Deborah is an Italian language, culture, and culinary instructor since 25 years

Background

I graduated in 1994 as a teacher in Italy. Initially, and for the first 4 years, I worked as a special education teacher for disabled children of various ages, from elementary grades to high school grades. Since 2000, I began my decade of experience in teaching Italian to foreign children and their parents. I have a history of creating programs for interactive learning of the TPR.

The Total Physical Response (TPR) is a method developed by James J. Asher, a psychology professor at San Jose State University. The TPR is a strategy that introduces the study of a language starting from the execution of verbal instructions, commands. The teacher gives a command, associated with the corresponding movement and the learner takes appropriate action. Subsequently, the method and the theory that underlies this method are discussed in great detail by the teacher to support the primary learning behind the performance accomplished by the learner. This method represents an acceleration in the process of teaching-learning Italian as a second language. Obviously, because Italian grammar is very complex, the method TPR is only to aid students by stimulating different types of memory: auditory, visual, and tactile.

I was born and raised in Italy by my two wonderful grandmothers. Nonna Pina from southern Italy and Nonna Bruna from northern Italy. Through them, I learned the ancient culture and cuisine. I always carry my precious treasure with me: the recipes of my grandmothers and I love teaching them to my students. Italian cuisine is the basis of culture and the core of this romantic language!