Meet our teachers: Giulia Clemente

Giulia has many years of experience and has been a teacher at IIS for 1 year. She is very loved by her students and is extremely passionate about teaching.
Read this interview to get to know her better.

Teachers are the key element in a language school and at IIS we take pride in our teachers’ experience and quality of teaching. All our teachers have been doing this job for some time and, most importantly, love teaching and are passionate about helping their students learn our beautiful language. Our students can feel this drive to quality teaching every time they have a class, being it a group class or a private class.

Please remember that you can take a look at the entire team of teacher at IIS, on our website page About us | SFIIS.

One of the teachers who is best at sharing her passion for teaching Italian with her students is Giulia. And today we are getting to know her better.

How long have you been teaching Italian? How long for IIS?

I have been teaching Italian for over 10 years. I started by teaching Italian to immigrants in Turin while I was working on my research project for my master’s degree thesis. I joined the IIS about a year ago when I moved to California from Australia.

Where are you from? How often do you visit your hometown? What do you miss the most?

I am originally Italian, but I lived for the past 10 years in Sydney, Australia. My hometown is Turin, which I try to visit once a year. What I miss the most is the golden light of September over the river Po, the dehors full of people enjoying a drink and a chat, and being familiar with the faces that I cross on the street.

What made you choose to become a teacher?

I love all language related things, and I strongly believe that knowing the language of the place where you live, or that you visit allows you greater freedom and the opportunity of a deeper understanding of a culture. I want my work to be meaningful for others. Being a language teacher allows me to help people realize their dreams, whether they are moving to a new country, better connecting with their roots or improving their professional life.

What is your favorite Italian dish? Do you like cooking?

At present, I am obsessed with baking “baci di dama”, which are two melt-in-your-mouth hazelnut cookies held together with some dark chocolate. Their name means “lady’s kisses” since the two halves of the cookies resemble two lips that come together for a kiss and are typical of Northern Italy. Overall, I love cooking, I find it relaxing and enjoy inviting friends over for dinner.

Can you share with our students some tips for learning Italian faster?

Set aside some time for Italian every day. Five minutes is enough. Listen to a song, or a podcast, read a news update, or a recipe, or combine Italian with other interests/activities you enjoy. Whatever works for you is the right way to improve. Try to meet and talk with native speakers and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Showing up every day: that’s the only way to learn. Have fun and be proud of being willing to learn a different language.

Is there a monument or place that you recommend our students to visit if they go to Italy?

Visit Turin, my hometown. Turin is full of castles, parks, beautiful museums, hip restaurants, cafés and bars. It is green, romantic, young… We call it the little Paris for a reason. And you won’t find it packed with tourists like other Italian destinations. Visit Palazzo Reale and the breathtaking collection at the Museo Egizio. Have dinner at Cianci and get a glass at Pastis to enjoy it like a local.

"The limits of my language mean the limits of my world"

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Travel

Aug 3, 2023

Explore the undiscovered Italian countryside

The secret beauty you need to look for when travelling to Italy

At the Istituto Italiano Scuola we believe that the Italian countryside is a paradise that offers opportunities to relax in the middle of nature, while tasting delicious local food and wines. 

And in fact, the countryside of Italy is scattered with picturesque places: noble villas with beautiful gardens, vacation farms called “agriturismo” where you can stuff yourself up with genuine and self-produced food, perched villages dominating hilly landscapes, and forests where to hike. 

We believe that if you’re not looking forward to the Italian countryside, you will surely miss a lot in your trips to Italy. It may not be as famous as the biggest tourists’ cities but, it sure has exquisite beauty that cities do not have.

Voghera is an example of this. It is the main town of the Oltrepo’ Pavese, a geographical area in the province of Pavia that gets its name to its location, in the south of the Po River, the longest river in Italy. Voghera is the native town of our teacher Jimmy. Visitors approaching Voghera pass through an extensive region of cultivated countryside and an uninterrupted set of historic villages and castles, the atmosphere that you breathe here today is still medieval.

From the interview below you can get some more interesting facts about this town.

What makes your city unique? 
Voghera is a small town, with approximately 40 thousand citizens, but despite that is very renowned in Northern Italy as its geographic position makes it an important railroad junction. On top of that, Voghera is also known for being a wine and industrial center.

What are the hidden gems of your city?
Voghera’s city center is characterized by buildings of historical interest such as churches and castles. Voghera’s most important and most significant church is the Duomo. The cathedral preserves inside gold brocades and precious furnishings. In addition, there are many fine sculptural and ancient pictorial works. Furthermore, very few people know that Voghera is the birthplace of the fashion designer Valentino.

What are the cultural traditions of your city?
The city of Voghera holds its patronal festival, referred to as “La Sensia” (the name in the local dialect), which is the oldest event in Lombardy every year. In its early days, it was a very important moment of the year as it was an opportunity for people to meet foreigners and discover new products from faraway places. Originating as a large livestock market and later becoming primarily an agricultural fair, today it is one of the most modern fairs for those in the industry, as well as a city-wide celebration that hosts many food stands and an amusement park with different rides and rollercoasters.

What is a traditional dish of your city?
The most traditional dish of Voghera is the “Zuppa di Voghera”. It is a cake prepared using two layers of sponge cake, which are later filled with pastry cream, custard, and coffee, then covered again with custard and decorated with chocolate. It might sound like a simple cake, but the traditional recipe is a secret that runs in the local families and with time this recipe was refined to the point that making the real traditional Zuppa di Voghera requires a long and elaborate process. Words can’t describe the taste of it, there’s only one way to discover its goodness and that’s trying it!

Are you curious enough to plan a trip here? Our school believes that what Jimmy told us it’s the truly gem of an authentic educational experience in your Italian experience.

“It is not easy to walk alone in the country without musing upon something.”

Charles Dickens