L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 7 Italian Instruction Adds Practical Lessons A visit to San Diego's Italian C u l t u r a l C e n t e r , S a n D i e g o S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y a n d O n l i n e Italian language programs will reveal that the typical grammar and memorization of language has taken a turn toward teaching more practical aspects of using the Italian language. "The Italian Cultural Center (ICC) is not just a school, we use different channels to reach out to students; students need a connection to real life," said Rossella Broglia, ICC's Director of Language Programs. "Italian is complicated, so to study the grammar is important, but so are the channels of study regarding food, literature, history and art. Studying the Divina Commedia ( a n e w a d d i t i o n t o t h e I C C courses) opens the door to the real Italy." Other new courses b e i n g o f f e r e d a r e I t a l i a n Advertising, Italian Cinema and the Short Story Book Club. Born and raised in Pavia, a small city located 40 miles south west of Milan, Rossella earned her Laurea Degree at University of Pavia majoring in Economics. After moving to San Diego she j o i n e d t h e I t a l i a n C u l t u r a l Center of San Diego and started teaching Italian as a foreign lan- guage to adults. She has been actively involved in the cultural activities of the center ever since she moved to the U.S. and is c u r r e n t l y s e r v i n g b o t h a s a t e a c h e r a n d a s a D i r e c t o r o f Language Programs. Her passion for the Italian culture and language together with her desire to improve her teaching skills motivated her to go further in her education. She received her second Master's D e g r e e , i n E d u c a t i o n a n d Promotion of the Italian lan- guage and culture abroad at the U n i v e r s i t y C a ' F o s c a r i o f Venice with a thesis directing t h e l a u n c h o f a n I t a l i a n American School in San Diego. M o t i v a t e d b y t h e s t r o n g desire to give her two children not only the opportunity to grow up learning the beautiful Italian language and rich Italian culture but also the chance to preserve their Italian heritage. Professor Clarissa Clo, the Director of the Italian Program at SDSU is also an advocate of the importance of the Italian L a n g u a g e a n d C u l t u r e , a n d incorporates Italian upper divi- s i o n s t u d i e s i n t h e f i e l d s o f Cinema, Business and Special Issues. "You have to teach language in context, to relate the experi- ence to students in class," stated the professor. "Grammar analy- ROBERT GALLO sis, music lyrics, the conjuga- tion of sentences are all impor- tant, but so is actually examin- ing the context in which these aspects of language are used." P r o f e s s o r C l o t e a m e d u p w i t h d o c u m e n t a r y d i r e c t o r Angelo Bozzolini for a special c o u r s e i n s t u d y i n g I t a l i a n Cinema, specifically, documen- tary film making. Bozzolini was on vacation from Rome in San Diego to talk about his second d o c u m e n t a r y , I l C a r a t t e r e Italiano (The Italian Character) at the recent 8th annual San Diego Italian Film festival. In discussing his collabora- tion with Professor Clo he stat- ed, "The purpose of the meeting was to look at and discuss the historical background of Italian Cinema." Taking turns in the interview with Professor Clo, Bozzolini said that the course was in the process of shooting, e d i t i n g a n d d i s c u s s i n g w h a t they were doing as they pro- gressed toward creating individ- ual and team documentaries. "I could see from our first meeting that the class was very excited as they all worked to create and develop an idea with a personal urgency," said Bozzolini. " M a k i n g a f i l m a b o u t courage and identity, especially living here in a border state, try- ing to get a feeling of who I am," was a project by Spuehler- Santoyo, one of Professor Clo's students. Student Andrea Hiley, related her efforts in "hoping to m a k e a d o c u m e n t a r y a b o u t someone I know who went on a cross-country trip." Students M a r c k M a n g a , P e r l a O r t i z , V e r o n i c a G o l a w s k i a n d Z o e Zablow were busily discussing their idea of creating a short Italian studies advertisement as a cultural production. A l t h o u g h s t u d e n t s w e r e excited about their cinematic endeavors, some were anxious, but were encouraged by both the professor and director. "We have the opportunity to have a p r o f e s s i o n a l i n t h e c o u r s e , " exclaimed Professor Clo, smil- ing at the students and the direc- tor. "We need to take advantage of this time and his expertise, to l e a r n f r o m h i m , t o u s e h i s knowledge; he is here for our benefit." Bozzolini added "the purpose of our being together is to learn something, it's to give you an idea of how this works in the real world." Students in Professor Clo's Italian Cinema Course Professor Clarissa Clo and Angelo Bozzolini

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