Giulia Beccarelli

TEACHER

My name is Giulia Beccarelli and I am a citizen of both Italy, where I was born, completed most of my studies and spent most of my life, and the United States, where I moved over 10 years ago for good, and where I currently live and work as a language instructor. After completing my undergraduate studies at the University of Parma, my hometown in Italy, and obtaining a BA in Foreign Languages and Literature, I worked for five years at a fine dining culinary school in Italy as an Italian language and culture instructor and as an associate for international students’ residential life. Once I started working in the United States, my first teaching job introduced me to the fascinating world of English as a Second Language (ESL) and motivated me to add the CELTA to my studies. After two semester teaching French and ESL in Thailand, I decided to head back to the United States and to focus on the teaching of French and Spanish, which led me to obtaining a Master’s degree in Teaching Foreign Language (TFL), with both French and Spanish as target languages. Yet, there was something missing to the picture… it was time to add my first language to my teaching experience! So, after a few years of remote learning experience with Italian language and culture, here I am, hoping to bring a little bit of my passion for languages to the table, and to share my interests for nature, animals (especially cats) and travels with all of you.

First and foremost, when I start teaching a new group of learners, I try to determine their learning habits, previous experience with language acquisition, and level of comfort with different aspects of the target language and different activities. In a remote learning environment, I will ask students to complete different tasks at home, such as listening or reading and comprehension, grammar exercises, and then guide them through more communicative activities during the lesson, without changing the authentic materials and the real-life use of the language I tend to prioritize. Students always know more than they realize, so I will encourage them to share their knowledge and take the initiative, but also to be patient when faced with new challenges, and to trust the process!