April 29, 2007
Hello from Sicily – My First Day of
Classes, a City Tour and a Pizza Tasting
Language study travel is not at all new to me. Two years ago I
went to the University of Havana to
study Spanish, and last year I studied Spanish at two different
language schools in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
I obviously love the Spanish language and the huge variety of Spanish-speaking
destinations, but Italy is a gorgeous country in its own right –
another perfect place for a language-study trip.
So my initial three and a half days of exploration in and around
Taormina had come to an end, and now it was time to get serious:
my first day of classes at the Babilonia
Language School awaited me. I had never taken any Italian classes
before, but in high school I had 6 years of Latin, 4 years of French
and my knowledge of Spanish is quite advanced. So in theory I should
do okay with Italian. In addition, I had bought an Italian grammar
book in Toronto and was reading up on the intricacies of Italian
grammar for a few weeks before I embarked on my trip to Sicily.
Well prepared I was not, but given the commonalities among Latin
languages, at least my verbal comprehension skills were good enough
to get by in everyday situations.
I arrived at 8:45 am at the Babilonia Language School. Coffee was
served, and a local restaurateur by the name of Ciro, who regularly
provides catering services to the language school, was looking after
the students with fine Italian coffee and a delicious chocolate
cake home-made by his mom. Although the weather wasn’t perfect,
the space on Babilonia’s rooftop terrace provided a gorgeous
view of Mount Etna and the mountains surrounding Taormina . The
rooftop terrace and community/computer room are a perfect place
for the school’s social activities.
Alessandro Adorno gives a presentation
About 12 new students were about to start their language studies
this Monday, and they came from various different places: England,
Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Finland, the United States and Canada.
Alessandro Adorno, the founder and director of the Babilonia
Language School, gave a brief presentation about the Italian
study program and asked the new students to introduce themselves
by throwing a small soft ball to the first student who would then
pass it on to the next student after their own introduction and
so forth. I was third to introduce myself, and followed suit after
two advanced students whose linguistic level was considerably above
mine. Almost all students had some prior knowledge of Italian with
the exception of two students who had never had any exposure to
the language.
Taormina's famous fountain
Alessandro also informed us that there would be a written placement
test followed by a brief evaluation of our verbal Italian skills
following which we would be placed in the appropriate level. By
11:20 the placement tests were completed and I was informed that
I would be put into the “Intermediate” group. This was
rather surprising to me since I had never really studied Italian
and there were two levels below this level: Beginner and Elementary.
So after the break I joined five other students who had all studied
Italian before. All of them had already spent a week at the Babilonia
Language School, and some were there for three or four weeks already.
A palazzo in Taormina
The class from 11:40 am to 1:30 pm was called “Communications”
and different techniques are used to make the students communicate.
Today we were going to do role plays: we had to select three scenarios
from a possible 13 situations that all related to the topic “How
to make and how to respond to a complaint”. The class was
split up into groups of two and we each had to practice our three
scenarios. My partner and I picked a scenario where a tourist complains
about an excessively high bill to a waiter, a tourist complains
to the car rental agency when the rental car company breaks down,
and a traveller complains because the local tourism office continuously
provides incorrect information about museum opening hours.
The Greek Theatre in Taormina, Mount Etna is hiding
Well, when I heard the word “role play” I immediately
started having heart palpitations because after our private 2-person
practice round we would get to act out all these scenarios in front
of the class! I am notoriously bad with role plays, particularly
in a language that I don’t know in front of people whom I
don’t know. I was admiring the students who went ahead of
us who performed admirably well in Italian and were rather comfortable
acting out their scenarios in front of the entire group. I am sure
my performance was rather clumsy and awkward, but I got through
it.
View westwards of Taormina
I was rather intimidated though, so after class I saw my teacher
Simona to inquire whether “Intermediate” wasn’t
a level too high for me (considering I had no formal Italian learning
background). Both Simona and the head teacher Anita concurred that
Elementary would be too basic for me so I accepted their opinion
of my language skills and trusted them that I indeed belonged to
the Intermediate group.
Although I found the role play rather stressful the first time
around I concluded that it is a very effective way to get you talking,
particularly about scenarios that one might encounter as a tourist
in Italy. My first official Italian lesson was over, and I felt
gratified that I could make myself understood, if sometimes with
hands and feet, and that I managed to get my point across, albeit
rather clumsily.
View of Taormina
After the class we had a couple of hours for lunch and we regrouped
at 3:30 pm to attend a presentation about the Babilonia
Language School. Alessandro gave us an overview of the school
and educated us about its teaching methodology. Babilonia’s
philosophy believes that language learning is not just about rote
learning of grammatical rules, but about expressing emotion, even
about learning local gestures. Our daily lessons would consist of
two parts: “Language Analyses” (which includes grammatical
explanations and exercises), and “Communicative Tasks”
which uses all sorts of techniques including games and role plays
to induce students to talk. During the Language Analysis portions
students are corrected by the teacher while during the Communications
portions the teacher refrains from correcting the student in order
to encourage them to express themselves as freely as possible. The
main goal of Babilonia’s language courses is to teach communication,
verbally and in writing.
View of Taormina
As far as the schedule is concerned, private lessons are available
from 8:30 to 9:25 am and from 2:30 until 5:25 pm. The Language Analysis
class is taught from 9:30 until 11:20 am and the Communications
Class is taught from 11:40 am until 1:30 pm. Alessandro also explained
that there is a coffee break every day from 11:20 to 11:40 am during
which students can order a lunch that will be provided by Ciro,
a local caterer and restaurant owner of an establishment called
“Bistro”. Lunch can be ordered using a preprinted order
form and will then be conveniently ready by 1:30 pm and delivered
to the student just after the class. This is certainly a convenient
service, and I noticed that the prices were very reasonable, particularly
in comparison with Taormina’s rather high restaurant prices.
Taormina's Porta di Catania
Alessandro also explained that Babilonia offers a variety of excursions
and social activities which include out-of-town bus trips to
interesting locations, local walks and hikes as well as cultural
and historical presentations to shed further light on Sicily’s
culture and history. I had already had the pleasure to participate
in two of Babilonia’s excursions last week: a hike to Castelmola
and a driving tour to the historic city of Siracusa.
At 4:30 pm we got another chance to see Babilonia’s activity
program first hand since Peppe Celano, Babilonia’s social
activities coordinator and one of the language teachers, met us
in front of the school to take us on a walking tour of Taormina.
Peppe takes us on an excursion to Taormina's Greek Theatre
Taormina is one of Sicily’s main tourist destinations, and
the principal draw in this town is the beautiful Greco-Roman Theatre which dates back to the third century B.C. and was almost completely
rebuilt by the Romans in the second century AD. The theatre is built
as a semi-circle into the side of a mountain with a perfect view
of the Ionian Sea and (on a clear day) of Mount Etna. The ancient
Greeks were renowned for choosing stunning settings for their theatres,
and the natural surroundings of the theatre always played an important
role in the selection of the location. The Greek Theatre in Taormina
holds more than 5000 spectators and is still in use today for theatre
productions as well as a major international concert venue that
has welcomed stars like Elton John, Diana Krall, Michael Bublé
and
View of the Greek Theatre
We continued our stroll through Taormina past the Gate of Messina
towards the Municipal Market which every morning provides a great
shopping opportunity for fresh vegetables, fruits, fish and meat.
Along the way Peppe pointed out various restaurants and gathering
places that might be of interest to us. Part of our walk took us
along Corso Umberto, Taormina’s main thoroughfare and a fully
pedestrianized area that just swirls with people. The main square
of Taormina, called Piazza IX Aprile, features a panoramic terrace
with a great southwards view (which on a clear day would have featured
Mount Etna, but not today…) which is surrounded by the historic
Torre dell’ Orologio (“clock tower”) and two churches.
Right next to the clock tower is the famous “Wünderbar”,
a rather expensive and upscale bar that was once frequented by Liz
Taylor and Richard Burton.
A group of happy Babilonia students
For more practical purposes Peppe also pointed out the local supermarket
on the western edge of town and the only coin laundry in all of
Taormina. Now appropriately equipped with local knowledge, a crowd
of Babilonia students gathered in the evening at 7:30 pm at “Bistro”,
the bar owned by Babilonia’s caterer Ciro. Babilonia
regularly organizes dinners and culinary explorations for its students,
and today we got a sampling of four different types of Sicilian
pizza. I had a chance to sit beside a lady from Holland, a computer
programmer, who had done a trip around the world in 1995 and had
many interesting stories to tell. One of the most interesting tid-bits
was that she ran into the same French couple by accident four different
times in different locations during her trip around the world in
places like Fiji and New Zealand. What an almost inconceivable series
of coincidences: to bump into the same couple four times in different
places on a trip around the world! She took this as a sign and is
still friends with this French couple to this day.
Ciro and his sister prepare our pizzas
Together with two ladies from the US we also discussed topics like
911, and the War in Iraq and it was amazing to see that four women
from three different countries could share such a similar philosophy.
We even touched on the situation of Muslims in Holland since the
murder of Theo Van Gogh by the radical Mohammed Boyeri. It was fascinating
to be able to discuss these international events with citizens from
the respective countries who shared their own personal insights.
As world travelers, we all concurred that today the world is a much
different place today.
An authentic Sicilian pizza
I could tell that an interest in travel, foreign cultures and foreign
languages united us all, and it was wonderful to conclude this eventful
day in the company of like-minded people. The party was still going
strong when I left to catch a good rest for my driving
tour of Mount Etna tomorrow.
Interesting and useful books about Sicily:
Useful links:
Sicily
Tourist Information
Taormina
Tourist Information
Babilonia Italian
Language School
Hotel
Villa Nettuno in Taormina
Related articles:
My Italian language learning adventure
in Sicily in 2007
Hello from Sicily: Arrival in Taormina
Hello from Sicily: An
interview with the Sciglio family from Hotel Villa Nettuno
Hello from Sicily: A hike to Castelmola
and a taste of Sicily
Hello from Sicily: An excursion to
ancient Siracusa
Hello from Sicily: A leisurely
Sunday at Isola Bella
Hello from Sicily: Language
studies in Taormina and a walking tour
Hello from Sicily: A country driving tour
around beautiful Mount Etna
Hello from Sicily: A private lecture
about Sicily and the Mafia
Hello from Sicily: A Sicilian
cooking class in Taormina
Hello from Sicily: A hike up Mount
Etna a few days after an eruption
Hello from Sicily: Goodbye Taormina
- Hello Milazzo
Hello from Sicily: Starting my sailing
trip through the Eolian Islands
Hello from Sicily: Discoveries of Lipari
and Salina
Hello from Sicily: A driving tour of
Salina and Italian studies on a patio
Hello from Sicily: Explorations of
Stromboli, featuring an active volcano
Hello from Sicily: Beautiful Panarea
and a nice dinner in Lipari
Hello from Sicily: A driving tour of
Lipari and arrival at Vulcano
Hello from Sicily: Conquering Vulcano
and a final dinner in Milazzo
Hello from Sicily: Discovering Milazzo,
its long history and architecture
Hello from Sicily: An excursion by train
to the medieval treasure of Cefalu
Hello from Sicily: Discoveries
in the Nebrodi Mountains
Hello from Sicily: My final day in
Catania
Presenting:
The Babilonia Italian Language School in Taormina
Presenting:
The Laboratorio Linguistico Italian Langauge School in Milazzo
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