Centro Koinè

Here are some feedback impressions of teachers and their pupils 1. Centro Koiné is an excellent school with good teachers and innovative methods. 2. The secretary was extremely helpful to us in solving any practical problem we had. 3. The organization of the excursions and above all the guides in Lucca (by Romano) and Siena (by Marco) were perfect: both have adapted themselves with pleasure to the linguistic level of the pupils 4. The lodging for us teachers was excellent and above all in the town center. I have had, as you can see, a very good experience and wish to thank you for the organization. I have the firm intention to return also next year for another course with my pupils. Kind regards, Christa

Dear Serena, I know I should be writing this in Italian, but you know it would take me ages and I'd probably never finish it! Many, many thanks for a stimulating, fun, and exhausting two weeks learning Italian with you over Easter. I really enjoyed myself and have come home inspired to find a better teacher and to continue the struggle to speak more Italian. I shall certainly be returning! Please give my best wishes to all the other teachers. If you come to the UK, do get in touch and I'll show you some of the delights of this part of the Thames Valley. Kind regards and many thanks once again.

I had one of the best weeks of my entire life in Lucca! Everything went like clockwork: the Sargentis were charming, school friendly, other students interesting, town fascinating, weather pleasant, food brilliant. Spoke Italian nearly all the time, and I feel about 20 years younger. Thanks for all your arrangements.

I would like to confirm how delighted I was with the course in Italian in Cortona. Everything was so well arranged. The accommodations were nice, the cultural program with excursions, seminars, olive oil tasting, and Italian cooking and meals were very well organized. Our teacher was excellent and did everything to deepen our Italian knowledge. I will always recommend this course to other interested people. The course helped me to get along very well with people in Italy.

Our stay in Florence has been organized very well by your center. We were satisfied and had a lot of fun. One week is too short but we have received a lot of incentives, and will do our best to continue our studies at the next occasion.

My partner Annette and I are college teachers and researchers who came by chance to live outside Lucca for a sabbatical year in 1998-99. Annette saw Koine as she was touring the streets of Lucca and had the strong intuition that it would be a good place to study Italian. Was she ever right. The school offers a wonderful learning environment with small classes, great teachers, and excellent strategies to get one over one's fear of embarrassment. Koine has proved to be much more than a great place to learn Italian. It became our core community in Lucca. The generosity and openness of Isabella, Stefano, our teachers Christina and Romano, and the many other teachers we also met, helped make Koine/Lucca a real home. For this reason we return every year and now own a small place outside the walls. The benefits I have derived from the school have been magnified by their relation to my work. Because of the rich intellectual background of the directors and staff, the school has been able to link my language study to my research interests (Italian cinema, history, and popular culture) in a way that has been both stimulating and enormously time-saving. So, I would encourage anybody thinking of coming to Italy to study Italian to choose Lucca and Koine. They rock. Cari Koinesi: grazie di tutto.

I wanted to write to you to let you know what a fantastic experience Juliana's trip to Italy has been. She was impressed with the language classes and welcoming nature of Centro Koine in Bolgona. The teachers in and out of the classroom were lovely. It was a great re-introduction to Italy.

My students and I have spent a wonderful week in Florence. The students were satisfied with the course, but unfortunately the time was too short. The lessons were held like I imagined and also the host families have been very nice and helpful with my students. A special thank you to Signora Walli for the guided visit to the vineyard in Chianti Rufina which my students have enjoyed to their utmost. My compliments for your good organization. I have had other experiences with schools in Florence. Again thanks a lot for your help and best regards.

After getting back home from Bologna where I experienced two extremely enriching and instructive weeks, I just feel indebted to you of a a brief report. The lessons were aimed very well on my needs; besides, thanks to the friendly and lively personality of my teacher, I felt I did progress in Italian not exclusively in my professional domain. The four one-to-one lessons were really very intensive as they should be, still neither too strenuous nor dull or heavy. Also the lodging at hotel Touring was very pleasant and exactly what I expected. Many thanks again for the prompt and good organization of my stay. Koine Center is a school I will recommend!

Thank you all so much for the great experience I had at the Koine Center in Florence. Your kindness and hospitality made all the difference to a solo traveler assimilating the many changes of time, distance, and culture. I chose the Koine School because of the great email service upon my initial inquiry to Linda, thank you Linda for the amazing accommodation with Alessandra Galli and your continued assistance after my classes were done. I made friendships and memories I will always treasure.