I started learning Italian while living in Italy more than a decade ago. While there I took group…read morelessons and private lessons. After returning to Chicago I took more group lessons, some private lessons, and back to group lessons. Approximately 7 years ago, I settled on Sentieri Italiani. Why? Because it was the best school I'd found and... because it's fun. There's a variety of things other than the standard classes to enjoy... movies, dinners, travel, game nights, etc. Currently I'm enjoying the Italian "book club" where we are reading not a text book, or a book written as supplemental material for a language class, but a book selected from the shelves of a bookstore in Italy where "real" Italians shop.

A friend and I snagged a Groupon deal for the Italian Language and Culture class at Sentieri this…read moresummer. Despite my love of classes, I approached this one with some hesitation - my lowest grades in school were always for Spanish class (well...and gym), I'm not naturally gifted at foreign language, I have no time/desire to study, and I'm not Italian. But my friend assured me there would be alcohol at every class and I would love to travel to Italy some day, so I bought the Groupon and enrolled. I'm so glad I did - it was a great experience! The school itself is fairly small - just a sitting room with couches and a large table and one classroom. I was greeted when I arrived for our first class by our adorable, enthusiastic instructor Enrico. Classes seem to be kept pretty small - we had about 10 students in ours. The Language and Culture course is split into two halves - the first half of the two hour class is a language lesson, which was taught by Enrico. Obviously there isn't a ton of language you're going to learn in three one hours sessions, but we were able to cover basic pronunciation and some key concepts for travel (time, how to book hotels, etc.) The second half of the class is about Italy's history and culture and is taught by the school's founder, Daniela. Daniela's theory, which I really appreciated, is that learning a language divorced of learning the culture is pointless - you'll never be able to make your way in the country. The culture lessons were fascinating and, yes, involve food and alcohol. Each session was incredibly enjoyable - I couldn't believe how quickly the time went. The school also really tries to foster a sense of community. After the last class we were invited to hang around and let our "liquore" wear off while enjoying cappuccino in the lounge area. The school also hosts book clubs, movie screenings, dinners and trips (they organize tours of Italy every year). Unfortunately my schedule doesn't currently allow me to take regular language lessons here, but this is a great resource in the city and I highly encourage everyone to check it out. Even foreign language study-phobes like me.