Activities

Practice Italian Greetings and Q+As for small talk:

• Practice your flashcards, study notes–if possible practice with someone else… or teach someone you know… when you teach it you master it!

Listen to the song “Un Bacio a Mezzanotte”, translate the lyrics

• There are links on this site (Links Page) to the lyrics and to the song on YouTube
• There are also links to online translators:  Copy the lyrics you find at the lyrics link and try your hand at translating them with one of the translators — you’ll be able to help with the in-class translation activity

Announcements:

• The San Diego Italian Film Festival is happening now — next movie is this Friday, Oct. 16. Anyone interested in meeting up to view it together is invited. The film, La Vita e` Bella (with English subtitles)  starts at 7pm at the Museum of Photographic Arts (MoPA) in Balboa Park. The address is 1649 El Prado,  San Diego, CA 92101-1662. We’ll meet up in front of the MoPA at 6:30 pm. If you plan to meet us, give me a call (cell 510-735-6187) or shoot me an email to let me know to look for you.  The cost is $FREE!! More info on the film festival

Til next Wednesday, have fun with Italian! Buon divertimento e ci vediamo mercoledi` prossimo!

Jodina

Buon giorno a tutti!

What an excellent class and how fantastico to see everyone last nite! We have a really great group of people, and this series of Italian Conversation and Culture classes is going to be molto divertente! Thank you all for being brave and just jumping into speaking Italian with both feet–tutti e due i piedi!

Following each class, I will do an update recapping important class details, announcements, and outside-of-class activities (not homework, fun stuff!!!).

What we studied/practiced/spoke about:

• Italian words and phrases for Greetings & Introductions
• Italian language, Q+As, for Mingling and Small Talk
• Listened  to the Italian song “Un Bacio a Mezzanotte”

Outside-of-Class Activities

Practice Italian Greetings and Q+As for small talk:

• Practice your flashcards, study notes–if possible practice with someone else… or teach someone you know… when you teach it you master it!

Listen to the song “Un Bacio a Mezzanotte”, translate the lyrics

• There are links on this site (Links Page) to the lyrics and to the song on YouTube
• There are also links to online translators:  Copy the lyrics you find at the lyrics link and try your hand at translating them with one of the translators — you’ll be able to help with the in-class translation activity

Announcements:

• The San Diego Italian Film Festival is happening now — next movie is this Friday, Oct. 16. Anyone interested in meeting up to view it together is invited. The film, La Vita e` Bella (with English subtitles)  starts at 7pm at the Museum of Photographic Arts (MoPA) in Balboa Park. The address is 1649 El Prado,  San Diego, CA 92101-1662. We’ll meet up in front of the MoPA at 6:30 pm. If you plan to meet us, give me a call (cell 510-735-6187) or shoot me an email to let me know to look for you.  The cost is $FREE!! More info on the film festival

Kitchen needed!

• As one of our classes, I’d like to do a hands-on Italian cooking tutorial. Anyone who lives nearby our class location and has a suitable kitchen that would like to host, please let me know!

Til next Tuesday, have fun with Italian! Buon divertimento e ci vediamo martedi` prossimo!

Jodina