Buongiorno, my name is Maria-Antonia Campagna

I am a qualified Italian teacher, author and the Director of GRUPPO IT. For more than twenty years, I have been teaching Italian to multi-age students both in a school setting and a private setting.

 

Innovative and suitable lessons designed to engage and meet the specific needs of students has always been at the forefront of my teaching.

 

My love affair with the Italian language emerged from humble beginnings.  My interest was spurred by my father’s passion for all things Italian.  From the onset, he spoke to me in Italian and encouraged me to do the same.  He spoke it beautifully articulating each word with precision.  He was always unfazed by my grammatical mistakes, my invention of new words, preferring we focus our energies on ‘continuing the dialogue’.  

 

Unwittingly, I have inherited this passion instilling it into my teaching. This love affair reached new heights in 2021 when I published my first book: “My Verb Book Companion- LEARN IT.  DRILL IT.  USE IT.” and subsequently soon after, a series of Italian conversational books for beginners: “Caffè e Conversazione – Have fun with IT.”  It was no easy feat, but the journey was fulfilling and life giving.  

 

In 2020, amid the COVID outbreak, the scarcity of work as a casual relief teacher and private tutor meant that I had to find new and exciting ways to fill my time.  I wanted a routine that had purpose, a routine that allowed me to explore my creativity whilst still remining faithful to my calling as a language teacher.  In fact, ‘time’ became my constant companion and the catalyst that helped transform my dream of writing a book into reality.

 

Today, my Italian love affair continues to blossom spreading its branches far and wide.  Having published a series of Italian conversational books, I began conducting Italian classes for beginners, affectionately known as ‘Caffe e Conversazione’.  These lessons have gathered momentum, creating quite a buzz around town with many locals taking part.  The response from participants has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic.  This enthusiasm echoed by teachers and students alike from schools across Australia who are using these resources to guide and assist them in navigating the complexities of the language with ease whilst still savouring the beauty and richness that this romance language has to offer.