Joe Alvaro
Country of Birth
Australia
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Education (University of Sydney)
- Refresher Course for Teachers of Italian Abroad (Universita' Per Stranieri, Perugia, Italy)
Experience
Joe’s parents were born in Italy and migrated separately to Australia where they met and married in the 1960s. He is not only fluent in standard Italian but also speaks Calabrese – the dialect spoken in the fascinating Italian region of Calabria.
Joe's formal studies of the Italian language were undertaken at school and then at The University of Sydney’s Department of Italian where he studied Italian language and literature during his undergraduate degree. During this degree, he also studied Italian teaching methodology. This is Joe’s 26th year as a professional educator, so he has a deep well of experience to draw on. He began teaching Italian to adults at the Sydney Community College in 1997 and has also taught Certificate courses in Italian to adults at TAFE, NSW. From 1995 – 2008 Joe taught Italian to children for the Italian Association of Assistance (Co.As.It.) as part of its Out of School Hours Italian Program (part of the NSW Department of Education – NSW Community Languages Schools Program). He also teaches at a secondary school in Sydney.
Joe was a Language Specialist – Interpreter (Italian) at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000.
Joe thoroughly enjoys sharing with his students the intellectual, social and personal benefits of learning a foreign language that is dear to his heart. He has family members who live in Italy and has travelled to the country on a number of occasions. Joe has also completed the Refresher Course for Teachers of Italian Abroad at the Università Per Stranieri, Perugia in Italy.
Joe is a big fan of travel and experiencing other countries (“Il mondo è un libro e chi non viaggia ne legge solo una pagina” - “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page” - St. Augustine ). He has visited many countries and has also lived and worked in Shanghai in China for one year, where he gained personal experience about what it is like as a learner of another language.
Teaching style
Joe uses a communicative approach to language teaching and learning, one that goes beyond staged drills and exercises and actually encourages the use of the language in realistic situations.
He takes advantage of a variety of teaching and learning strategies that cater for different learning styles. Language mistakes are seen as normal; in fact, they form an important learning tool.
Joe encourages his students to enjoy their language-learning journey and to celebrate each small step forward. He believes that “packing” some Italian language skills before a trip to Italy will make the experience more satisfying, rewarding and interesting.