Student of the Semester: Summer 2025
As the Summer Semester draws to a close it’s time to reveal our Student of the Semester… Sverre!
Inspired by his love of Italy following a trip to Rome, Sverre started learning Italian with us 2 years ago! Beginning with our Chick classes, he has now progressed through the Post-Chick levels and is excited to advance to Fledgling Italian this Autumn 🇮🇹
We asked Sverre a few questions about his experience learning with us and his top tips for a successful language journey!
What made you start the classes at Lingo Flamingo?
For many years I have had a fascination with Italy and all things Italian! That intensified after my first trip to Italy in 2005. We went to Rome and I fell in love with the city, the language, the people, the culture, the food and the climate!
For a while I made attempts to learn Italian trough listening to different courses with Paul Noble and Thomas Michel and although it improved my Italian vocabulary it did very little to help me form complete sentences or achieving basic conversational skills.
I am a learning disability nurse who work in a multidisciplinary team in the NHS and I was introduced to Lingo Flamingo by one of our Psychology trainee's Maja who spoke in glowing terms of Lingo Flamingo. She was studying Spanish and really enjoying it. So in October two years ago I enrolled in my first class!
Which classes/levels have you attended?
As I already had a little knowledge of very basic Italian, I decided to skip the Hatchling level and even Chick level. I had my first class at the Post-Chick level with Salvatore and knew within minutes this level was too advanced for me! The next Monday I attended Chick level with Elisabeth and have now done Chick level 1-4 and Post-Chick level 1-3 with her!
I am currently doing Post-Chick 4 with Salvatore and have signed up for the Fledgling level with Elisabeth which starts at the end of September. I am really excited about that!
Where did your language journey take you?
The journey has deepened my love of Italy and the language in no small part due to our two teachers! Elisabeth in particular speaks with such passion and love for Italy that the country "comes alive" in her classes.
My knowledge of the Italian language, my ability to form sentences using different tenses and my understanding of both written and spoken Italian have all improved significantly. My biggest challenge remains speaking! I still have so much to learn and have realised it takes time to learn a new language.
I was taught English at school from the age of 10 in my native Norway and found it really easy. I never really bothered with learning grammar. I somehow just heard or saw the right way to spell, form sentences and write correctly.
When I was 14 I was taught German and couldn't understand why it was so difficult! The same with French at the age of 16. I can get by with basic German but not without difficulties. My French is non existent! Once I found I had to really study consistently I gave up on those languages! However my desire to learn Italian and eventually attain fluency is strong enough for me to not give up. In my view motivation is everything!
Do you have any tips for continued learning?
Do the homework, go over each lesson in the days following it. Repetition is really important. I recently read that in one week following a lesson we will have forgotten 77% of it! It's really easy to do nothing apart from the homework but that way it will take a very long time to learn a language beyond a pretty basic level.
I have recently started writing down things in Italian that I am doing during the day, or did yesterday, last week or things I am planning on doing. I write them down as well as I can in Italian then I check on Google translate. Google translate isn't perfect but it definitely helps me a lot. This helps me to speak with more assurance and confidence (which has been an issue). It's important to try to write/speak in Italian first, then check if it's correct.
Find podcasts in Italian that suit the level you are at. I have heard you should understand roughly around 70 % of what is said or written if it's an article. If you understand more than that it will be too easy and you're not learning as effectively. If you understand only 50-60 % it will be too difficult and you are more likely to give up altogether.
Elisabeth and Salvatore have encouraged us to watch a movie you have seen multiple times but add Italian audio and subtitles to it. I haven't found a movie yet that I want to watch that frequently. I haven't looked hard enough! But it makes sense. You will improve your language comprehension and also listening to the natural flow of the language will help you speak better and understand when strangers speak to you in Italian too.
How do you find the Lingo Flamingo classes?
I find them really helpful. The teachers are very approachable, the lessons are very relaxed. Most of the students have been attending together for quite a long time so we are pretty relaxed together. Humour is definitely present in all classes and I find the emphasis on having fun whilst learning is key.
When you’re not at Lingo Flamingo, what do you get up to?
I like to go hillwalking with friends at the weekend, watch movies, read books, go to cafes, go to the gym, cycle, spending time with my 18 year old son and travel to Norway, Italy and around Scotland!
Thanks for speaking to us Sverre and good luck as you advance your language journey with Fledgling Italian!