The Method



The teaching approach of La Lingua La Vita is strongly functional with a focus on aspects of language interaction within different thematic sectors.

The primary scope is to strengthen all communicative and comprehension skills in the Italian language with a corresponding enlargement of vocabulary, phraseology and use of idiomatic expressions.

Teachers bring students to a kind of spontaneous acquisition through an inductive approach so that they are able to discern rules by themselves and can memorize and store them. For this reason, there is stimulated a reflective and self-correcting ability for language structuring that can be applied in even difficult and rapid conversation.
Our method relies mostly on ‘suggestopeadia’, a criteria through which the best conditions for learning are created by the positive attitude of the teachers and by the use of artistic media that combine to activate the right sphere of the brain, creating in a natural way a state of psychic concentration and relaxation.

The approach is realized through authentic communicative contexts and in recurrent and frequent situations that stimulate systematic practice on the four basic language abilities: listening, talking, reading and writing.
Our aim is to give specific importance to every student individually, meaning that each student’s skills are regularly evaluated in a personalized manner and are discussed in context to the learner’s own aims and expectations.



The approach is realized through authentic communicative contexts and in recurrent and frequent situations that stimulate systematic practice on the four basic language abilities: listening, talking, reading and writing.
Our aim is to give specific importance to every student individually, meaning that each student’s skills are regularly evaluated in a personalized manner and are discussed in context to the learner’s own aims and expectations.
Our courses are strongly based on active and practical communication and our objective is to establish a friendly, relaxed and convivial relationship whereby our students feel at ease in the learning environment and can feel part of a group where learning is an amusing, pleasant and inductive experience without the stress of competition or confrontation.

Methods utilized by our teachers stress absolutely the importance of each student, going beyond the traditional idea of the teacher ex-cathedra. That is why our teachers are never the protagonist in lessons, but rather have a role similar to a film director - their task is to supply support and encouragement after having provided students with the tools to learn on their own. The results of this approach are highly measurable and this is evident in the progress of each course.

The physical conditions in each of our classrooms mirror our methodology in that they are airy and bright spaces with pleasing pastel colored walls and panoramic views from each window. These factors help students relax and feel at ease as they sit at comfortable seminar tables where the teacher does not have a privileged position but, as one of the group themselves, can encourage the learners to participate.
There are also also two different teachers per class to give students the chance of hearing varying accents and uses of speech, to experiment with varying Italian usage, and to be introduced to varying personalized approaches.

In 2005 the school has perfected a new teaching method, called “Beyond Language”, based on the use of NLP techniques and upon overcoming various emotional blocks that prevent or slow language learning.
The Beyond Language program aims to develop capabilities not normally used and permit 25-30% more learning compared to traditional methods.


Itinerary Lessons:
The school organizes weekly itinerary lessons to enhance communication skills that take advantage of the various shops, stores and services in Todi’s charming city center. By making trips accompanied by their teachers to places like banks, newsstands, the post office, local cafes and commercial businesses, students exercise their language skills in real-life contexts. These lessons stimulate students to active participation in some aspects of local life along with adding to the development of their overall language skills.

Todi’s weekly outdoor market also represents another good chance for our students, along with their teachers, to practice the language in a natural setting while enjoying the characteristic atmosphere of a typical Italian local market. While browsing through the stalls of locally grown produce and other goods, students ask for information about the items offered and even learn the time honored methods of negotiating the best price!
Itinerary lessons naturally take place under the guidance and with the help of the teachers - and not before students have been provided the tools and skills necessary to handle the situation with relative autonomy and a certain level of security.