Introduction to ITA203 Portfolio

This year in Italian 203 allowed me to grow tremendously as a student and speaker of the language. In my opinion, language learning should be a seamless experience in which students feel connected to the material they acquire. The curriculum this semester did exactly that. In the past two semesters, we were required to read from the Percorsi textbook to learn the concepts that would be solidified later on in class. To me, this felt unnatural. Even though we met four times a week to become somewhat fluent in the material, there was just so much thrown at us all at once that this feat seemed nearly impossible at the time. This semester, however, there was much less of this fragmented learning. There was less textbook reading and more opportunities for us to apply concepts learned in class to homework assignments. Admittedly, I felt that there were sometimes too many assignments given a night, but their purpose was to really ensure we had mastered the vocabulary and grammatical concepts provided that day.

Additionally, I feel as though I have become much more fluent Italian speaker throughout the course of this semester. At first, I was shy to even raise my hand to provide an answer to simple questions in class. Nervous, I would sit at the back of the classroom, waiting to be noticed. Though I still sat near the back at the end of the semester as well, I became much more confident in my language-speaking abilities. Because I had been so engrossed with the curriculum throughout these past four months, I was able to contribute much more to class discussions, partner work, and group work. Having taken Spanish classes for nine years in middle and high school, losing familiarity with that language took time. This semester in Italian, I was able to fully come out of my shell and take advantage of all the opportunities to understand the language and appreciate its beautiful culture.

Even though I am not fully fluent, I feel comfortable enough to start conversations with native speakers in the future. In taking Italian for three consecutive semesters, I am now eligible to study abroad in Italy. This has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. I have travelled to Italy before with my family, but I have never immersed myself fully in all that it has to offer. From its luxurious fashion, to its marvelous architecture, to its food culture, and even to its fascinating people, studying abroad in Italian will serve as both the beginning and the culmination of my study of Italian. Potentially living in Italy for three months next fall will allow me to see just how much I’ve acquired in the introductory and intermediate classes here at Duke. It will also allow me to immerse myself even further in Italian life directly where it thrives. Studying there – hopefully either in Florence or in Rome – will allow me to both understand and speak Italian better but also to foster a lifelong appreciation for everything that makes Italy so unique.

La comunicazione III

Ho selezionato il primo progetto di gruppo per la sezione Comunicazione III del portfolio. Il food interview mi ha permesso di lavorare in un piccolo gruppo e parlare con uno dei pochi membri italiani della comunità del Duke. Il suo nome è Ciro Incoronato, e viene dal Sud Italia. Il nostro gruppo gli ha posto domande sul suo periodo di crescita nella sua comunità, sulle sue interazioni con il cibo e sui suoi pensieri sulle sue attuali abitudini alimentari. Ho scelto questo compito perché mostra perfettamente la mia capacità di ascoltare il feedback costante che Mattia ci ha fornito durante questo processo per aiutarci a migliorare le nostre domande e la nostra presentazione finale riassuntiva, impegnarsi con il nostro nuovo amico Ciro mentre ci raccontava la storia dei suoi viaggi con il cibo, e per permettere al resto della nostra classe di dare uno sguardo alla nostra conversazione con Ciro e imparare qualcosa di nuovo nel processo. In breve, ho imparato che ascoltare a una nuova lingua è tanto importante che parlarla. Capire come e perché le altre persone hanno le opinioni che fanno delle forme e delle influenze personali. Ad un certo punto nell’intervista, Ciro afferma che era solito mangiare tutto ciò che voleva da bambino, perché sua madre lo cucinava come voleva il suo cuore. Ora ha le stesse tendenze “onnivore;” questo ha senso perché la gente tende a rimanere la stessa, non importa quanto le loro vite siano cambiate. Nel subire questo processo, ho imparato che gli altri italiani intervistati hanno lo stesso atteggiamento nei confronti del cibo. Ho trovato questo affascinante, soprattutto vivendo negli Stati Uniti dove la nostra cultura intorno al cibo è così golosa.

L’intervista di Ciro presentazione, 9_28