Italian

The ITALengAMERICA program connects students from Italian high schools and universities with their counterparts at partner institutions in the United States and Canada. These students meet virtually once a week, on Sundays (8:15-9:30 am PT/10:15 am-11:30pm CT/11:15-12:30 pm ET/5:15-6:30 pm CET) for a total of up to 10 hours throughout the program. The meetings take place in virtual breakout rooms on the ZOOM platform, with discussions conducted in Italian for the first half hour and in English for the second half.

During these sessions, the program coordinator and the professors will not be present, as the students will take on the role of “tutors,” guiding each other in correcting grammar and vocabulary errors while supporting language practice. This peer tutoring approach allows for mutual learning and engagement. However, the program coordinator and professors will have the ability to join the breakout rooms at any time to monitor progress and provide assistance if needed.

Weekly conversation topics will be assigned at the start of each week and will focus on practical, everyday subjects. These range from simple discussions on family, daily routines, and hobbies to more in-depth comparisons of Italian and American holidays, traditions, and popular culture, such as TV series or movies. Students are expected to prepare thoroughly in advance to ensure that conversations are structured, thoughtful, and linguistically precise.

The program will conclude with a final evaluation session. Professors from the American partner universities will assess the Italian students’ proficiency in English, while professors from the Italian institutions will evaluate the American students’ command of Italian. This final assessment will also include a review of the programs strengths and areas for improvement.

​Students who maintain an active attendance rate of at least 80% (equivalent to 8 hours) will be awarded a Certificate of Attendance. Continuous monitoring will be conducted not only through live online participation but also through the administration of interim and final questionnaires via Google Forms.

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PARTNER INSTITUTIONS

  • University of California Riverside, CA 

    Brunswick School, MA

    Rochester Institute of Technology, NY

    Nazareth University, NY 

    Montclair State University, NJ 

    Proctor High School (Utica), NY

    Oberlin College, OH

    Fordham University, NY

    Marist College, NY

    Arizona State University, AZ

    Emory University, GA

    Syracuse University, NY

    Walt Whitman High School in South Huntington, NY

    Williams College, MA

    Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA

    Bristol Central High School Bristol, CT 

    Oakland Community College, MI 

    Brandeis University, MA

    University of Nevada Las Vegas (Spring 2025)

    Maria Regina High School, NY

    City University of New York (CUNY) College of Staten Island, NY

    Purdue University, IN

    University of Arkansas, AR

    Francis T. Maloney High School, CT

  • University of British Columbia, BC

    Carleton University, ON

    University of Toronto, ON 

  • Università di Foggia (Puglia)

    ITC Tito Acerbo di Pescara (Abruzzo)

    ITT Mazzotti di Treviso (Veneto)

    Università di Chieti-Pescara (Abruzzo)

    ITT Marco Polo di Firenze (Toscana)

    Liceo Scientifico Statale Gramsci di Firenze (Toscana)

    Liceo Banfi di Milano (Lombardia)

    Istituto Fabio Besta di Milano (Lombardia)

    Liceo Scientifico e delle Scienze Umane "Laurana-Baldi" di Urbino (Marche)

    Liceo Scientifico "L.B. Alberti" di Cagliari (Sardegna)

    Istituto di Istruzione Superiore "Gregorio da Catino"Poggio Mirteto - Rieti (Lazio)

    Liceo Classico e Scientifico Statale "Francesco de Sanctis" Salerno (Campania)

    Liceo Scientifico "Seguenza" Messina (Sicilia)

    Liceo Scientifico "Leonardo da Vinci" Pescara (Abruzzo)

    I.I. Peano-Rosa di Nereto (Abruzzo)

Calendar Spring 2026

The program goes from February to May 2026, once a week, on Sunday morning/afternoon, according to the following schedule, for a total of 12 hours:

February 1 - Introduction

February 8

February 15

February 22

Match 1

March 8

March 15

March 22

March 29

April 5 - Easter, NO MEETING

April 12

April 19

April 26 - Exams

May 3 - Exams

Make it fun!

Screenshot of a virtual meeting with 20 people smiling and looking at their cameras, some with backgrounds of bookshelves, nature scenes, or plain walls.
Zoom screenshot displaying a grid of 49 participants, mostly young students, in a virtual video call. Participants are in various indoor settings, some with bookshelves, desks, or plain walls behind them. Many have microphones muted, indicated by red
Screenshot of a virtual Zoom meeting showing multiple young participants in a grid layout, with one individual presenting who has a colorful background and logo.
A screenshot of a virtual meeting with 24 diverse participants, mostly young women, smiling and looking at their cameras, in various indoor settings.
Screenshot of a virtual meeting with 22 young adults, each in their own video window, in various indoor settings, some smiling and looking at the camera.
Screenshot of a Zoom online class showing multiple participants in a grid, all smiling and facing the camera.
Screenshot of a virtual meeting with 25 diverse participants, mostly young adults, smiling and engaging via video conference.
A group video call with 20 young people in individual squares, some smiling and others focused, with a decorative badge featuring the American and Italian flags in the lower right corner.
Screenshot of a virtual meeting with multiple participants, most smiling and some making peace signs, including students and professors.
Screenshot of a virtual meeting with multiple participants, including Giovanni Minicucci, Francesca Di Pietro, Marina Melita, Alessandra Abbattista, Mariaclara Bove, Joelle Carota, Nicoletta Da Ros, Angela, Michele Russo, Alessandra Bosi de'Villalba,
A group of people participating in a Zoom video conference call, each in separate indoor settings, smiling and looking at the camera.
Screenshot of a virtual group meeting with 25 diverse young adults in individual video call windows, some smiling or looking at the camera, others with neutral expressions, in various home backgrounds.

ITALengAMERICA receives the Patronage from

  • Logo of the American Association of Teachers of Italian with the acronym AATI in green, white, and red, representing the Italian flag, and the full name in black and red text.

Our partners

Our partners

Blue background with the Italian flag colors, an emblem with a star and olive branches, and text that reads 'Consolato Generale d'Italia New York.'