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Angelica and Holly erupted in laughter. Mrs Snooty raised her eyebrow.
‘Now,thatis what I am talking about!’ Angelica grinned. ‘Yes, we all want to improve by learning new language andfind something to make broader your minds, but often it is those embarrassing moments that make us take action. The things that happen in real life. So, my lessons are not about sitting in a classroom with textbooks.’ She glared at me. ‘They are going to beauthentic. I will teach you things youreallyneed to know, like how to ask for more wine in a restaurant or ask for condoms in the pharmacy. And of course I will give you words to defend yourself.’
WTF?
Did she sayno textbooks? Idefinitelydidn’t like the sound of that. How were we supposed to learn Italian properly without books or something to refer to in between lessons?
‘But what about grammar?’ the posh lady chimed in. ‘Verbs, tenses and sentence construction?’
Exactly what I was thinking.
Angelica rolled her eyes. ‘We can worry about that later.’
Later? Oh great.As much as I hated it, understanding grammar was the basis of learning any language. How was I supposed to sort out my bloody Italian if the so-called ‘teacher’ wasn’t even taking this seriously?
‘As I said, these lessons will be about how to survive. If you think it will not be for you, then you can leave now and pay only for your wine. Then go home and study from books and the internet. It is up to you.’
Everyone looked at each other and back at Angelica.
Hmmm…
I’d been trying to study by myself with the app, and although it was helpful, I needed more than that. Maybe I could try a couple of these lessons, but order some proper grammar books to use at home. As far as I knew, there weren’t any other teachers in Chiorno, and when I’d made my list, I’d said I’d step out of my comfort zone, so I should be more open.
Although it went against the way I’d successfully learnt French at uni, I had to admit I was a teeny bit intrigued by Angelica’s unconventional approach. And anyone who promised to help me stop embarrassing myself in front of my mother-in-law was worth listening to.
Okay. I’ll give it a try.
‘Count me in,’ I said, attempting to sound enthusiastic.
‘I’mtotallyup for it too!’ said Holly.
Angelica smiled and then turned to Mrs Snooty Pants.
‘Well, I’m not entirely convinced that you can offer me what I’m looking for, but as I’m aware that the options for language lessons are somewhat limited in this town, I’m willing to give you a chance for a week or two…’
How embarrassing. Once again, that was exactly what I was thinking. Idefinitelyhad to give this a go. I didnotwant to become a Mrs Snooty Pants…
‘Oh, thank you so very much, Your Highness. I am ever so grateful!’ replied Angelica sarcastically, putting on a posh British accent.
‘There’s no need to be rude!’ snapped the woman.
‘Ha! If you think I am rude, you will be very shocked when you find out what the other people in this town think of you. Please do not believe you are helping me by staying. I want only to teach people who want to be here.Anyway. We have much to get through today. First I need to see exactly how much Italian you know…’
The two hours flew by. We began with the basics, which was good. Introducing ourselves, what we were doing here. That sort of thing.
Most of us had only been here a little while. Shamefully, I’d been in Chiorno the longest but seemed to know the least. Everything I’d learnt on Duolingo and from Lorenzo evaporated from my brain the moment Angelica asked me a question. I managed to remember how to say stuff like where I was from, but that was about it. Explaining what job I did before—blank.Remembering how to pronounce the letters of the alphabet—disappeared. Counting past ten?Forget it.
Jeez.
Holly had been in Chiorno for a month and Daphne, aka Mrs Snooty Pants (who isabsolutely,definitely,nothingat all like me…), had only arrived last week, and whilst their skills were still at the beginner’s stage, they still seemed to have a better grasp of Italian than me.
And the worst thing was that even when Angelica told me the Italian for something, I’d remember for a second, but when she asked me the same question two minutes later, it was gone.
I thought that, having studied another language before, it would be much easier for me to learn Italian now, but so far, that wasn’t happening. At least, not for me anyway. Maybe it was because I was older. But, no, I reckoned Angelica and Daphne were in their forties and they seemed to be doing just fine with speaking multiple languages. So clearly I’d developed some kind of new language block.
Great.
Whatever the reason, one thing was clear: If things were going to get better, I had alotof work to do.
