197: Italian Language Tutor Training

MWF 4-5 | 6326 Dwinelle | Instructor: Annamaria Bellezza

Units: 1

The Italian language tutor training course offers a one-unit field study for Italian Majors and Minors, and for UC Berkeley students with an advanced language proficiency in Italian (equivalent to at least 4 semesters of language) interested in tutoring students studying Elementary Italian (first and second semester).

 

Tutors are responsible for 2 hours of drop-in tutoring per week, plus bi-weekly meetings with the Tutoring Coordinator to discuss pedagogy and second language acquisition issues. Both your tutoring schedule and class meetings will be discussed with your instructor at a later date.

Being a peer tutor for Italian is a great experience: you will help fellow students who have just begun to study Italian to appreciate it as much as you do; reviewing sticky grammar points for your tutees will improve your own language skills; finally, direct hands-on experience in this field will be a nice addition to your resume!
To become a peer-tutor, you must enroll in Italian 197 (juniors or seniors) or Italian 97 (sophomores) for 1 unit. The enrollment process requires pre-approval before a Course Control Number can be issued by the department to enable tutors to enroll. The process is outlined below. The University mandates that you must obtain the permission of both your instructor and the Chair of the Department in order to enroll in this course.

 

  • Your first step is to contact your future instructor, Annamaria Bellezza (ambellezza@berkeley.edu), and discuss with her your availability and eligibility as a tutor. If she approves your candidacy, together you will fill out an independent study form which requires your signatures.  Once you’ll have her approval, you’ll have to obtain approval and a signature from the Chair of the department (Prof. Ascoli: ascoli@berkeley.edu) on the same form. You will need to meet him in person during his office hours (6325 Dwinelle). You can email him in advance and coordinate your visit.
  • Your last step will be to meet with the Undergraduate Student Services Advisor, Ms. Kathi Brosnan (6303 Dwinelle), and bring her the completed form. Ms. Brosnan will review the form and will give you the course control number to enable enrollment.  Her office hours are Monday-Friday 9:30-11:30 and 1:15-4:00.