Faculty

Roberto Cittadini, Milan, more than 20 years of experience in the field of education. Roberto and his partner in business Marzia Trotta founded the “PASSEPARTOUT” school 24 years ago.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU IN YOUR WORK?
I like to work with students, understanding their personalities and their learning style I can help them to use their capabilities in the best way. This is like finding a proper road for every student. The most difficult, but most interesting part of the work – is to understand the cultural differences between students from different countries. For example, the way Russian students learning the Italian language is different from the learning style of Anglo-Saxons, Germans or students from Asiatic countries.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU IN YOUR DAILY LIFE?
Lots of things, besides big projects like school which inspires me, usually these are small things which make me feel good: travelling, dinner with people with whom I feel good, visiting some exhibition. With books I have another type of connection, they are more than source of inspirations, they are a big part of my life.

SPEAKING ABOUT TRAVELLING, YOU HAVE VISITED RUSSIA MANY TIMES, DID YOU LIKE THE COUNTRY?
Most of times I’ve been there for work purpose, but anyway I enjoyed a lot! In Russia I’ve been in Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Rostov and some small towns. What surprised me the most – Russians are passionate like Italians, not as cold as it’s considered. Moreover, Russia is the country of really beautiful women and hospitable people. Besides that I really like Russian cuisine and winter landscapes. I like to travel by train, it can seem strange, but in the train you can feel the culture of the country. Visiting small towns of Russia was also a good experience: there you understand even better the Russian culture.

Marzia Trotta, Milan, has more than 20 years of experience in the field of education. One of the founders of the “PASSEPARTOUT” school.

COULD YOU PLEASE DESCRIBE LITTLE BIT YOUR PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE?
I’ve started to teach Italian language for foreigners in the year ’92, since that time I’ve taught Italian to every type of foreigner: different origins, ages or level of education. I’ve worked in volunteering field, private companies, thought Italian to the university students.

HOW DID YOU GET TO KNOW ROBERTO AND HOW WAS BORN THE IDEA TO OPEN THE SCHOOL?
We got to know each other in the beginning of 90s in one volunteering project where we’ve been teaching Italian language to people in difficulties. Doing this work we realized that the language was the only instrument which allowed a foreigner to adapt to Italian reality. Beside that we realized that we were functioning perfectly as a team. We decided to open our school because we wanted to teach Italian in a particular way: communicative, but paying attention to the structure of the language and its’ functions as well.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU IN YOUR WORK?
This is the work where you can see the route. You start to work with a person who doesn’t speak Italian and bring him to the point when he can express himself, thus every day you make a small part of the route with that person. Is obvious that the route is not always linear – there are some difficulties. However, in the end you always have a result: you leave a different person in comparison to whom you met at the beginning. The person has new abilities after having met you.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU IN YOUR DAILY LIFE?
When I was I child I saw one film where the main actor was telling: “in my life I’ve never planted a tree and have never constructed the bridge” – this had a huge effect on me. What inspires me in my life is to create something, to leave something to others, not to be passive, but always have an idea that in the daily life you always can do something good for others.

Barbara Aronica, Milan, has 4 years of experience teaching the Italian language to foreigners.

COULD YOU PLEASE DESCRIBE BRIEFLY YOUR PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE?
I graduated with a degree in Philosophy. Upon graduation, I worked for a few years as a support teacher assisting children with various difficulties in a high school. In the evening I worked as a volunteer teacher for the association CESPI, which works with immigrants learning the Italian language. I enjoyed that experience so much so I pursued a Master’s Degree in foreign language acquisition at the University of Milan.

I started working for PASSEPARTOUT in November, 2012 and continue to collaboreate with the Polytechnic University of Milan and University of Milan to assist students enrolled in their Erasmus/Socrates to teach Italian language courses.

What drew me to PASSEPARTOUT is the teaching approach. They have a flexible approach aimed at meeting the needs of individual students. I really enjoy working with small groups of students, as it is an advantage for a foreign language teacher. The school has a strong family atmosphere, which I enjoy in a work environment.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU IN YOUR WORK?
I like to teach Italian to adults, because they have a strong motivation, particular needs and often a real passion for the Italian language and culture. Also I agree with Marzia and Roberto that the beauty of our work is the possibility to reach a measurable result, especially when students start from scratch and you have the opportunity to accompany them until the end of the course.

Apart from that, transmitting the cultural aspects in a foreign language class is very important. My personal teaching style is a mix of traditional foreign language techniques in combination with practical advice and insight into the Italian culture and activities. Thanks to my background in Philosophy, I am very interested in diverse cultures.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU IN YOUR DAILY LIFE?
In life I always try to follow and pursue what fascinates and inspires me, and this philosophy has guided me in my choice of studies and work.
I am a true fan of the cinema and visual arts in general, and I have a passion for cooking and reading. These passions easily transfer into my teaching style and influence the way in which I transmit information to my students.