Students
Testimonials
“Classes are fun, relaxed and energised.”
“Have been going to Anna’s classes for 9 years and really love going. Anna makes the class fun, interactive and she is always positive. A great way to learn a new language.”
— Gianna
“If you are thinking of learning the Italian language, I wholeheartedly recommend doing classes with Anna Geremia in Lower Hutt. Anna’s classes are fun, relaxed, energised and a great learning environment. Importantly, you are speaking in Italian from class one! If you are really interested in learning Italian, you will never regret going to her classes. I have been to a few other Italian classes and know from experience that Anna is a fantastic teacher.”
— Elisabetta
“Learning material varied, fun and challenging”
“We particularly like the south of Italy, among the lemon groves on the Amalfi Coast, where those who are working are often doing the same work their families have done for generations, fishing, tending a few goats for cheese, growing lemons, apricots and olives, baking, and providing other services for the tourists and each other. There is little English spoken, even in the post offices and bars.
And so, in 2008 we decided to take an Italian class at WEA run by Anna. We all sat around a large table each Wednesday night with Anna encouraging us to speak Italian very simply from the outset. As we went around the table encouraging each other, we gained confidence, and with Anna’s gentle assistance got to a point where we could share news and activities from the previous week. This helped us enormously with our trip later in the year. Our neighbour and landlady spoke no English at all, and we were able to thank her in simple Italian for the wonderful produce she left at our door and talk about the weather and her garden and family. It was very satisfying to be able to have conversations with other locals who appreciated our efforts, basic as they were. Grazie molto Anna!”
— Heather and Tony
“A great way to learn a new language”
“Anna’s classes are really fun, it doesn’t feel like work at all – always surprise myself after every term with how much I’ve learned! Highly recommend you join the family, regardless of your experience with the language”
— Riba
I have been attending Anna’s Italian class for many years (8 I believe) & keep coming back for more. I cannot speak highly enough of Anna. With her encouragement we speak entirely (well almost!) in Italian. I feel more confident speaking the language now & that is down to Anna. She is great at getting the most out of us, caters for class requests, all in a relaxing way. Highly recommend learning with Anna if you want to have fun & learn at the same time.
— Anne G
More than just an Italian class
“I have been going to Anna’s classes since 2013 and I thoroughly recommend them. They have a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. From the beginning, we were encouraged to speak and soon became comfortable with greetings and simple conversations about things like family, food and Italy, of course!
Anna is a patient and encouraging teacher who is always ready to help. With this help and encouragement over the years, our class is now able to discuss all sorts of topics and a highlight of each week is listening to the other students share their news.
As well as the classes there are other activities such as the end of term get together for all the classes with games in Italian and Italian food. We have also enjoyed going to see some of the movies in the Italian film festival and at least once a year we enjoy a lovely dinner at an Italian restaurant.”
— Margarita
“I have been coming to Anna’s Italian conversation classes for several years now. They are always enjoyable and have a friendly atmosphere. Anna is a really lovely teacher – very encouraging and supportive. She adjusts the class content to the level of the students. There is time to both listen to and practice speaking Italian. I have travelled in Italy twice since taking Anna’s classes, and found what I had learnt to be both really helpful in daily interactions, and also very satisfying to be able to have simple conversations with the locals there. I thoroughly recommend Anna and her Italian classes.”
— Janine
“I have been attending Anna’s Italian class for many years (8 I believe) & keep coming back for more. I cannot speak highly enough of Anna. With her encouragement we speak entirely (well almost!) in Italian. I feel more confident speaking the language now & that is down to Anna. She is great at getting the most out of us, caters for class requests, all in a relaxing way. Highly recommend learning with Anna if you want to have fun & learn at the same time.”
— Anne G
“Focus on themes which the traveller will need”
“I joined Anna’s class as I was going to Italy and wanted to be able to make myself understood at least at a basic level. The classes focus on themes which the traveller will need. Anna adapts the lessons to the needs of the class and encourages questions from us. She has recently visited Italy with her family – this visit may not have been made purely so that she can give her classes up-to-date information about circumstances in Italy!
My trip to La Bella Italia focused on Roma, Firenze, Venezia, and Milano – large cities, where there were a number of Italians who spoke English. Equally, there was a number who did not! I still clearly remember the time in Roma when I got lost after leaping off a bus at quite the wrong place and could not find the street sign on my map. So, the Italian I had learnt in the class stood me in good stead. It gave me some basic Italian, and – just as importantly – the confidence to use it.
I have kept on with my Italian classes because if I do not practice, the knowledge I have gained seems to slip away – and I still have dreams of going back to Italy. But I also actually enjoy the classes: this reflects on the way Anna runs them. She establishes a friendly, supportive atmosphere and adapts the lessons to the mix of people in the class. She also injects a note of fun – for instance, we have Italian names, as a group, we usually take in a film at the Italian Film festival, and we have a very civilised closure at the end of the year!”
“Anna uses an interesting mix of teaching methods to deliver Italian language classes to children. As a parent of one of her learners, I have found Anna’s learning material varied, fun and challenging. Anna uses a variety of interactive methods to teach technical and conversational Italian. She has a relaxed, empathetic manner and gently encourages students to achieve high standards set.”
— Rochelle (parent)
Eight years ago, a friend of mine casually asked me if I would like to learn Italian. I had heard that learning another language was a good thing to do when you’re getting on a bit, so I said, “yes”.
In less than a week, my friend had registered our interest in the class, bought me the prescribed clear file folder and told me where and when to turn up, for which I will eternally be grateful.
I can still recall the enthusiasm and warmth of Anna’s welcome that first evening. Her commitment to helping us to find our way through to an understanding of the language she learned from her Italian-speaking parents was, and still is, infectious. In the earlier years, there were exercises to be done and text to read (mimicking Anna’s native-speaker pronunciation as accurately as we could). Then there was the more challenging task of converting those streams of words into English. Anna was always alert to mispronunciation and very supportive with translation as we stumbled our way through the paragraphs. As time has gone on, we have been encouraged to prepare a short story about something we’ve done (past tense!) or something we’re going to do (future tense!). These could be sent to Anna for correction before being read out to the rest of the class.
Over time, we have learned a lot about one another and about Anna, which has knitted us together as a great social group. Furthermore, over those years, most of us have visited Italy and put what
we have learned into practice – a great sense of achievement.
I still need all the help Anna can give me, whereas my friend now had a very creditable grasp of this beautiful language. To be fair to all parties, this has a lot to do with how much time we spend outside class expanding our vocabulary and mastering the grammar.
Gracie mille, Anna
– Damiano