Tutorino's Italian Lessons Aren't Good...They're Buonissimo!
Turn up the volume on your next trip to Italy. Book a lesson with a tutorino coach. We do private Italian language training right in your home or office or a nearby coffee shop or library anywhere in Toronto. From the Lake to Leaside, The Beach to Bloor West - and all points between and beyond - we go anywhere the subway will take us!
If group classes are like riding the subway, and private lessons are like driving a car, then private lessons with tutorino are like driving a Maserati!
Give your mind a makeover. Speak chic - speak la bella lingua!
How does it work?
1) Fill in our form to request a private lesson.
2) I’ll check with the staff to see who’s up for your request. This usually takes no more than about two days. Once someone on staff agrees to do it, I put you and the teacher in touch via email and away you go. Usually you’re taking lessons within about a week of submitting your request (unless you’d prefer to start later).
3) The teacher will meet you at your home or office or a nearby coffee shop or library. Or you can save moolah by meeting at or near the teacher’s place. Click here for current locations.
4) Most people book an hour a week (but feel free to book more) and get a pretty good handle on the basics in about three months. But you can quit sooner if you want or stay longer – a few of our students have been with us for years. There’s no set start or end dates, everything is 100% made-to-measure.
5) You pay the teacher directly, at the lesson, by cheque made out to tutorino. (No need to pay online or by mail.) If you’re not a cheque person we’ll take cash but we strongly prefer cheques made out to tutorino.
Please note, we mainly only teach adults and teens or kids seven and up. For kids under seven we recommend multilingualkids.ca.
The Perks
All private lessons include the following goodies:
One free 30-minute tutorino Skype lesson.
$2.50 an hour off subsequent tutorino Skype lessons.
Access to tutorino's students-only Grammar Gym containing hours of audio downloads for listening and pronunciation practice at home and over 200 online drills and flashcards. Get instant feedback with these media rich reusable exercises and save the trees!
15% off stays at La Toscana di Carlotta, a Tuscan-style B&B in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Visit latoscanadicarlotta.com
Invitations to Italian social and cultural events so you can meet the other staff and students and pracitce in a real-world context
The opportunity to practice and improve your Italian by taking part in our friendly visiting program
A better chance of winning our monthly Italian raffle since tutorino students who participate get entered 3 times (giving you the edge over non-students who visit the site)
Email support whenever you need it
Private Lesson Prices
SALDI!
As of February 7, 2010 tutorino is on sale for a limited time only...
One Learner
$40 an hour + GST if we go to you Till July 31, 2010 just $35 an hour GST included
$30 an hour + GST if you come to us Till July 31, 2010 just $25 an hour GST included
Two Learners
$30 an hour + GST per person if we go to you Till July 31, 2010 just $30 an hour per person GST included
$20 an hour + GST per person if you come to us Till July 31, 2010 just $20 an hour per person GST included
Three or more learners
$30 per hour-and-a-half + GST per person if we go to you Till July 31 2010, just $30 GST included
$20 per hour-and-a-half + GST per person if you come to us Till July 31 2010, just $20 GST included
More ways to save
Discounts also available for two-hour lessons.
We also run group classes at the Toronto Reference Library and do skype lessons too.
Artists Discount
Full-time professional fine artists, poets, novelists, playwrights, actors, dancers, choreographers, film makers, musicians and singers pay $20 per learner, per hour, but you have to come to us. Proof of full-time professional artist status required. Sorry no graphic artists, costume designers, set designers, industrial designers or jewelry makers, only starving artists!
Tutorino's GST Number: 857-199-632-RT0001.
The Fine Print
You need to commit to a minimum of five lessons, but you can pay for the first lesson by itself to make sure you like us, with no obligation to continue. Then if you do continue, you'll need to pay for five lessons on top of the test. (The test lesson, if you opt for it, is just a test, it's not part of a regular five-lesson cycle.)
You can quit any time but there are no refunds for unused lessons.
You need to stick to a regular schedule for the five lessons you commit to (e.g. every Tuesday from 7 to 8 for five weeks).
We know things come up so you get one free cancellation for every five-lesson cycle. Free means you can make it up by doing two lessons one week (as long as the teacher has time) or tacking an extra week onto your cycle. BUT!...If you miss a second (third, fourth, fifth) lesson in a cycle there will be no free make-ups, you just lose those lessons (and the fee you paid for them).
Content
Tutorino teaches...
Goof-proof Italian grammar & vocab (all levels)
Must-know Italian for travel
Quattro chiacchiere (conversation practice for those who already know Italian and just want to keep it "fresco")
Just tell your teacher which of the above you'd like to focus on.
Our Approach
Our language-teaching philosophy can be summed up in one simple phrase: Don't translate, imitate.
Grammar will teach you to listen. Listening will teach you to speak.
You speak by imitating what you hear. But you can't imitate what you hear unless you understand it. And you can't understand it without some grammar and vocab.
But all the grammar in the world won't get you to speak if you don't listen first (think high school French).
Imagine trying to compose a symphony by only learning music theory without ever having heard a piece of music. That's what you're doing when you try to speak from grammar rules without listening to the language long and plenty first.
That's because when we have a conversation with someone, we aren't mechanically putting sentences together by following grammar rules (the IKEA method of language learning). Conversations happen too fast and the more we think about what we're going to say, the more we get tongue-tied (think job interviews or first dates). Plus a lot of what we say in English makes no sense literally translated into other laguages using grammar rules. English is very idiomatic.
Although you may like to think of yourself as a unique, original individual, a lot of what you say every day is an unconscious copy of what you've heard other people say in similar situations thousands of times since you were a baby. That's how we speak. We hear something a hundred times, then we say it ourselves. (Think, "Nice day today eh?")
So our aim is to teach you enough grammar and vocab basics to get you vaguely understanding what you read and hear. Then, over time, with a bit of encouragement from us, you'll evenutally start unconsciously imitating increasingly bigger bits and pieces of what you read and listen to. The key is reading and listening to as much Italian as possible. The greatest weight loss guru in the world can't help you shed pounds if you don't hit the gym!
Materials
For advanced students: a combination of handouts we give you based on gaps we notice during conversation, online resources (our own and from other sites), readings, props and a text we can recommend from Librital.
For beginners and rusty intermediate students we use Oxford's Take Off in Italian. Cover price is $50 + tax – tutorino students get it from us for $35 + GST. We will collect payment and give you the book at the first lesson. Couples can share a book if you want. From the Oxford University Press website...
Description
The complete language-learning kit with everything you need to speak, read, write, and understand Italian in everyday situations
Comprehensive, easy-to-follow book and audio course takes you step by step from beginner to intermediate-level
Audio content in both mp3 and CD format: more hours of listening and learning than any other comparable course
Pocket-sized 2-in-1 travel dictionary and phrasebook provides key vocabulary and phrases at your fingertips
Online resources and extra audio give you maximum learning and listening help
Market-tested new package gives the most portable and compact complete language-learning course
New to this edition
A brand new look: All new packaging that is more environmentally friendly and compact
Full audio content now available as both mp3 download and on CD
Oxford Take Off in Italian makes learning or brushing up on your Italian quick, easy, and fun. Follow an integrated course including activities and dialogues with native speakers so you can feel confident in day-to-day conversation. Advance from beginner to intermediate level in one integrated book and audio course.
This complete language-learning kit contains everything you need to speak, read, write, and understand Italian, and gives you flexibility when learning. The pack includes a clear, easy-to-use coursebook, full mp3 audio to download, 5 CDs, including extra audio to practise on CD or mp3, a handy 2-in-1 travel dictionary and phrasebook, and online activities and dialogues to support you in learning a new language.
Readership: Designed for absolute beginners and for those who want to brush up on forgotten language skills, Oxford Take Off In Italian offers the complete language package, whether you're learning for a business trip, a holiday, or just for fun.
The Staff
Tutorino's current teaching staff consists of Sabrina, Filippo, Eleonora, Valentina, Tina and Dionisio, Gaia, and Alessandro, a group of fun and friendly Italians with loads of teaching experience - see the kudos section for their rave reviews, or get to know some of them a bit better here.
We also run Italian language classes for adults at the Boulevard Club - so we gotta be good!
To Book a Lesson
To book a lesson use our form.
Need more info first? Email pino@tutorino.ca or call 416.882.7015 and ask for me, Pino. See for yourself why we've been called "Toronto's crack squad of grammar guerrillas."
Tutorino - our Italian lessons in Toronto aren't good, they're buonissimo!
Now offering skype lessons too.