Hi! I'm Betta
Questions and answers to help you put your questions down on paper
What's my name?
Elisabetta, but my friends and students call me Betta.
Where am i from?
From Calvenzano, a tiny town in the province of Bergamo, in northern Italy, near Milan.
Where do I live?
In the countryside, in a small village in the Chianti area between Siena and Florence.
What languages do I speak?
Italian, English, and Spanish (but if you speak another language don’t worry, with the methodology I use, you won’t have any problems). I’ve had students from over 30 different countries, and I’m increasingly curious to meet people from other countries.
What do I teach?
Italian to foreigners, beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. I also help students prepare for the CELI, CILS and PLIDA exams.
Where do I teach?
Online, in my office in the center of Florence and in Siena. I also collaborate with the American university ISI Florence and the Australian university Monash University in Prato, where I teach group Italian language courses.
How long have I been teaching and to whom?
I have been teaching since 2016; I offer individual, paired, and small group lessons, to be able to focus on each of my students. I also have a few little boys and girls students, but I primarily teach adults aged 18 to 85 from all over the world.
How many students have I had in the last 6 years?
I have had around 1,000 students, including in-person, online, and those who have followed my lessons on social media.
What did I study?
I studied foreign languages and literature at the University of Bergamo. Then I spent a wonderful year abroad by the Erasmus scholarship at Universidad de Extremadura, in Spain, lived for two equally amazing years in London, partly for study and partly for work, and finally worked for two summers on the enchanting island of Ibiza (I didn’t work in nightclubs, as you’re thinking 🙂 ), but in tourism, working with local agencies and hotels.
And then...?
Then in 2016 I obtained the DITALS qualification, issued by the University for Foreigners of Siena, which certifies the teaching of Italian to foreigners. Later in 2020, I also obtained the qualification to become an examiner for CELI exams, an internationally recognized Italian language certification.
Where did I teach?
I taught for six years at an Italian language school for foreigners in Florence, in group courses and private lessons, both online and in person. Over the years, I’ve participated in several European Erasmus+ training projects for language teachers, which have trained me in innovative teaching methods and online education platforms.