250 million people worldwide speak Italian and are connected to Italian culture. The Italian government has long been committed to increasing that number through a variety of foundations, organizations and global initiatives. In fact, promotion of the Italian language and culture is one of the primary objectives of the Italian Consulate in Los Angeles.

And it happens to be one of the primary initiatives of Dottoressa Annalisa DiNola who has been teaching Humanities and Religion at Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) for the past 13 years while urging the administration to consider adding Italian to the curriculum. Her proposal to CNM, several years in the making and in the approval process, comes to fruition next month when CNM offers an accelerated beginning Italian class.

"I'm very excited about introducing this new class at CNM," she says. "I hope it will be a step towards familiarizing a broader audience of young and not-so-young people with the extraordinary country of Italy and with its rich culture." Annalisa explains that the class will focus on communications skills and will stress conversation and active exchange among students. It will also use the most modern and effective digital solutions for language learning and language lab, including enjoyable practice exercises.

Annalisa is no stranger to the Italian language classroom, having taught in Albuquerque, New York City and in her native Rome. LANG 1096, Elementary Italian 1 will be offered at CNM Albuquerque beginning on January 21, 2015, every Monday and Wednesday from 1:30p – 3:15p. Registration is open to all, either on-line at https://www.cnm.edu/depts/enrollment/admissions/visitor-students or in person at the main campus at 900 University SE, Albuquerque.

Whatever your goal, this is a great opportunity to start from scratch, brush up, practice or just treat yourself to the musicality and expressiveness of this beautiful language.

Source: Italy in New Mexico